Everything Soup Recipe

Lately, I've been obsessed with making soup. It's the ultimate meal during winter – warm, nourishing, healthy, and oh so easy to make. There really is no excuse to buy store bought soup that is usually laden with unnecessary salt and other preservatives to keep it on the shelf for long periods of time. You can come up with creative concoctions with whatever you already have in your fridge and pantry. This is not a recipe so much as it is a roadmap.

There are four key ingredients to the base of any good soup (links to my favorite brands included) so keep these on hand at all times:

1. High quality organic or grass fed butter or ghee
2. Onions
3. Either chicken or veggie stock (I usually go low sodium and add any additional high quality salt.)
4. Spices (some of my favorites include turmeric, black pepper, cumin and coriander)

Begin by melting at least 4 tbsps of butter or ghee in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add onions (and if you like, some garlic) and spices until the aroma of the spices begins to arise.

Congratulations! You've set the foundation for an amazing concoction of goodness. Now, check out what you already have in your fridge. Any and all vegetables count. I recently made a soup with kale, squash, sweet potato, and carrots. Some other great additions are broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, spinach, radishes, peas. After you've got your butter, onion and spice mixture, add cut up or chopped veggies and sauté a bit in the butter. Add stock and other liquid (you can add milk or milk alternative such as almond or coconut milk if you want a creamier consistency or like a different flavor) and bring to a simmer until veggies are cooked. Greens can always be thrown in raw as they don't take long to simmer down. However, heavier veggies like Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes or squash should already be cooked. It's a great way to use up leftovers. Or feel free to go to a hot bar at your local health food store and purchase already cooked veggies. That is not cheating. That is efficiency.

Transfer mixture to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Voila! You've just created a soup masterpiece.

If you like the flavors of South India, use some coconut milk, sweet potato, and curry spices with greens. If you like more of a Mediterranean flare, go for squashes, greens, tomatoes, and more Italian style spices like basil, oregano and thyme. Get creative. There is no wrong way to make soup so play with your food have fun and enjoy!