Soups have provided healthy and filling meals during my diet. Â Below are the ones I’ve made most often – Vegan Butternut Squash and Apple Soup, Vegan Split Pea Soup, and Tomato Garden Vegetable Soup. Â All three of these use vegetable stock, so I’ll start with that. Â (Of course, you can purchase low-sodium vegetable stock in your supermarket and save this step)

Vegetable Stock
In a large stockpot, add:
5-6 carrots, peeled and  chopped
1-2 medium onion, chopped
5-6 stalks of celery, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, quartered
a pint of button mushrooms, sliced
generous handful of parsley, rough chopped
Then fill your stockpot to the top with cold water and a little sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower and simmer for about an hour, or until vegetables are tender. Â Taste and add more salt if needed. Â Drain and reserve the broth. Â I discard the onion, celery, tomatoes and parsley and keep the carrots and mushrooms for a quick and simple veggie soup.
Vegan Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and cubed (you can find this already done for you in the supermarket to save time)
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, smashed
3 carrots, chopped
2 apples, peeled and chopped
3 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
olive oil
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp nutmeg
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Â Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray and place squash flat on the foil. Â Roast until soft, about 30-45 minutes.
While the butternut squash is roasting, you can chop the onions, apples, carrots, and garlic, and add them to a large stock pot with 1 cup of the water and 2 cups of the vegetable stock. Â Bring to a boil over medium heat.
When squash is done roasting, add it to the stockpot with the remaining cup of vegetable stock and 2 cups of water. Â If you have a hand blender, slowly blend the ingredients together. Â Since I don’t have a hand blender (I need to remedy that soon), I used my stand blender and blend the soup in batches. Â Stir in nutmeg and serve.
Garden Vegetable Soup
5 1/2 cups vegetable soup
1 cup tomato puree
14 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups frozen sweet whole kernel corn
2-3 carrots, sliced diagonally into 1″ pieces
5 stalks of celery hearts, chopped
1 red pepper, sliced
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
In a large stock pot, combine vegetable stock and tomato puree and stir. Â Make it come to a slight simmer over medium heat. Â Add diced tomatoes and juice and all the vegetables to the pot, as well as the oil and garlic salt. Â Cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender, about 30-40 minutes. Â How easy is that?

I posted a recipe for Vegetarian Split Pea Soup sometime last year. Â Here’s the link to that recipe. Â http://allthingsnext.com/2011/05/16/vegetarian-split-pea-soup/Â Â Happy eating!