Beginner’s Soup

Gluten-free/dairy free/nut-free.  I recently asked a dear friend of mine (who is also an amazing cook–yes you Julia!) what she and her family were eating these days.  She said she was on a roll with a “Miso and Greens Soup” (I’ll share with you the recipe in an upcoming blog).  Her son is a great eater, and I was thinking that I really need to get my kids to be soup lovers.  Really, I could eat soup every day during the winter.  (Julia said she is enjoying her soup for breakfast!).  So to get my kids into the ranks of soup-lovers, I ran a series of experiments using some of their favorite veggies–also adding some that are not their favorites (ha!).  Here is what I’m going to call “Beginner’s Soup” because, come on, this is pretty boring stuff.  But they ate it, and that is what matters:

-1 pound washed and chopped carrots–I put them in olive oil in the slow cooker on high for about 20 minutes, before adding:
-1 bag of frozen brocoli (or use fresh if you have it on hand)
-1 box of frozen spinach (or use fresh if you have it on hand)
-1 box of chicken or veggie broth (32 oz)
-1 can of diced tomatoes 

That is it.  You could of course add garlic, onions, a million other types of veggies, a grain a protein source… the options are unlimited.  But I found that with my kids, the simplier the better.  They even asked me to make it again (without the tomatoes!?) so Iobliged.  And they ate it, and I’m happy.  And it was so easy–thank you slow cooker!

Please comment on what kinds of soup your kids love!
*Need to buy some items to make this recipe? We’ve search the web and selected some great options for you (value, free shipping, and no tax!) that you can purchase through the links below. Thanks to Amazon Associates, when you purchase through one of the Amazon product icons, the Healthy Kids site gets a little kickback from Amazon. You don’t pay more; in fact, you will likely get a better deal than what you might find in stores. Our relationship with Amazon helps to offset the cost of running this website. If we end up making a profit– especially since our time is volunteer–we donate it to Nurture, a non-profit that helps low-income families improve nutrition and health. Thank you!