Easiest Homemade Vegetable Soup Formula

I love to cook, but the truth is, now that I have a child I typically can't commit to a recipe that takes more than 30 minutes to make. I'm passionate about making homemade, healthy meals for my family, but it needs to be something that I can reasonably accomplish at the end of a busy day chasing around my daughter.

 Homemade Vegetable Soup is one of my favorite meals to make because it's EASY, HEALTHY, and CHEAP! Plus, it's a great way to introduce kids (or picky adults!) to a lot of different foods or to get them to eat foods that they may otherwise refuse.

This is more of a formula than a recipe because you can use whatever foods your family enjoys and/or the foods you happen to have on hand! If you don't like to measure ingredients, then this is the perfect soup for you!

*Deciding on Your Ingredients*

-Pick a Broth

My absolute favorite way to make broth is adding Better Than Bouillon: Seasoned Vegetable Base paste to boiling water. Simple and so delicious! It also comes in many other flavors as well! Another option is just to buy already made broth from the store, such as: Pacific Foods Vegetable Broth. I prefer that one because it is made of  only vegetables, seasonings, and water.

-Pick a Protein

Often times I will add beans to our soup (pinto, black, cannellini, chickpeas, etc.) if I have them on hand already cooked, but for those times when I don't already have beans prepped and ready to throw it I like to use lentils. The great thing about lentils is they don't need to be soaked (unlike most beans) and they have a relatively low cook time.

-Add Substance

When making a meatless meal it is important to make sure there is enough to it that you won't leave the meal feeling hungry. Protein is a good start, but here are some other options to add to help make the meal more hearty: quinoa, rice (wild rice is a delicious addition), pasta, or potatoes.

-Vegetables

There is just about an endless amount of options for this category, but I will include some of our favorites. Broccoli, zucchini, carrots, onions, garlic, peas, green beans, cauliflower, bell peppers, celery, sweet potato, spinach etc. Read ahead to the Steps section to find out important tips when using some of these vegetables!

-Seasonings

Another benefit to using the Better Than Bouillon paste is that you really don't need to add any seasoning, but feel free to add your favorites for added flavor. A few options: salt, pepper, garlic powder, italian seasoning, rosemary, etc.

*Steps*

#1- Soften Vegetables: If you decide to use any of the following vegetables, I suggest putting a little butter or oil in the pot and add the vegetables in for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. I do this right in the big pot I plan to use for the soup, because, well, who needs more dishes to wash! Do this for: onions, raw carrots, garlic, celery, and bell peppers. If using potatoes, bake in the microwave in order to speed up cook time. If using spinach, add at the very end!

#2- Add Broth: Now you'll want to either add in the broth or fill up your pot about 2/3 full with water and add in the Better than Bouillon paste.

#3- Add Protein and Substance: Cook lentils, quinoa, pasta, and rice about 5-10 minutes less than package directions suggest. This will allow you to add in the rest of the ingredients without overcooking the protein and substance ingredients.

#4- Add Vegetables and Seasoning: Simply add in the rest of the vegetables and cook until they have reached your desired tenderness.

#5- Allow Soup to Cool and Serve!

Serve With Any of the Following or On it's Own:
-Bread (if you're feeling ambitious homemade bread is delicious or store bought buns would work well too!
-Salad
-Baked potatoes (especially if you didn't add potatoes in the soup)
-Sandwiches

Most Importantly It's Baby Approved!!

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Share in the comments below if you try out the recipe or if you have any requests for future posts!

22 Ways to Make the Most of Summer with a Baby

We only have so many summers to spend with our kids so let's make the most of it!

Before we get started it's important to remember that every day doesn't need be Pinterest worthy or a big adventure. I think all mothers can agree that it can be so overwhelming to be constantly bombarded with all the things we should be doing with our children, but the reality is some days keeping the kids fed and loved is all we can do. So if you're having one of those days where you feel as though you just can't muster the energy to leave the house or prep an activity, please feel free to bookmark this post and come back on a day when you're ready for an adventure.

GET CONNECTED

1.) Facebook Mom groups for your town are a great way to meet mom friends, ask questions, get suggestions, and plan play dates.

GET OUTSIDE

2.) Beach- swimming and meeting up with friends or family
3.) Parks- we're all about the swings these days, picnics, and playing in the grass
4.) Go for a walk
5.) Zoo (look for free days or discount days or find a friend that has a pass)
6.) Festivals- there are so many free festivals in summer!
7.) Farmer's Market- Lily loves people watching!

INDOOR ADVENTURES

8.) Local Library- Most local libraries have story time, some also have a play space set up for kids, and if all else fails you can just go to pick out a few books. Reading is so important for babies and young children and it can be a lot easier to get them excited about it if it seems like a special treat to go pick out a book or read a new book.

9.) Museums- Depending where you live this may or may not be free, but even museums that cost money often times have discount days or free days. Kenosha Public Museum is free and although it's small there is still enough to entertain a baby. There is also a kids program called Museum Munchkins every Wednesday.

10.) Play Groups- Search online or ask in your local Facebook groups about where you can attend play group in your area. The KAC runs a program called Sprouts in Kenosha! Some hospitals run free play groups as well.

11.) Indoor Play Centers- There are versions of this all over, but our local favorite is Nest Playspace in Racine.

FINDING SUPPORT

12.) Play dates can be so fun for your baby, but let's be real sometimes it's just nice to have another adult to talk to.

13.) Mom and Me Classes- Definitely not for everyone, but it can be really helpful to have scheduled activities to look forward to each week. Some examples: swim class, music class, etc.

14.) Support Groups- La Leche League, MOPS, hospital support groups, etc. the best part is that some of these can be online supports or in person whatever works best for you!

DIY ACTIVITIES

15.) Water Play- Use a shallow tote or baby pool and add a small amount of water at the bottom. Give baby some spoons, small bowls, bath toys, etc. Another option is to have several smaller containers with a little water in each so baby can dump them over and splash in them without having to be in the water. We like to do water play outside or in the bathtub!


16.) No Mess Painting- This is one of my favorites because it requires very little prep time, don't have to worry about baby eating the craft supplies, and it's fun. Squeeze a few dots of paint onto a piece of paper or tag board, put it into a ziplock and seal it up, and let baby go to town.

17.) Tugging Box- Poke a bunch of holes into a sturdy, small, cardboard box. Then cut a section of yarn (ribbons, lace, etc.) and tie it on both ends several times. You can also put a knot or two in the middle of the yarn in order to make it a little trickier to pull through.

18.) Velcro Board- There are so many possibilities for this one! Lily loves pictures of people so for hers I laminated some photos of her family. You could also print or cut out shapes, colors, letters, etc. and laminate them and add velcro. Hang up some fabric (just be sure that it's something that can stick to velcro like felt, fleece, etc.) or put the soft velcro up on the wall. You could also cover a piece of cardboard with fabric or velcro in order to make a portable version.

19.) Spider Web- Weave string or yarn through a laundry basket to look like a spider web, add some small toys at the bottom, and let baby explore and try to figure out how to get them out.

20.) Sensory Play- There is an endless number of sensory activities to do with a baby or toddler, but one of my favorites is using leftover baby cereal, mixed with some water, and either food dye or natural dyes (beet juice, blueberry juice, etc.) and let them use it as finger paint. For that one I put a laundry basket in the bathtub and then let her paint in there so that I could just spray her down when she was
done.

21.) Colored Ice- Another sensory play idea is to put a few drops of food coloring in each section of an ice tray and then fill each one with water. When they are frozen take them out and put a few into a shallow dish of water and let baby explore. It's fun to play with and then dyes the water once the ice has melted.

22.) Discovery Baskets- One of Lily's favorite activities is pulling everything out of a basket (or pulling all the books off the shelf). Sometimes I set her up with a basket full of objects she doesn't really get to see often and let her explore. One of her favorites is the basket full of all her headbands!


Pinterest is full of a never ending stream of activities to do with little ones, but often times it can be so discouraging to search through a ton of activities, find something that sounds fun, prep it, and then realize that it isn't baby safe or is more work than it's worth. I love doing activities with my daughter, but I don't want to spend a lot of money or time preparing or cleaning up. If you're interested in this kind of post let me know and I'll be sure to do a trial run with a few more activities to share!