Leafy vegetable soup is smooth and creamy and loaded with spring greens. It’s as delicious as it is healthy. Leafy green vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. They’re packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber but low in calories. Eating a diet rich in leafy greens can offer numerous health benefits including reduced risk of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and mental decline.
Almost every ingredient in this green vegetable soup is on the The World’s Healthiest Foods List. You could probably more than fulfill your daily vitamin and mineral requirements by eating a bowl or two of this green goodness which is especially good news for the kiddos who don’t otherwise like to eat their green vegetables.
Ingredients for Leafy Vegetable Soup
- 1/2 sweet onion (chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 1 small head broccoli (chopped) (about 2-2 1/2 cups)
- 2 stalks celery (chopped)
- 1 cup green peas (I used frozen)
- 3 green onions
- 2 3/4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 4 cups leafy greens (I used baby kale, baby spinach, and baby swiss chard)
- 1 15 oz can cannellini beans (or 1.5 cups cooked)
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
- 5 fresh mint leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup lite coconut milk (optional)
Procedure
- In a soup pot over medium heat, heat 1/4 cup vegetable broth and saute the sweet onion for 3-4 minutes, until starting to soften.
- Add the garlic and saute another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth, broccoli, celery, peas, and green onions. Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer 10-15 minutes until vegetables are tender.
- Transfer the soup to a blender and add the leafy greens, beans, lemon juice, dill, mint and salt. Use the tamper to pack the greens down. Blend until smooth. You may need to work in batches if your blender is on the smaller side.
- Pour the soup back into the soup pot, taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Add the coconut milk, if desired, and stir to combine.
Benefits Of Leafy Vegetable Soup
Some of the benefits from eating dark green leafy vegetables are:
- Blood purification
- Cancer prevention
- Strengthened immune system
- Improved circulation
- Improved liver, gall bladder and kidney function
- Promotion of healthy intestinal flora
- Lifted spirit and elimination of depression
- Promotion of subtle, light and flexible energy
- Cleared congestion, especially in lungs by reducing mucus
Note
You don’t need to be precise with your knife cuts since this is all going in the blender anyway. A rough chop is fine.
Use any mix of greens you like – kale, spinach, chard, arugula, red or green leaf lettuce, watercress.
