The evenings are getting dark, the leaves are turning beautiful bronze , russet & golden shades & autumn has definitely made its presence known. I have a beautiful warming autumnal soup for you to try to warm up the colder days, gorgeous roasted butternut squash. Butternut Squash is notoriously difficult to peel & guess what, you don’t even have to peel it for this recipe – excellent news! This is simple & filling & fantastically low at 0 smartpoints for the whole recipe. This will make a good batch of 5 to 6 servings & can be frozen if you wish. Continue reading
Tag Archives: soup
Gorgeously Hearty and Healthy, Chunky Minestrone Soup
The russet colours of autumnal leaves are in their full array, there is a distinct chilly bite to the air, warm fluffy fleece blankets and soft woollen socks are back in action and it’s most definitely soup season again. Is there anything more comforting on a cold autumn evening than a big steaming hot bowl of filling and delicious soup, nope there is nothing I know that can fill that heart-warming role to the same perfection. I have a beautiful chunky minestrone soup recipe for you that won’t even require any bread or other accompaniments as the addition of whole wheat pasta and cannellini beans make it a filling meal all in itself. Continue reading
Creamy Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup
Creamy Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup all ready for tomorrow, lunch game is on point! Continue reading
Tummy Warming Roasted Vegetable Soup
Aldi sell these soup mix packs for €1.49. I decided to roast my veg in the oven to make the soup as I feel you get a more in-depth flavour from the vegetables from roasting them. I peeled and chopped all the veggies into equal sized pieces and sprayed a baking tray with spray oil, seasoned the veg with salt and pepper and sprinkled over fresh thyme leaves. I added two cloves of garlic with the skin left on. I roasted these in a preheated oven at 200 Celsius for 30 minutes. 
I transferred into a saucepan with 1 1/2 pints of boiling water and a chicken stock cube. I squeezed the soft roasted garlic out of the skins into the pot. I continued to cook for about 15 minutes to allow the flavours to develop. I blitzed with a hand blender adjusted the seasoning to taste and added a small bit more water as it was slightly thick. And Voilà! A beautiful autumnal roasted vegetable soup easy peasy! Free on all plans & guaranteed to keep you full. I hope you’re having a lovely Thursday x
Simple, Filling Potato & Leek Soup
Soup is my ultimate go to lunch, it is the best filling meal by miles for very little points indeed. Variety is key when it comes to soups as if you eat the same one constantly you are going to get very bored of it very quickly. This particular soup is especially filling due to the potatoes. A perfect lunchtime stop gap to erase the hunger pangs and it’s lunch sorted for several days in one go! Happy days! This makes 4 to 5 servings at 2 propoints (it’s free on filling & healthy). Here’s the skinny. 
400 g potatoes peeled and cubed
2 leeks sliced and washed
1 onion finely diced
1 clove garlic
1 chicken stock cube
1 1/2 pints of boiling water
142mls skimmed milk
2 bay leaves
Fresh thyme
Salt and pepper 
Fry the onion & leeks in a saucepan sprayed with oil over a medium heat for approximately five minutes until softening. Add the crushed garlic and continue to fry for 30 seconds. Add everything else except the milk to the pot, season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves. Blend with a hand blender and pour in the milk stirring well. Return to the heat, if serving immediately, for a couple of seconds to gently heat through the milk. This will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3/4 days, it is also suitable for freezing. Enjoy! 
Velvety Smooth Cauliflower & Carrot Soup
There’s a distinct chill in the air the last couple of weeks that signals the end of Summer. We’re definitely not enjoying a balmy Indian Summer this year & that’s for sure. It’s time to dig out the coats, boots & woolly tights & it’s most certainly soup weather. You can expect an abundance of soup, stew & general winter warming recipes coming your way. Soup is a slimmers best friend, it’s so handy for lunches, filling, satisfying, tasty, warm & a meal in itself, consisting of vegetables & stock for the most part it’s extremely healthy & low fat too. Well I don’t need to sell the benefits of soup to you because if you’re on plan you’ll already know! This one is lovely & creamy from the cauliflower with the sweetness of carrot to lift it to the next level. It makes about 5 or even 6 servings & you can freeze it to boot. 0 propoints on all plans. Here’s the skinny: 
1 Large Onion Diced
5 Carrots Peeled & Diced
1 Head of Cauliflower
1 Garlic Clove
1 Tsp Thyme (Dried or Fresh)
1 & 1/2 Pints of Vegetable Stock
Salt & Black Pepper
Heat a large saucepan over a medium heat & spray with oil. Add the diced onion & fry for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the Carrots & continue to fry until softening approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Chop the cauliflower into florets & add to the pan with the stock & the whole clove of garlic. Season with the thyme, salt & pepper. Put a lid on the pot & continue to cook for around 30 minutes until everything is soft. Blitz well until smooth with a hand blender. Serve hot garnished with half fat creme fraiche & chopped chives if desired & enjoy! 
Spicy Mexican Chicken & Tomato Soup
Tired of the same old homemade vegetable soup? Kick it up a notch with this spicy Mexican number! With chunky vegetables & shredded chicken this is more like a stew than a soup, a really substantial meal in itself it won’t need bread or any other accompaniments to fill you up. I’ve been having an issue on plan lately as we sometimes do & mine happens to be lunch. I usually end up over at the deli getting a wrap or something. It’s becoming detrimental not only to my food tracking due to guesstimating points but also to my pocket as it’s flippin expensive. So I’ve made a vow this week to give up this bad habit & bring my own lunches to work. Getting myself & the baby ready & out the door in the mornings is challenge enough without throwing preparing lunch into the mix so I’m being prepared & whipping up this tasty number today that’ll see me right for a few days at least. This is totally free on the filling & healthy plan & will cost 2 propoints a serving otherwise. It yields about 4 very generous servings. 
2 Chicken Fillets
1 Large Spanish Onion Diced
2 Large Carrots Peeled & Diced
2 Stalks of Celery Peeled & Diced
1/2 a Red, Yellow & Orange Pepper Diced
2 Cloves of Crushed Garlic
1 Tsp Dried Oregano
1 Tsp Red Chilli Flakes
1 Tsp Ground Cumin
1 Tsp Ground Coriander
Salt & Black Pepper
500ml Chicken Stock
2 Tins Plum Tomatoes Chopped
A Handful of Fresh Coriander
Preheat your oven to 200c & roast the chicken for 25 minutes or until fully cooked through. Leave aside to cool slightly. In a large preheated pot sprayed with oil add the onion & fry for about 5 minutes. Add the carrot, celery & peppers & cook stirring occasionally until softened approximately 10 minutes or so. Crush the garlic into the pan & cook for a further minute. Add the oregano, chilli flakes, cumin, ground coriander and season with salt and pepper. Stir well & add the tomatoes (chop them through with a sharp knife while still in the can first). Pour in the stock & bring the soup to the boil. Reduce the heat & simmer for 25 minutes with a lid on. Shred the chicken using 2 forks & add to the soup 10 minutes before the end of cooking time. Just before serving add the chopped fresh coriander. Serve & enjoy! 
Summery Cream of Courgette & Basil Soup
I’m still out of action with my bad back today which is very frustrating as I won’t be able to exercise for a while so I need to be extra good food wise to make amends & also needed something super easy to prepare for lunch. I had a good few Courgettes left over from my Zucchini pie recipe the other day so decided to make this very simple, minimum effort but delicious soup. Look at the colours! How fresh does that look? This makes 4 big portions at 1pp a serving or free if following F&H 
1 White Onion Diced Finely
1 Garlic Clove Crushed
150g Potato Diced
3 Large Courgettes Diced into 1 inch cube
1 Vegetable Stock Cube
1 & 1/2 Pints of Boiling Water
3 Tbsps Skimmed Milk
Salt & Pepper
A Good Handful of Fresh Basil Leaves 
Lightly fry the onion in sprayoil for approximately 5 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic & fry for 30 seconds to a minute longer. Add the boiling water, potatoes & the vegetable stock cube. Simmer for approximately 10 minutes & add the courgettes & simmer for a further 15 minutes until the courgettes are just soft. Season well with salt and pepper when you add the courgettes. Take soup off the heat & blend with a hand blender. Allow to cool for a few minutes & add the milk & chopped basil leaves, reblend & check seasoning adjusting if required. Serve & Enjoy! 
Roasted Carrot & Parsnip Soup with Parsley, Thyme & Marjoram
I’m feeling a bit under the weather today & there’s some law or rule that must be written somewhere that you have to have soup if you’re not feeling the Mae West. Roasting the vegetables first gives this a wonderful depth of flavour plus it’s quicker & handier to bung them in the oven rather than faffing about sautéing them so win win! Aldi have Carrot & Parsnip trays on offer this week for something ridiculous like 49c so that’s what I used 2 of them.
5/6 Carrots cut into large chunks (cut too small they’ll burn)
2 Parsnips also cut into large dice (about an inch)
1 White Onion peeled & quartered
1 Clove of Garlic with Skin left on
1 Veg Stock Cube
1 Tsp Dried Parsley
1/2 Tsp Dried Marjoram (you can leave it out if you don’t have any knocking around)
A Few Sprigs Fresh Thyme leaves removed from stem
Salt & Fresh Black Pepper
Place All the Vegetables & the Garlic Clove (skin on) on a baking tray covered with tinfoil. Spread them out well if they’re too bunched up they won’t roast as well. Spray with sprayoil & whack them into a preheated oven at 200c for about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven & place in a large pot. Find the garlic clove & squish it out of the skin (it’ll be really soft) into the pot. Add 1 litre boiling water, the stock cube, herbs & season well with salt & black pepper. Cook for a further 15 minutes or so to allow the flavours to marry & blend until smooth with a hand blender or food processor. Et Voilà! Your instantly feel better tummy warming soup! Delicious! Parsnips are one of the few veg that aren’t free so this will cost you 1pp per serving. Soup is good for about 3 days if chilled in the fridge (make sure it’s fully cold before refrigerating) I prefer soup fresh it’s nicer but so handy to freeze it too, I don’t take up valuable freezer space with tupperware tubs, if freezing it I simply pop it into small ziploc foodbags & freeze, much handier & no washing up tubs either!
Carrot & Coriander Soup
Simple Carrot & Coriander Soup. Free on all plans 
- 5/6 Carrots peeled & sliced
- 1/2 Onion diced
- 1 litre Vegetable Stock
- 1 Tsp Ground Coriander
- 1/2 Tsp Ground Cumin
- Handul fresh coriander
- Salt & Black Pepper
Lightly fry onion in sprayoil for 5 mins add carrot & fry for few more minutes. Add ground coriander & cumin stir through. Add stock & season well with salt & black pepper. Simmer for about 30 minutes until carrots are soft. Blitz with a handblender add fresh torn coriander leaves & stir through & serve. (point low fat creme fraiche or yoghurt if used as a garnish to top)
Skinny Jeans and the Inbetweens 