Vegetable, Chickpea & Quinoa Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tsp grapessed or olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups green beans, chopped into small pieces (I used frozen)
• 1/2 cup corn (I used frozen roasted corn)
• 4 cups vegetable broth + 1/2 cup water
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste (freeze the rest in a baggie for later use)
• 1/4 cup quinoa, dry
• 1 cup spinach, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes, or until softened, stirring often. Add garlic and sauté a minute more. Add carrots, celery and italian seasoning and cook 5 more minutes.

2. 2

   Add thawed green beans, thawed corn, vegetable broth, water, chickpeas, tomatoes, tomato paste and quinoa. Bring to a bowl. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 15 minutes

3. 3

   Remove lid and raise heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered for 15-20 minutes (or until vegetables are fork tender), stirring occasionally.

4. 4

   Add spinach and stir to combine. Add salt and season to taste with freshly ground pepper.