Meatless Monday with Vegan Vegetable Quinoa Soup

Hello and welcome (back) for another entry in our vegan recipe share in honour of Meatless Monday. Miratel took the Meatless Monday pledge as it encourages eliminating meat from your diet one day per week to preserve the health of our planet. We consider our support of this great movement part of our CSR business strategies as it spreads awareness of the impact of our food choices on our environment.

It might seem daunting to make a meat-free meal but our weekly recipes should help make it easier. Now that the cooler weather is upon us, nothing is more warming than a hearty bowl of soup and that is exactly what today’s Vegetable Quinoa Soup is. This satisfying soup is easy to make and packs a nutritional punch with the combination of quinoa and vegetables. This great meal in a pot recipe comes from Two Peas and Their Pod – an amazing resource for recipes that are “simple, fresh, and family friendly”. If you haven’t already, check it out.

Vegetable Quinoa Soup Ingredients (yields 6-8 servings):

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  

  Image courtesy of Two Peas and Their Pod (click to go to website)

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 small zucchini, chopped
• 1 yellow squash, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups fresh green beans, broken or cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 box (32 ounces) vegetable broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, zucchini, yellow squash, and green beans and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and basil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are fork tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Stir in the cooked quinoa and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve warm.
3. Note: To cook the quinoa, rinse 1 cup quinoa under cold water. Add quinoa, 2 cups water, and a pinch of salt to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.

This is a great way to use seasonal produce and feel free to mix and match to suit your palate or availability. Serve with some crustini and a side salad.

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to visit the Meatless Monday website and join us in taking the pledge today. Spread the word at home and at work and promote CSR business initiatives to make your green call centre, office, factory, shop, restaurant or salon even greener.

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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.