For week #48 of my 2018 challenge to try one new whole-food plant-based (WFPB) recipe each week, I tried this vegetable noodle soup recipe. The inspiration came from this recipe by Heidi Swanson (creator of 101cookbooks.com).

What I like about this recipe:

• It’s soul-warming comfort food that won’t leave you feeling sluggish.

• Extra veggies give this classic an antioxidant-rich health boost.

• A nice option for kids!

What I ended up using/doing:

Ingredients:

• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced

• 3 celery stalks, diced

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/4 tsp dried turmeric

• 1 tsp dried thyme

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 tsp salt

• 2 tsp Better Than Bouillon

• 16 cups water

• Noodles of choice. I used a 12-oz package of “ancient grains” spaghetti, which I broke up into short bits.

• One 10-oz package frozen chopped kale

• One 12-oz package of frozen riced veggies (cauliflower medley)

• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. In a large stock pot, combine the first 11 ingredients. Bring to a boil, then simmer until veggies are soft.

2. In a separate pot, while the broth is cooking, boil the noodles in water until al dente, then drain. Set aside. (Note: You can also cook the noodles in the broth, but I find that cooking the noodles separately and adding them at the end prevents them from overcooking and becoming mushy. It also makes the broth less cloudy.)

3. Add the frozen chopped kale and riced veggies to the broth and simmer until these veggies are softened to your liking.

4. Remove the broth from heat.

5. Add the cooked noodles to the broth and stir well.

6. Add salt/pepper to taste and additional water if needed.

7. Enjoy!