broths + soups/ recipes/ winter

Winter Vegetable Soup

Winter Vegetable Soup | Well and Full | #healthy #vegan #recipe

This cozy Winter Vegetable Soup is the perfect lunch or dinner for those chilly winter days!

I know winter doesn’t start until December 21st, but I was too excited to share this winter vegetable soup to wait!! It’s not the prettiest thing I’ve ever made, but it’s pretty darn delicious. I absolutely love making soup because it’s super easy – just cook everything in one pot and you’re done. As much as I like making recipes with a lot of different components, sometimes it’s much better to let the stove do the work for you ;)


At the precipice of the new year, I’m already starting to think about 2019 and what I want my year to be like. I remember at the start of 2018, I looked forward with SO much optimism. I kept saying to myself, “This is going to be my year!!”. Well, it turned out that 2018 was absolutely awful LOL. Call it irony, but it’s pretty coincidental that I put all this pressure on 2018 to be great, and it bombed. I don’t plan on making the same mistake next year.

I don’t need 2019 to be perfect. What I’m hoping for is a normal year – some ups, some downs, but the inner peace and equanimity to ride the waves. I think that 2018 really prepared me for that. I had to deal with a lot of things over the past year that I did NOT plan for. And I really resented that at the time. But now, I’m starting to see the bigger picture, and I feel prepared to learn the lesson that it could teach me.

A big thing I learned this year was to say no. I’m not going to lie, for the first 25 years of my life I was an absolute doormat. I was always agreeing to things and going along with things that I didn’t want to do, just to please people. I never stood up for myself, ever. But now I know better. I’ve learned that you will NEVER please everybody. And that’s not to say that you should be impolite and say “screw you!!” to people, but you should never ever ever do something that you really don’t want to do just to please someone else. You should do something that you love because YOU want to do it. That is reason enough.

Seeking validation from outside sources is, quite honestly, toxic. If you look for others’ approval, your happiness will always be contingent on them. I let that happen to me and it’s caused me some serious mental and emotional difficulties. But there’s no time like the present to wise up! I’m stronger now. I feel comfortable saying no to people. I’m confident in choosing the path for my life that want. So here’s to 2019, and being true to yourself. I’ll cheers to that! :)

Winter Vegetable Soup | Well and Full | #healthy #vegan #recipe

Winter Vegetable Soup

This winter vegetable soup is the perfect cozy lunch or dinner for those chilly winter temperatures! 
4.80 from 5 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Medium Carrots peeled and chopped
  • 2 Medium Parsnips peeled and chopped
  • 2 Large Celery Stalks chopped
  • 1/2 White Onion chopped
  • 1 Leek chopped, the white and light green parts
  • Neutral Vegetable Oil
  • 4 Cups Vegetable Broth
  • 2 Cups Water
  • 1 Tsp Dried Thyme
  • 1 Tsp Dried Parsley
  • 1/4 Tsp Turmeric
  • 1/2 Tsp Salt or more to taste
  • 1 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 Cup Barley or wheatberries
  • Fresh Parsley for garnishing

Instructions
 

  • Bring a drizzle of a neutral vegetable oil (like sunflower or avocado) to medium heat. Add in the chopped carrots, parsnips, celery, onion, and leeks and sauté for about 5-10 minutes, or until softened.
  • Then, add in all other ingredients to the pot, and stir well.
  • Cover the pot and simmer the soup for about 45-60 minutes, or until barley (or wheatberries) are soft. 
  • Serve hot with fresh parsley.
  • Enjoy!

Winter Vegetable Soup | Well and Full | #healthy #vegan #recipe

P.S.

If you make this winter vegetable soup and post it on Instagram, be sure to tag me @wellandfull and #wellandfull so I can see! I love seeing your takes on my recipes :)

26 Comments

  • Reply
    Jess @choosingchia
    December 11, 2018 at 7:40 am

    Firstly, this soup looks SO perfect for winter Sarah! Secondly, I consider that winter started (at least where I live) in November! And omg the power of saying NO! Definitely something I’ve been learning this year too! It’s a concept I’ve heard over and over again in books and podcasts and articles!

    • Reply
      Sarah
      December 11, 2018 at 9:47 am

      Thanks Jess!! And even though this is a really new lesson to me, I’ve already felt the transformative power of saying no in my life. Cheers to improving ;)

  • Reply
    Evie
    December 11, 2018 at 9:19 am

    Can’t wait to try this soup – it looks great! Just what I’ve been looking for, I wonder if it will work in the slow cooker. As for saying No, I’m working on this, too. It’s hard to do, but the result of always wanting approval from the outside is worse. Saying No to something, is really saying Yes to something else, hopefully better! I love your idea: You should do something that you love because YOU want to do it. That is reason enough.

    • Reply
      Sarah
      December 11, 2018 at 9:48 am

      Thanks so much for your note, Evie! I completely agree to you, it’s super hard to say no to people, especially when you care about them and want to please them. But ultimately, your life is lived with yourself – you are it! That been a big lesson for me for sure :)

  • Reply
    Karly
    December 12, 2018 at 11:38 am

    This soup looks amazing! So hearty!!

    • Reply
      Sarah
      December 12, 2018 at 3:56 pm

      Thank you Karly! :)

  • Reply
    R.H.
    December 13, 2018 at 1:24 pm

    5 stars
    I made this soup last night and it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe

    • Reply
      Sarah
      December 13, 2018 at 3:12 pm

      I’m so glad you liked the recipe!! Thanks for leaving a note :)

  • Reply
    Linda
    December 17, 2018 at 7:30 pm

    5 stars
    Nice combination of vegetables and barley. Very tasty!

    • Reply
      Sarah
      December 18, 2018 at 9:54 am

      I’m so glad you liked it, Linda! Thanks so much for leaving a note :)

  • Reply
    Haley
    December 18, 2018 at 12:21 pm

    There is nothing better than a good cup of soup during the winter months and this one looks delicious.

    • Reply
      Sarah
      December 18, 2018 at 4:04 pm

      I agree, soup is so comforting in the wintertime!! Thank you for your kind note :)

  • Reply
    Rea
    December 24, 2018 at 9:28 am

    4 stars
    I made this the other day and it was hearty and so warming! It makes the perfect winter meal!

    • Reply
      Sarah
      December 24, 2018 at 9:37 am

      I’m so glad you liked it!! Thanks for leaving a note :)

  • Reply
    Kaitlyn
    January 19, 2019 at 2:57 pm

    This looks delicious, I’ve never cooked with barley before, would green lentils work in its place?

    • Reply
      Sarah
      January 19, 2019 at 5:02 pm

      I’m sure green lentils would be just as delicious in this soup instead of the barley! :)

  • Reply
    Charlotte
    February 1, 2019 at 4:32 am

    5 stars
    This looks lovely, I’m going to make it for lunch tomorrow as it looks so easy to make too !. Do you know how many people this will feed ? Thank you :)

    • Reply
      Sarah
      February 1, 2019 at 3:09 pm

      Hi Charlotte, I apologize for there not being serving sizes on the recipe, I am having difficulties with my recipe plugin. This should make 2-3 huge bowls of soup, or 4 as a side :)

  • Reply
    Theresa
    February 3, 2019 at 8:02 pm

    5 stars
    This soup was so good! I’m not a soup fan, but this tasted delicious. I used green lentils instead of barley and even my non vegan mom loved it!!

    • Reply
      Sarah
      February 4, 2019 at 12:04 pm

      Hi Theresa, I’m so glad to hear you liked this soup recipe! Green lentils sound like a great addition ;) Thank you so much for leaving a review!

  • Reply
    Natasha Welllness
    March 16, 2019 at 1:18 pm

    Making this right now but just FYI it is labeled GF but the grain options you gave are not GF.

    • Reply
      Sarah
      March 17, 2019 at 6:02 pm

      Hi Natasha, I am so sorry for the confusion! I did not realize that barley contained gluten. I have now updated the recipe! Again my apologies!

  • Reply
    Di@bibbyskitchen
    April 8, 2019 at 1:24 am

    A complete bowl of goodness. So hearty. I love the nutty flavour that barley adds. Perfect wintery soup Sarah.

    • Reply
      Sarah
      April 8, 2019 at 9:36 am

      Thanks so much! I’m glad you liked the recipe :)

  • Reply
    Tansy Jane Dowman
    December 13, 2023 at 8:51 am

    Hey Sarah can you tell me how many this recipe serves? I’m planning to make it for a Winter Solstice event and there will be 13 of us so just want to get an idea of quantities to ensure I have enough! Thanks so much!

    • Reply
      Sarah
      March 13, 2024 at 10:24 am

      Hi Tansy! I believe this would serve 4 as a side, and 2 for a main course with generous helpings :)

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