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 I want. So here’s to 2019, and being true to yourself. I’ll cheers to that! :)
Winter Vegetable Soup
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!
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 :)
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