The FastDay Forum

The simplest soup of all is using frozen pre-prepared vegetables - either ones that you have previously chopped yourself, or bought all ready to go.
Per person/portion
100g chopped veg (e.g. soup mix of carrot, swede, turnip, leek, cauliflower; or for oriental style use a stri-fry selection like red pepper, mange tout, baby corn, bamboo shoots, beansprouts, mushroom)
250ml water
1 tsp bouillon powder (Marigold is my preference) or stock cube.
Bring to boil and simmer 10 minutes.
Stick blender is the really easy way to get this to a nice chunky texture, really worth having one for making soups (unless you get one of the soup makers).
That's it.
For an oriental style soup, I add half a tsp of red thai curry paste along with the bouillon powder, and pour in some light coconut milk before serving.

This is so easy that we have it often on a fast day, before our main course.

You will find this and other soup recipes in my new book, 5:2 Healthy Eating for Life, which you can preview or download a sample of on Amazon (that includes all the soups I think!).

Just checking you are still alive @BreadandWine after all those out of date split peas! Reassuring that you can use old food stuff and still get away with it. I think we throw too much food away too readily don't you?!

Anyway, thanks for all the wonderful soup ideas. Now I need to ponder over whether to buy the soup maker. It does sound as though it would make my life easier...hmmm

Bean

Perfectly fine, thanks, Bean!

Quite agree! If it looks OK, and smells OK, I'll eat it! I just hate waste. I used the ribs of a cauli in the soup I made on Monday - they're full of flavour!

Thanks for starting this thread - I've picked up some good ideas from it.

Cheers, B&W

Beanie

I loved the 'use a potato masher' response and totally agree as it is that simple. Would only need to do a few mashes and you would get the effect of some thickening and some chunks depending on how long you cooked in a saucepan or blitzed in microwave.

Soups rock, go for it

I bought a soup maker, hubby wasn't amused. It's(Tefal brand) now in its second year and hubby thinks its the best gadget in the world. Have made many a soup with the booklet that came with it and have also made many a 5:2 soup recipe mainly from a Kate Harrison 5:2 cookbook. All come out well. Can vary the soup from smooth to chunky and also make boognaise sauce and othe things with it.Takes 25-30 minutes from start to finish. Hubby even makes soup. Discovered Ruby Soup and so did my co workers,as I took it to work and made the soup there; all wanted the recipe. Well worth the money. Just coming out of our winter now. I too don't peel the vegies, not even the pumpkin. Tastes devine the pumpkin soup with the skin on. Blends wel tool.