Y’know, meal prepping is cool and all, sure we know it saves time in the long run and is convenient when you can’t be arsed cooking during the week but seriously…
Most of the time I really cannot be aaarrrsed to meal prep on the weekend either! So here is my super easy, really delicious smokey Mexican bean soup that requires ZERO chopping.
Ingredients:
1 packet of minestrone soup mix
1 packet of chopped kale
500g chopped button mushrooms
2 400g tins mexican bean mix (any beans work fine here)
2 tins chopped tomatoes
250g jar of roasted capsicum (in brine if possible)
2L of your stock of choice - salt reduced if possible
1 Tbsp minced garlic. I like lots of garlic, you may like to reduce this
a good slug of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 packet of Mexican spice mix - burrito mix, fajita mix, whatever works (are you getting the sense I'm not fussy on how you throw this together?)
OR if you're feeling super fancy, make your own spice mix
Mexican Spice Mix
2 Tbsp powdered chicken or vegetable stock
1 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp cumin
Method:
1. Heat a large pot to high, add your EVOO and garlic, cook until fragrant
2. Dump in the minestrone soup veggies and cook with the Mexican spice mix until soft
3. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until softened
4. Using a NutriBullet or blender, blend the tomatoes and the jar of capsicums until combined
5. Drain the beans, add beans, tomato mix and stock to the pot and let that baby bubble away!
You can also complete steps 1-4 in the morning then dump it all into a slow cooker (or if your slow cooker is fancy enough to do the browning bit in the pot already, you're laughing) and have delicious soup waiting for you when you get home.
A note on healthy eating: This soup is gluten free, dairy free, vegan and already contains oodles of low GI carbs so is the perfect lunch to sustain you through your day. You do not need to serve this with bread.