Chickpea and Spinach Soup

Okay, remember how I said I wasn't going to post any more soup recipes for awhile because I was souped out?

Well... I lied.

But this soup was unplanned! I was making a salad the other night, and I reached in the pantry to get a can of what I thought was chickpeas. Turns out it was diced tomatoes. Argh! What am I going to do with an opened can of diced tomatoes?? I just put it in the fridge until I could figure out something to do with it. I also didn't like my salad concoction (it really was a concoction... I won't even tell you what was on it, lol) so I had spare chickpeas and cooked quinoa lying around as well.

Today, with the realization that I'll be out of town for a few days, I was like, "what am I going to do with all these random open ingredients and veggies?!". So, to my chargin, I made soup. Delicious, delicious, soup!

I was able to use up a lot of odds n' ends I had hanging around in a satisfying and nutritious soup. This will definitely be a repeat recipe. It's low in calories, high in vitamin A, and the quinoa helps make it a complete protein. I served it alongside some crusty Italian bread slathered with a little vegan butter. Yummers. Also, it only takes about 20 minutes to cook, and that includes the prep time! This is definitely a quick and easy weeknight meal.

Chickpea and Spinach Soup:
1 (14 oz) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 c. canned chickpeas
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
4 c. baby spinach, washed
1/2 c. cooked quinoa (or 1/4 c. dry)
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/8 tsp. sugar
1/4 c. plain, unsweetened soyogurt
1 c. vegetable broth

1. In a soup pot, saute the onions with a little nonstick over medium-high heat until golden, about 5-7 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander, and turmeric and saute another minute, or until fragrant.
2. Add the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, quinoa, onion powder, garlic powder, sugar, and an additional one cup of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes.

3. Stir in the spinach and soyogurt and allow to simmer until the spinach has wilted. Stir thoroughly to blend in the yogurt. Sea salt to taste.

This recipe makes about 4 large servings (about a cup and a half each). For each serving, you get 160 calories, 1.7 grams of fat, 7.7 grams of fiber (whodathunk?), 8.2 grams of protein, 88.9% of your Vitamin A, 29.6% of your Vitamin C, 9.8% of your Calcium, and 13.6% of your Iron (which is aided in absorption by the Vitamin C, yay!).

Also:

Stay turned for a giveaway annoucement!