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High-protein + low effort cozy soups

It’s starting to get colder, which means I’ve been in the mood for soup – and recently I’ve been liking to prep my own soups, because:
– I can put them in the fridge or freezer, and they’re ready-to-go for easy meals
– It’s a lot cheaper to make your own soup at home
– I can choose the exact ingredients I want (I can make them gluten-free and dairy-free)
And..
– I can make my soups high protein if I want to (which is quite hard to find in store bought soup)

These are my favorite soups I’ve been prepping lately, so I really wanted to share them with you:
– Chicken minestrone soup
– Roasted butternut squash soup

I hope you love them as much as I do!
Liezl

Prep these soups with me in my YouTube video below:

CHICKEN MINESTRONE SOUP

Ingredients:
– 2 tbsp oil
– 1 onion
– 1 to 2 cups chopped carrots
– 1 to 2 cups chopped celery
– 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
– 1 (15 oz) can white beans (drained and rinsed)
– 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
– 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
– 1 tsp dried oregano
– 1 tsp dried basil
– 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
– 1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
– 1/2 cup elbow macaroni (uncooked)
Ingredients to roast:
– 1 + 1/2 lbs *boneless skinless chicken breasts (I roast with salt, oil and balsamic vinegar)
*can also use pre-cooked chicken, or boil the chicken in the soup before shredding it and adding it back in
Ingredients to add at end:
– 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
– Shredded chicken

Vegan alt:
– Use low sodium vegetable broth instead of chicken broth
– Leave the chicken out, which will make it a classic minestrone soup 🙂

To make high protein:
– Use chicken in the soup (like I’ve done)

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Ingredients to roast:
– 1 large butternut squash
– 1 onion
Ingredients to blend with:
– 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
– 1 can light coconut milk (or 2 cups regular milk, or *unsweetened soy milk)
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
– 1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
– 1/8 tsp nutmeg
– 1/2 to 1 tsp ginger
– 1/2 to 1 tsp dried thyme
*if using unsweetened soy milk: may need to add 1 or 2 tsp maple syrup at end (taste test first

Vegan option:
– Use light coconut milk (like me), or unsweetened soy milk

To make higher protein:
– Use regular dairy milk, or unsweetened soy milk (to replace the light coconut milk)

Photos, video and recipes by Liezl Jayne for liezljayne.com