Seven Bean & Barley Soup: Revisited

So the faithful will remember this post about seven bean & barley soup that I posted soon after starting my anti-inflammatory diet...

I fell in love with it so much that I took my canister back ot Whole foods and filled it before pouring it in to the baggie to weigh... 6 POUNDS @ $2.89/lb!!!  But I bought it anyway. I . Seriously. Love. This. Stuff....but I started thinking (ACK!)... It is PERFECT for my diet... but I don't want to get burned out on it either. So this round I decided to make another crock pot batch and play around with it daily finding new flavor combos. So far here's what I have come up with.

I put in the crock pot on low overnight:

• 1lb Whole Foods bulk 7 bean and barley soup mix (soak in room temp water on counter for 6-8 hours then rinse to speed cooking time)
• 1 cup sauteed frozen seasoning blend (onions, celery, & bell peppers)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 3-4 cups homemade vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp of regular Mrs. Dash
• enough water to cover by 1-2"

I also let it cook for a few more hours the next morning because I like my beans for a soup a little more "well done. That's a personal preference. See how you like it and play around with times.

That night I had a bowls just like that.

Then yesterday I took:

• 3-4 small stalks of Kale (un-stemmed & chopped)
• 1 small zuccini (quartered & sliced)
• 1 small yellow squash (quartered & sliced)
• another handful of seasoning blend
• sea salt to taste
• dash of Mrs. Dash

I seamed the kale until it was tender and sauteed the rest together in equal parts of olive oil and REAL BUTTER until it lightly browned.

Now this next part you have to do EXACTLY...
Put half the squash mixture in a bowl and eat it all.. drooling and wishing it was ladylike to lick the bowl... seriously. You have to.. I'll be waiting...
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See?? It was good wasn't it! Aren't you glad I'm such a demanding bitch?

Now, I put the rest, with the kale (and it's steam water) into about 1/3 of the soup and simmered it till it was as thick as I wanted it.

seven bean & barley soup with kale, zucchini, and yellow squash

Today I took:
3-4 small stalks of Kale (un-stemmed & chopped)
1 handful of organic baby spinach leaves (un-stemmed & chopped)
1 cup green peas
1/8tsp. turmeric

Steamed the veggies like yesterday & added them and the water to the soup with the dash of turmeric & simmered until it reached my desired thickness.

seven bean & barley soup with kale, spinach, & peas

Turmeric (and another link also) is one of those spices suggested on the diet to decrease inflammation. I had never used it before the diet and I really like it. It has an earthy, woodsy taste I guess you;d say. A little goes a long way but even the kids like it! Try it on chicken breast for any carnivore husbands out there!


Tomorrow I'll be adding green beans and more kale... I like kale. I haven't decided what spice to add yet.. hmmmmmmm??? I'll come back with a picture tomorrow!

HAPPY COOKING (& EATING)!!!