Minestrone soup by Jo

 

Minestrone Soup.

1 tablespoon Olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 leek, halved lengthways and thinly chopped

1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced

1 carrot, peeled and cut in to 1cm diced pieces

1 potato, peeled and diced into 1cm pieces

1 tablespoons tomato paste

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 litre of vegetable stock

½ cup of pasta, macaroni

1 can cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained

100g greenbeans cut into 2cm lengths

1 tablespoons of chopped parsley

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add onion, celery and leek. Cook, stirring for 5 mins or until leak is soft. Add garlic, carrot and potato, cook, stirring for 4 mins.
2. Add tomato paste, cook, stirring for 1 min. Add tomatoes, stock and ½ cup of water. Bring to the boil. Boil gently for 10mins. Add pasta, simmer for 10mins or until pasta and vegetables are almost tender.
3. Add cannelloni beans and green beans, cook stirring for 2mins or until beans are cooked and bright green. Season to taste and scatter parsley.

 

Costing: about $10 for a serving for 4.  Cost may vary, depending the availability of seasonal vegetables.

 

Nutritional information:

Health benefits of Leeks: Leeks contain many noteworthy flavonoid anti-oxidants, minerals, and vitamins that have proven health benefits.

Health benefits of carrots:  Sweet and crunchy carrots are notably rich in anti-oxidants, vitamins and dietary fiber. They provide only 41 calories per 100 g, negligible amount of fat and no cholesterol.

Health benefits of Celery:  Celery is one of the very low calorie herbal plants. Its leaves carry only 16 calories per 100 g weight and contain lots of non-soluble fiber (roughage) which when combined with other weight loss regimens may help reduce body weight, and blood cholesterol levels.

Beans, snap, green, raw:  This food is low in Sodium, and very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate and Manganese.

Cannelloni Beans: Legumes such cannellini beans may provide protection against colorectal adenomas (CRA). Colorectal adenomas are benign tumors that have the potential to become cancerous. In fact, adenomas are considered a major precursor of colorectal carcinomas, the third most common type of cancer in men and women. When boiled long enough, cannellini beans lose their toxicity and become a real super food with numerous nutritional and health benefits.