Our social life has been picking up as of late. That means I don’t have as much time to cook. We got together with some friends for an evening in. I ended up cooking up a Middleastern spread with hummus, tabbouleh, keto pita, and hashweh. They brought a board game we had never heard of called Azul. Once we got the hang of it, it was a lot of fun. Tony is more competitive that I am with board games. I find I just want to have a good time and not stress about winning or losing. My job is stressful enough. After our night we ended up with a lot of leftover hashweh. I guess we will be eating that for a few days.

Since we have been so busy, I am doing a simple soup this week. I am starting with a recipe from Lavender and Macarons for White Bean Mushroom Soup. This soup is simple and vegan. Looking at the recipe, there needs to be more vegetables added for some added vitamins A and C. Other than that, the protein levels are good and it’s fast.

Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I increased the servings from 4 to 5 to lower the calories.
• I added spinach and green bell pepper to increase the vitamins A and C.
• I deleted the added salt to lower the sodium.
• I replaced the beans with a low sodium variety to reduce the sodium.
• I replaced the broth with a low sodium variety to reduce the sodium.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

White Bean Mushroom Soup

Serves 5

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 1 onion large, finely diced
• 3 green bell peppers, diced
• 16 oz portobello mushrooms thinly sliced
• 5 c low sodium vegetable broth
• 2 (15-oz) cans low sodium cannellini beans rinsed and drained
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 5 oz baby spinach

• Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add garlic and cook on medium heat for 1 minute.
• Discard garlic and add onion and bell pepper to the same pot. Sauté for 7 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for 7-10 minutes until all liquid evaporates.
• Add 4 cups of broth, beans, thyme, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and cook soup for 15 minutes.
• Remove the thyme from the pot. Take 1-2 ladles full from the pot and puree in a blender.
• Transfer pureed soup back into the pot and adjust the seasoning if needed. Add in the spinach and cook until wilted. If the soup is too thick, add another 1 cup of broth and bring soup to a boil, then remove from the heat.