Cumin Black Bean Spinach Soup

The best laid plans of meal planners and moms…  So, let me confess a few things.  1) Sometimes things happen and I don’t make the meals I planned on making,  2) I’m trying to use everything in the refrigerator in anticipation of all the holiday cooking that’s about to happen,  3) I want soup, which is awesome for those eat-everything-in-sight-days while still maintaining a reasonable diet.  This calls for Cumin Black Bean Spinach Soup!

In the refrigerator are a mostly full carton of chicken broth, a giant bag of spinach, leftover steamed cauliflower, carrots, and 1 stalk of celery (why?  I do not know).  They can be joined by onion, garlic and, a can of beans.

I always start a soup by sweating the onion/garlic/celery/carrot, then add things according to the time they need to cook.  I decided at the last minute to add a potato for body.

Once that sizzled for a bit, I added a healthy shot of cumin while contemplating the construction of the rest of the soup.  Since the cauliflower was cooked, the beans didn’t really need cooking, and spinach takes no time, I piled them all in the pot.  Just barely enough room!

I added the broth, closed the lid, and walked away for 20 minutes.  By that time, everything was soft.  BUT, it needed a little sweetness.  I have a huge bag of frozen organic super-sweet corn from Costco, so I added a cup.

See how beautiful? 

This recipe makes 10 cups.  At 128 calories, 2.5 grams of fat and 5.3 grams of fiber I can eat all I want!  Add Cumin Black Bean Spinach Soup to your meal plan and use whatever vegetables in your ‘fridge need rescuing.