Meal Prep 101: Vegan pasta soup to melt your stone-cold heart, great for people with myasthenia gravis
Disclaimer: I am not a vegan. I'm not even a chef. Or a nutritionist. This is entirely based on my experience.
Like what I’ve posted previously, meal prep has become part of my weekly routine. It’s an effective stress-reliever, from planning out the meals for the week down to Instagramming the finish product. Plus, it’s healthy, much cheaper and I don’t need to worry about contractual labor by resorting to fast food meals. If you have been following me on IG (and that’s @bethgstories if you haven’t), you’d see my stories are always about food (though other times I post my goofy self because it’s fun). Lately, I’ve been trying much too hard to do a #meatlessFriday, and that's how I came up with this healthy vegan pasta soup. However, more often than not, I don’t succeed because my colleagues’ food are also impossible to be ignored.
You can do this thing and save yourself from unhealthy food the entire week
Just so you know, I like to keep my meals not only healthy, but also simple and easy to make. I’m not picky when it comes to food, and I could eat the same meal over and over again, especially if it really tastes heaven. This comes in handy, especially when the cupboard and the fridge are dangerously low on supplies and I'm too busy and/or tired to go to the grocery store and prepare an entirely different meal. Looking at my calendar and finding out the week would be as busy as hell, I decided to make something that’s going to last me a week’s worth of lunch.
Why is it great for myasthenia gravis people?
So, how did I make this vegan pasta soup? Of course, I had to figure out my ingredients first.
I love soups with tomato-ey goodness—I love soups, period. Tomatoes are great, and they’re packed with nutrients I need, as someone who has an autoimmune condition. Also, they go along so well with vegetables and so, this is what I thought would be the best base for my hearty soup. I thought of minestrone, but I don’t need something as elaborate as that. Let’s keep this simple. Minimal. In the end, my cart ended up with the following:Onions – contains vitamin B
Carrots – great source of Vitamin A, antioxidants and beta-catorine
Celery – loaded with potassium, vitamin C, vitamin K and folate
Red bell pepper – provides the body with antioxidants, vitamins A and C, plus, folate and supports healthy night vision (I like reading books at night, so…)
Tomatoes – major source of lycopene (another type of antioxidant), vitamin C, potassium, folate and Vitamin K
Broccoli – packed with vitamins K and C, potassium, fiber and so much more
Okay, before I proceed, let me get you the complete list of my ingredients. Just so you know, you don’t have to stick with these ingredients. You'd also notice that I didn't include the measurements. Feel free to substitute or maybe add things like beans or peas or whatever left over vegetable you have in your fridge. You can also skip the pasta and eat the soup with bread instead. If you want more flavors and you don’t want the soup to be entirely vegan and you’re not cost-cutting, you can use chicken broth instead of just water. If you have myasthenia gravis and currently experiencing difficulty in swallowing, make sure that the vegetables are chopped finely for easier consumption.
Ingredients:
olive oil
onions
carrots
celery
red bell peppers
tomatoes
tomato sauce
brocolli
fusili pasta
dried oregano
dried basil
salt and pepper
water/chicken or veggie stock
Instructions:
1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Add onions, then the diced carrots and diced celery sticks. You can keep the celery leaves and add them later.
2. Add the bell peppers. When they're almost done, add the tomatoes. Then, put on the dried oregano and dried basil. These dried herbs will add extra texture to the flavor of your soup.
3. At this point, you can pour in the tomato sauce, followed by water/chicken or veggie stock. Put in salt and pepper to taste. You can add some chili flakes for a bit of a kick but that's entirely optional.
4. Then add the pasta. Any bite-size pasta would do (e.g. macaroni, penne, bow tie).
5. Once the pasta is almost cooked, you can add the brocolli and the celery leaves. The leaves also added some flavor to the soup.
6. Serve with love!
It’s so easy, right? All you have to do is ladle some to your bowl for today’s lunch (or dinner) and put the rest in the fridge. It’ll last for up to 3-5 days and the flavor gets better and better. If you made this soup, take a picture and tag me on IG!
And here’s my finished product. I ate a banana after.olive oil
onions
carrots
celery
red bell peppers
tomatoes
tomato sauce
brocolli
fusili pasta
dried oregano
dried basil
salt and pepper
water/chicken or veggie stock
Instructions:
1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Add onions, then the diced carrots and diced celery sticks. You can keep the celery leaves and add them later.
2. Add the bell peppers. When they're almost done, add the tomatoes. Then, put on the dried oregano and dried basil. These dried herbs will add extra texture to the flavor of your soup.
3. At this point, you can pour in the tomato sauce, followed by water/chicken or veggie stock. Put in salt and pepper to taste. You can add some chili flakes for a bit of a kick but that's entirely optional.
4. Then add the pasta. Any bite-size pasta would do (e.g. macaroni, penne, bow tie).
5. Once the pasta is almost cooked, you can add the brocolli and the celery leaves. The leaves also added some flavor to the soup.
6. Serve with love!
It’s so easy, right? All you have to do is ladle some to your bowl for today’s lunch (or dinner) and put the rest in the fridge. It’ll last for up to 3-5 days and the flavor gets better and better. If you made this soup, take a picture and tag me on IG!
Lemme know what you think in the comments section down below.
Spread the looooove!
xo,