Notes:
This is a thick, fragrant Korean stew, used with Korean bean paste (daenjang).  Daenjang chigae is very hearty, and the recipe is very flexible - use whatever vegetables you like.  More common vegetable combination is with zucchini, potato, and pepper, but is equally good with turnips, other squashes, and carrots.

I’ll be using my own modified recipe here, but remember, you can also add 1 small potato cut into cubes - that will thicken the soup to a nice hearty consistency.

(Note: for the soup stock, I had a tough time making the broth, as I preferred to use anchovy powder, instead of regular anchovies, which makes for a bigger mess, in my opinion.  I used around 2 tsps for 3 cups of water - you can adjust for taste)

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
6 oz beef or shrimp, sliced
3 cups of soup stock (beef or anchovy, or a low sodium store bought version) (approx 1 tsp powder per 1.5 cups water)
***if you don't have homemade or store-bought stock, use water, but increase the amount of bean paste you use, and salt to taste toward end of cooking time

1/2 onion, chopped
2 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 large zucchini, cut lengthwise then sliced
1 green chili pepper or jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
4 Tablespoons Soybean paste (daenjang)
1 tsp chili pepper flakes (optional)
1 cake of tofu (firm or extra firm), cut into small chunks
1 or 2 scallions, chopped

—might want to use some arrowroot to thicken the stew, especially if not using a potato

Directions:
1) If using beef, saute beef until slightly browned in soup pot. If using shrimp, skip to step 2

2) Add stock, onion, garlic, zucchini, and pepper (and shrimp, if using) and bring to boil over high heat

3) Add Bean paste, pepper flakes, and tofu

4) When stew begins boiling again, turn off heat and add chopped scallions. Might want to add arrowroot or some other thickener, if you want the stew thicker. It WILL thicken a bit more, as it cools, however.

Submitted by:
Golluhm

Notes:
Quick Minestrone Soup

Servings: 8

Ingredients:
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can italian-style diced tomatoes
1 cup egg noodles, crushed
2 cans broth (any flavor)
1 can sliced carrots, drained

Directions:
Combine everything except the carrots. Cook for 8-10 minutes; add carrots and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Each cup: 110 calories, .75g fat, and 4g. fiber.

Submitted by:
Nanette

Notes:
A delicious, thick and healthy soup which is both easy to make and low cost.  The lentils add protein without meat, fish or dairy.  You can have it made and on the table in less than half an hour. If there is any left over, it can be refrigerated or frozen and reheated.  10 minutes preparation and 15 minutes cooking.

4 Generous Servings

If omitting the olive oil, each serving will have about 168 cals.

With olive oil each serving will have 198 cals

protein 11g, carbohydrate 34g, fat 4 g, saturated fat .5g, fibre 5g, salt 0.25 g

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
3 teaspoons cumin seeds (or 2 teaspoons for a less spicy soup)
Generous pinch of dried chili flakes
600 gm (21 oz or 4 packed US cups) carrots, washed and coarsely *grated or diced (no need to peel)
150 gm (5¼ oz or 1 US cup) split red lentils
1 litre (4¼ cups) hot vegetable stock (using stock granules or cubes is okay)
125ml (½ cup) milk – 2% / semi skimmed milk, or use low cal/low fat coconut cream if you want a dairy free version.
1 tablespoon olive oil (you can omit this, but it does add flavour and richness to the soup)

Plain yoghurt to serve

Directions:
1. Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry (no oil) the cumin seeds and chili flakes for 1 min, or until they start to jump around the pan.

2. Scoop out about half of the seeds with a spoon and set aside for the garnish.

3. Add the carrot, lentils, stock, milk and oil to the pan and bring to the boil.

4. Turn down heat, cover and simmer for 15 mins until the lentils have swollen and softened. Check and stir every 5 minutes. Add more stock or water if necessary.

5. I use a hand held wand blender and blitz the soup until smooth, but if you prefer you can leave it chunky.

6. Season to taste and finish with a spoon of yoghurt and a sprinkling of the reserved toasted spices on top of the soup in each bowl. If you don’t have yoghurt, don’t worry, just sprinkle on the toasted spices which you can stir in as you eat. I don’t put the spice garnish on soup for younger children as they may find it too hot.

Serve with warmed naan or pitta breads. The coriander naan breads you can buy in any UK supermarket go especially well. Choose the low cal version. Hot, crusty rolls go really well as well, but I find the smell of just baked bread too tempting when I am on a diet.

You can also add some diced cold cooked chicken. Make sure it is fully heated through before serving. If you are counting calories/points you’ll need to adjust for the chicken. I've also added chunks of chorizo, sausage and franks at times, where it becomes almost like a stew.

If reheating from frozen, you may need to add extra stock or water.

Submitted by:
Juliette