One of the best ways I’ve found to pack a meal full of essential nutrients is to make soup! This bean soup with chicken sausage even takes care of six to seven of the thirteen categories in my fertility foods checklist. Fertility diets can be super easy when you stick to the basics like this.
Full of protein, fiber, and plenty of vitamins and minerals from the multitude of veggies, this soup will fill you up and keep you nourished.
For added benefit, use your own homemade broth if you have it and select a quality sausage.
Soaking the beans ahead of time and cooking them separately (instead of buying canned beans) may also help with the digestibility of the beans.
Bean soup with chicken sausage
Bean soup with chicken sausage
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 lb spicy chicken sausage
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 large carrots chopped
- 4 stalks celery chopped
- 1 potato cubed
- 3 cloves garlic
- 5 cups white beans cooked (2-3 cans)
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup frozen spinach 3 cups fresh
- 1 tsp salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper to taste
- 2 oz Parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
- Saute onion and chopped sausage in butter until onions are translucent.
- Add all other ingredients except spinach and seasonings.
- Bring to boiling and then lower the heat to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until veggies are soft.
- Add salt and pepper to taste as well as the spinach. Let spinach wilt and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Serve topped with optional shredded cheddar or Parmesan cheese.
Soups, more often than not, save me so much time during the week! I love to double up the recipe and put half of it in the freezer – making meal prep non-existant for a second meal. This soup freezes really well, though I’d leave the spinach out until it’s warmed back up.
If you need a bit of crunch with this one, add in some croutons (you can make your own croutons inexpensively if you have the extra time) or a bit of crusty bread with butter. And a salad as a first course. You can never go wrong with soup and salad!