On Halloween, I made a kid-friendly minestrone soup.  Typically I like my minestrone soup really chunky and heart with cabbage and big, chewy beans.  I knew that wouldn’t go over well with my kids (I’ve tried!) so I toned it down a bit.  Hope you enjoy!

Spooky, Kid-Friendly Minestrone Soup

1 tbsp coconut oil (or other oil)

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

2 cups chopped bell pepper (I used 1 red bell pepper and 1 orange bell pepper)

1 tbsp dried oregano

1/2 tbsp dried basil

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 cans lentils (feel free to use your favorite bean), drained and rinsed 

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups pasta (I used a spinach pasta because it was spooky green 🙂

Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat.  Add carrots, celery and bell peppers and saute about 5 minutes.  Add oregano, basil and black pepper and cook another minute.  Add diced tomatoes, lentils and broth and bring to a boil.  Add pasta and cook for 8 minutes, or until pasta is cooked.  

Enjoy!

Emily Fonnesbeck RD, CD