How to Stretch a Meal on a Whole Foods, Plant-Based Diet: Saving Money & Time with Happy Planet Soups

A couple of weeks ago I shared my love for Happy Planet Soups. Today, I’m going to expand on my discussion about “extending” their soups – in return, you will stretch your meal to serve more in your family, saving you money and time!

See, I’ve entered “teenage appetite” years. I’ve heard about it from other parents, how much food you go through with growing teenagers. Our first-born, Charlotte, is almost 15. (I can barely believe that as I type it.) Bridget is 11, and our wee Hope is almost 7. The two older girls can eat! With playing hockey and growing, they have robust appetites. Gone are the days of finding ways to get them to eat their dinner. Instead, I ask them not to finish their food before I have finished plating!

With this, food prep can be time consuming at this stage. Every other day I hit a store for fresh produce. Then, there’s prepping, baking, cooking – along with my recipe testing. Between their appetites and activities, my work and household management, I welcome healthy shortcuts more than ever.

One of the shortcuts I use is to take wholesome soups, and use them as a “base” to add more nutrient-dense ingredients. As I mentioned in my previous posts, there aren’t a lot of commercial soups that I actually want to buy. With canned and tetra-pak soups, there is a preserved flavor that I generally don’t like. The Happy Planet soups give a fresher flavor (closer to homemade), which works beautifully as a starting base.

So, today, I’m going to show you how to take some of these Happy Planet soups and add your own produce and pantry staples. I do it all the time to get more servings for my family – stretching our food dollar and also boosting the soup’s nutritional value.

Happy Planet has quite a few vegan soup choices. My favorites are the Moroccan Bean Stew, Santa Fe 4 Bean Chili, Thai Coconut Corn Stew, and West African Squash and Cashew Soup. Of course, these are our favorite soups and my suggestions for add-ins. Feel free to get creative and try your own soup twists!

Moroccan Bean Stew

• while cooking, add:
  • frozen carrots OR cubed frozen sweet potato (or precooked, about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 15-oz can of chickpeas, black beans, or white beans (drained/rinsed)
• before serving add: fresh baby spinach (2 cups) or chopped kale (1 cup; just until wilted)
• Serve: as is with crusty bread and cashew cheese, or over cooked quinoa and paired with a mixed green salad with a zesty dressing

Santa Fe 4 Bean Chili

• while cooking, add:
  • 1 or 2 15-oz cans of pinto beans, kidney beans, or black beans (drained/rinsed) (you can use 1 1/2 cans or about 2 cups cooked; very flexible)
  • frozen organic corn OR mixed vegetables (about 3/4 cup)
  • cubed precooked white potato (russet or yukon gold) (about 2 cups) OR 1/2 – 1 cup precooked brown rice
• Serve: topped with guacamole or avocado sauce, along with a crunchy green salad and tortilla chips

Thai Coconut Corn Stew

• while cooking, add:
  • frozen organic corn (about 1 cup)
  • diced red bell pepper (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 – 1 package tofu, cubed (I like using medium-firm, but you can use extra-firm) OR 1 cup frozen green chickpeas
• just before serving, add:
  • a lot of fresh baby spinach to wilt just before serving (wilts down significantly, so 5 -7 cups)
• Serve: as is, or over short-grain brown rice (or add the rice into the soup)

For this final suggestion, photos to see the ingredients and final soup, transformed!

West African Squash and Cashew

• while cooking, add:
  • 1 – 15 oz can of black beans or adzuki beans (drained/rinsed)
  • cubed precooded winter squash or sweet potato OR frozen cubed sweet potato (or precooked sweet potato) (about 1 cup)
  • frozen corn (about 1/3 cup)
  • diced red pepper or steamed cauliflower (about 1/2 cup pepper or 2 cups cauli)
• just before serving, add:
  • fresh baby spinach (about 3-4 cups)
• Serve: topped with Polenta Croutons, or alongside whole-grain rolls and salad drizzled with Mango-Hemp Dressing or Citrus-Tahini Dressing.

One of these soups usually makes it into my weekly meal planning, especially when days/seasons are particularly busy.

I hope these ideas are useful to you, and you are inspired to try it out yourself. Please let me know if you’d like more posts with these types of tips, and share your own smarty-pants ideas! More soon, and my thanks to Marika for these beautiful food photos.

x Dreena
This post is sponsored by Happy Planet. Opinions are my own, and I only post about products and brands I truly love myself. Thank you for supporting the brands that make my work on Plant-Powered Kitchen possible.