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Frozen Makes Mealtime Easy: Hearty Minestrone Soup Recipe

October 28, 2014 by Jenn 28 Comments

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Frozen Food Foundation for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Did you know that almost 80% of Americans don’t get the recommended daily allowance of fruit? That’s pretty crazy, isn’t it? The numbers for vegetables are even worse, with almost 90% of people not meeting the recommended amount of vegetables. Fruits and veggies are a huge source of essential nutrients in our diets, and many studies have shown that a diet high in nutritious fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

Given the increase in the rates of chronic diseases, eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is more important than ever! The University of California-Davis (UC Davis), in partnership with the Frozen Food Foundation, conducted an in-depth study to evaluate the nutrient content of eight commonly-purchased frozen and fresh fruits and vegetables, specifically analyzing vitamins B2 (riboflavin), C and E, and B-carotene (a precursor to vitamin A); the minerals calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper and iron; dietary fiber; and total phenolics (health-promoting plant compounds). Results found that frozen fruits and veggies are usually just as nutritious as they are when they’re fresh! In some cases, they were even higher in nutritional content!

Birds Eye Classic Mixed Vegtables

So why aren’t Americans getting enough of these vital nutrients from fruits and veggies? The answer is simple, really: time, effort and expense.

If you think about it, fresh fruits and veggies are often costly, especially in parts of the country where certain produce doesn’t grow and needs to be brought in – or even imported from other countries.

Add to the expense aspect that fresh fruits and veggies often need a lot of preparation to eat (hulling strawberries, peeling, dicing and chopping vegetables), sometimes it isn’t convenient to work a lot of fruits and vegetables into our diets. I was working on an Eat Fresh Challenge the past few weeks and it reminded me just how much work it is to chop and dice all of the fresh vegetables necessary for most recipes!

These are some of the reasons why many Americans don’t get the recommended daily allowance of fruit and vegetables – but there is an easier (and often less expense) way to get more fruits and vegetables into our diets: frozen food!

Veggies

Freezing is simply nature’s pause button. Frozen fruits and vegetables are picked at the peak of ripeness and frozen, which locks in the nutrient value. Frozen fruits and vegetables offer us a more conveinent, affordable way to simplify meal preparation and fill our family’s bellies full of healthy fruits and vegetables.

I always keep my freezer stocked full of frozen fruits and vegetables because they are so easy to cook with. I was in the mood to make a Hearty Minestrone Soup recipe the other day and instead of spending an hour chopping vegetables, I bought a carton of tomato sauce and a bag of Bird’s Eye Classic Mixed Vegetables and a bit of ground pork. It literally took me five minutes to prep the soup, and that was just because I had to cook the ground pork!

The result was a delicious soup that Angeline and I enjoyed while she was home sick from school, and it was so easy to make!

A Homemade Hearty Minestrone Soup Recipe - the perfect hearty soup for a cold fall evening!

Easy Homemade Hearty Minestrone Soup Recipe

5 from 1 vote
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Easy Homemade Hearty Minestrone Soup

Course Main

Ingredients

  • 1 bag Bird's Eye Classic Mixed Vegetables
  • 1 16 ounce carton of tomato sauce
  • 1 16 ounce carton of vegetable stock
  • 1 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 cup of elbow macaroni
  • 1 lb ground pork You can substitute beef or chicken
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Instructions

  1. In a pan over medium-high heat, brown ground pork.
  2. In a large pot, add vegetable stock, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and seasonings. Mix well.
  3. Add elbow macaroni, cooked ground pork and vegetables and stir.
  4. Let cook over medium heat for ten to fifteen minutes.

Hearty Minestrone Soup Recipe

To learn more about the benefits of frozen food, check out the Frozen Food Foundation Twitter and like the Frozen Food Foundation Facebook page!

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Filed Under: Recipes

About Jenn

Jenn, AKA "The Rebel Chick," is a single woman who strives to help her readers live their best lives possible. Whether it be through sharing new recipes, sharing her dating stories, or encouraging people to embrace adventure and travel, she aims to inspire people to live full, happy and authentic lives.

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Comments

  1. Robin (Masshole Mommy) says

    October 28, 2014 at 2:19 pm

    That soup sounds perfect for a chilly winter night. Nom!!

    Reply
  2. Tracey says

    October 28, 2014 at 3:17 pm

    This soup sounds perfect for this cold, fall weather! Never would have thought to add frozen veggies – so smart!

    Reply
  3. TerriAnn @ Cookies & Clogs says

    October 28, 2014 at 4:37 pm

    Love your use of frozen veggies in this recipe. I also find that having frozen vegetables on hand make us more likely to eat them as fresh can go bad so quickly.

    Reply
  4. Kenda says

    October 28, 2014 at 5:29 pm

    The minestrone sounds like it would be a perfect fall recipe. I like that you can use frozen veggies in it because they are so much easier to handle and use.

    Reply
  5. Marybeth Hamilton says

    October 28, 2014 at 5:33 pm

    I love comparing frozen veggies to a “pause button’. It just makes it all make sense. I’ve never seen such pretty frozen vegetables, either!

    Reply
  6. Pam says

    October 28, 2014 at 5:47 pm

    This soup looks really good! I love using frozen vegetables, they taste great and save so much time.

    Reply
  7. Liz Mays says

    October 28, 2014 at 6:10 pm

    That looks so chock full of goodness. I love when the spoon doesn’t come up with just broth. YUM!

    Reply
  8. Catherine S says

    October 28, 2014 at 8:44 pm

    Thanks for the great soup recipe. Onlookers healthy, quick and easy on week nights.

    Reply
  9. Krystal says

    October 28, 2014 at 8:46 pm

    5 stars
    I love frozen veggies! It’s so much easier to prepare and the nutrients are the same!

    Reply
  10. Felicia says

    October 28, 2014 at 9:00 pm

    We are on a soup kick around here. What a great way to make a favorite a lot easier.

    Reply
  11. April @ Everyday Fitness and Nutrition says

    October 28, 2014 at 9:32 pm

    My husband is a huge fan of minestrone soup so I’m sure he would love this recipe. I prefer using fresh vegetables but we always keep frozen veggies on hand to make sure we are always stocked with veggies.

    Reply
  12. Dawn says

    October 28, 2014 at 10:09 pm

    5 stars
    This is a great recipe. I’m a big fan of frozen ingredients. It saves SO much time.

    Reply
  13. Janell Poulette says

    October 28, 2014 at 11:26 pm

    My 6 year old son loves soup! This is such an easy way to throw a soup together for him!

    Reply
  14. Melinda says

    October 29, 2014 at 7:52 am

    we always have a stock of frozen veggies on hand. This soup sounds amazing. I always order it out but never make it. Thanks for the kick in the pants

    Reply
  15. Lori Gunn says

    October 29, 2014 at 11:21 am

    5 stars
    Excellent, appetizing display of the soup. I enjoyed your comment about the work of chopping and dicing. I made soup the other night and simply shredded the carrots into the broth. I’ll have to stock up on frozen carrots for the times when neat cubes are called for.

    Reply
  16. Melissa @ This Girl's Life Blog says

    October 29, 2014 at 11:40 am

    I love hearty soups. Growing up and even still has always made soup more soupy and it was never how I liked it. I always had to add a whole sleeve for of crushed crackers. lol

    Reply
  17. Christie says

    October 29, 2014 at 1:12 pm

    Love the colorful soup! We’re always looking for more ways to add veggies to our days, yum!

    Reply
  18. Ann Bacciaglia says

    October 29, 2014 at 1:47 pm

    This soup looks so delicious i want to have a bowl right now. I love to make soup especially at this time of the year. I use frozen vegetables when i can not get fresh veggies.

    Reply
  19. Kristin says

    October 29, 2014 at 2:19 pm

    This looks and sounds so good. I’ve printed a copy of later. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  20. Pauline Cabrera says

    October 29, 2014 at 8:10 pm

    Delish! This calls for a new comfort food to add my recipe.

    Reply
  21. Shell says

    October 29, 2014 at 8:40 pm

    Your soup looks yummy! Frozen veggies are so convenient.

    Reply
  22. Tammy says

    October 29, 2014 at 11:13 pm

    What a great lunch or dinner option for a chilly fall or winter day.. Add garlic bread sticks and you’ve got a restaurant worthy meal.

    Reply
  23. Lara says

    October 30, 2014 at 9:29 am

    5 stars
    That looks delicious, and healthy! I love how easy it is too!

    Reply
  24. Dina says

    November 1, 2014 at 4:40 pm

    My grandma made this amazing mixed veggie casserole that I loved. I hadn’t even thought about it until I saw this. I’m going to pull that recipe out for Thanksgiving.

    Reply
  25. Theresa @ Faith and Family Reviews says

    November 2, 2014 at 10:56 pm

    Looks great! We eat a lot of ground beef and pasta dishes, this would be a new one with a twist to try out. Thanks!

    Reply
  26. Shannon Gosney says

    November 2, 2014 at 11:15 pm

    Bird’s Eye is a great brand! This sounds like a yummy recipe.

    Reply
  27. christina p says

    December 1, 2014 at 10:26 pm

    Perfect for the cold weather we have outside. Thanks for the post.

    Reply
  28. M.Clark says

    December 8, 2014 at 1:15 am

    Yum, this looks delicious, what a great Winter dish. It’s always nice to find vegetarian or vegan dishes. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

    Reply

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