Being a new parent you find How challenging just getting time to make a quick and nutritious meal can be. As someone who is used to cooking as a career this put me in a challenging position. It was 7 pm, I was changing Wyatt and realizing that we had nothing for dinner. Luckily in our fridge I found a number of fresh veggies as well as some ground turkey. With that added to the staples we always keep on hand in our pantry I was able to come up with a quick soup.

While chopping the vegetables I was able to go back and forth from entertaining my now 2 month old to dumping ingredients into my pot for our dinner. Once the water was added I was able to let the soup simmer and come together while I spent time playing with Wyatt.

One of the best things that I love about soups is they aren’t fussy. You add ingredients, simmer them to bring out all the flavors and let them meld together to make something so flavorful but yet also simple. These are the types of meals you need after having a baby especially in those first weeks when everything is fussy.

Turkey, Lentil, & Vegetable Soup

Serves: 6-8

Recipe:

1 lb Ground Turkey

1 cup Lentils

1 medium Onion (diced)

2 each Carrot (diced)

5 cloves Garlic (chopped)

12 each Mushroom (quartered)

1 each Zucchini (diced)

1 each Yellow Squash (diced)

1/2 cup Spinach (chopped)

3-4 sprigs Rosemary (chopped)

6 sprigs Thyme (chopped)

1 Tbs Paprika

to taste Kosher Salt

to taste Black Pepper

72 oz Stock or Water

1 Tbs Olive Oil

Directions:

Heat a pot on medium high heat and add in the olive oil. Add in the onion and carrot, let sweat 1 minute. Add in the ground turkey and let cook 2 minutes. Begin breaking it up so that the turkey is in medium to small chunks (whichever fits with your preference). Season with salt, pepper and paprika and stir to mix in.

Add in the squash, zucchini and mushrooms and stir to combine. Cook 2-3 minutes and then stir in the rosemary and thyme. Stir in the stock or water (whatever you have on hand), bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook 15-30 minutes and adjust seasoning. 2-3 minutes before serving stir in the chopped spinach (this will keep it a brighter green and keep it from overcooking).

Notes: This soup was made with what I had on hand so it can be utilized the same for you. Vegetables can be swapped out, meat could be switched for another and lentils could be replaced with beans.

Let me know how yours turns out and what you have done to make it your own. Enjoy!