The Shelly Belly

This past Sunday, Kiel and I took a trip to IKEA.  I rarely get to go there because APPARENTLY I lack the ability to go there with a list and a plan and instead spend hours wandering around open mouthed and drooling over the plentiful goodies.  The trip is a long one and the store itself is nestled in between the highway and a hunourmous shopping mall.  In the past I had never considered grabbing a bite to eat while we were out that way to be a big deal, in fact I rather enjoyed the opportunity to go the the McDonalds on the way back and grab a tasty burger.  Obviously though, as a vegan this was a different story.

Due to my 13 mile run that morning, my stomach was protesting its current empty state.  Surrounded by steakhouses, fast food joints and mall food, I began to despair that I would never get to eat.  Luckily, Kiel suggested a place that we had seen a few times before but had never tried.  It was actually a salad restaurant (no wonder this place didn’t really appeal to carnivorous me).

Upon entering, my spirits lifted.  In front of me was the largest self serve salad bar I had ever seen.  I quickly set to work filling my plate full of nutritious veggies in every color of the rainbow.  Dressings were a bit of a challenge, the typical offering was there, ranch, honey mustard, caesar, etc., none of which is on the menu for vegans.  So I settled for a simple vinaigrette and olive oil combination.

When our order was being paid for, the lady at the register informed us that with our order we had access to the soup and pasta bar as well.  Not knowing if I would be able to fit that much food in me, I sat down at a booth to eat my salad first.  I like to people watch so I chose a booth with a good view of the entire restaurant.  I wish I hadn’t.

Every person I saw walk away from the salad bar had plates full of salad, just like me, but I couldn’t tell you what vegetables were on their tray.  Everything they had was covered in a thick layer of opaque salad dressing.  On the other tables where people sat, I saw those same salads next to plates of baked goods and pasta from the pasta area.  Mostly, I noticed, the salads went mostly untouched.  I was just in absolute shock over how unhealthy people could actually make a restaurant that was primarily dedicated to salad!

Once I was finished with my own salad, I decided I did want to see what they had to offer for soup.  The selection was vast, beans and pork, chicken enchilada, chicken noodle, bacon and potato and then when I was just about to give up hope, tomato and onion.  After verifying with the staff that it was made from vegetable broth and not beef and that there was no dairy in the soup, I grabbed a bowl.  It was incredible!  I really enjoyed the brothy soup and decided right away to try and replicate it at home.  Luckily, this experiment was a successful one!  Below I share with you my recipe for Spiced-up Tomato & Onion Soup.

Ingredients:

1 32oz can of diced tomatoes in juice

1 Large sweet onion, sliced into “half rings”

3 Cups veggie broth

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 Teaspoon pepper

1 Teaspoon salt

1 1/2 Teaspoon dried basil

3 Bay leaves

1 Veggie bullion cube

Directions:

1.  Combine all ingredients in large pot and simmer for 1 hour.  Done.

Do you see how simple that was?  Give it a try ASAP!  I guarantee you will love it!  I had it with some nice crusty bread for dipping.  Let me know what you think.  Happy cooking ya’ll!