Nutritious Soup

Figure 1. Nutritious Soup.

Source: Personal digital photo Louise Kaestner (2025).

The Story Behind Nutritious Soup

I've been eating soup since the beginning of COVID in 2020. Yes, I am sick of soup. However, I live on a tight budget and this soup works, delivering the nutrients I need to slug my way through another day of existence. When I break the ingredients down for cost per meal for nutritious soup, it works out to be $1.25 AUD. Let's dispense with the pleasentries and get on with it.

Please note: Preparation time for soup is 24 hours. Cooking time for soup in an 8 litre cooker is 24 hours. You will need 48 full hours. Planning ahead is important.

Equipment for Nutritious Soup

• 1 8 litre slow cooker

• 1 ladel

• 12 containers

• 1 strainer

• 1 chopping board

• 1 knife

Ingredients for Nutritious Soup

• Half a 1kg bag of Green Lentils

• Half a 375g bag of Black Beans

• Half a 375g bag of Chick Peas

• 3 carrots

• 3 potatoes

• Half a head of broccoli

• Quarter of a full cauliflower (leaves included)

• Optional: stock to flavour or meat

Figure 2. Pulses

Source: Personal digital photo Louise Kaestner (2025)

Figure 3: Soaking pulses.

Source: Personal digital photo Louise Kaestner (2025)

First Step for Nutritious Soup

Soak pulses in containers for 24 hours before cooking soup. Fill containers a third full with pulses and then fill up with water. When the soak is over and it's time to cook, it is vital you rinse the pulses in a strainer and run fresh water through them. There are antinutrients in pulses, which is why you soak them. They are either toxic or negate the nutritional effect of the nutritious pulses. Therefore, you must rinse. I found when I started rinsing my pulses my soup also tastes better.

Once you've rinsed the pulses, dump them in your 8 lt slow cooker.

Figure 4. Rinsing pulses.

Source: Personal digital photo Louise Kaestner (2025)

Second Step for Nutritious Soup

It's time to chop up the vegetables. Don't bother peeling the carrots or potatoes. Keep the skin. Also, toss the cauliflower leaves in the soup, too. When your starving and low on nutritents, everything counts.

Fill the pot up with water, turn on high and let cook for 24 hours. You don't have to watch it and it won't burn the food. However, if you fill the pot up too high, you may have spillage which is a pain to clean up.

Figure 5. Full slow cooker.

Source: Personal digital photo Louise Kaestner (2025)

Third Step for Nutritious Soup

Once your nutritious soup has cooked on high for 24 hours, turn off and let cool for an hour. Place in containers and store in fridge. You should now have several meals worth of reheatable, nutritious soup that tastes okay. When I make my nutritious soup, I try to organise it so I can have one fresh bowl which tastes supreme!

Annotated Written Appendix for Nutritious Soup

Healthline. 2023. "10 Science-Backed Benefits of Chickpeas." Accessed January 8, 2025. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/chickpeas-nutrition-benefits#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2

This details some of nutrition in this pulse.

Healthline. 2022. "Are Black Beans Healthy? Nutrition, Benefits, and More." Accessed January 8, 2025. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/are-black-beans-healthy#nutrition

This details some of nutrition in this pulse.

Healthline. 2023. "Lentils: Nutrition, Benefits, and How to Cook Them." Accessed January 8, 2025. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/lentils#types

This details some of nutrition in this pulse.

Kaestner, Louise. 2025. Figure 1. Nutritious Soup. Personal photo.

Photos are good for SEO.

Kaestner, Louise. 2025. Figure 2. Pulses. Personal photo.

Photos are good for SEO.

Kaestner, Louise. 2025. Figure 3. Soaking pulses. Personal photo.

Photos are good for SEO.

Kaestner, Louise. 2025. Figure 4. Rinsing pulses. Personal photo.

Photos are good for SEO.

Kaestner, Louise. 2025. Figure 5. Full slow cooker. Personal photo.

Photos are good for SEO.

Kumar, Yogesh, Santanu Basu, Deepika Goswami, Mridula Devi, Uma Shanker Shivhare and Rajesh Kumar Vishwakarma. 2021. "Anti-Nutritional Compounds in Pulses: Implications and Alleviation Methods." Legume Science 4 (2). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/leg3.111

This is a scholarly article on antinutrients.