Homemade Vegetable Broth

We are all looking for ways to stretch our nutritious foods a little farther these days. While chopping fresh vegetables for snacks over the past 2 weeks, I saved the extra bits in a gallon zipper bag in the refrigerator. With some water and some spices, these leftovers will give everything needed for a perfect soup base. The scraps I had were the equivalent of the amount of vegetables in the ingredients list, if you do not have scraps, whole vegetables work wonderfully!

Makes 4 servings
Serving size: 2 cups
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 1-4 hours

Ingredients for homemade vegetable broth

• 4 celery stalks
• 1 carrot stalk
• 1 onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 8 cups water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp thyme
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Directions for homemade vegetable broth

1. Place all vegetable bits into large stock pot and cover with water.
2. Add all spices and bring to boil.
3. Turn down heat to simmer for at least 1 hour but longer if possible. The longer it simmers, the more robust the flavors.
4. Place large bowl or pot under a strainer and pour vegetables and broth into it to strain out the large chunks.
5. Use in any recipe that calls for broth. Freeze if not going to use immediately.

Note: Nutrition information is an estimation using half of the nutrients provided from the vegetables as they are strained out of the broth.