New Year Warm-up
Now that the holidays are done, many of us are looking to simplify the way we eat after enjoying rich holiday meals and lots of eating out. It’s also a wonderful time to capitalize on cupboard staples and put them to good use in simple, nutritious meals.
Warming soups and stews hold a natural appeal during the chilly weather season. What could be better to bring the cozy to a cold evening or after an invigorating walk in the crisp air than a nourishing bowl of hearty comfort?
These cozy winter recipes also answer the call for simplicity. Highly satisfying, they need not be difficult to prepare and enjoy. Made with nutritious, whole ingredients that we may likely already have on hand, soups and stews are also a great way to use up leftover holiday ingredients, allowing us to minimize waste and save money.
One of their greatest benefits? These recipes can be enjoyed now or frozen and stored for future meals, providing easy answers for that inevitable question, “What’s for dinner?”
Read on to discover five recipes for simple, comforting meals that are just what you need to kick off the new year.
This creamy, puréed soup can be made from scratch but makes an excellent vehicle for using up leftover cooked cauliflower. Thickened with potatoes and cashews, this bisque has a rich, creamy texture with just a hint of garlic. Don’t skip the final touch of lemon thyme oil―a surprise bright flavour boost.
With its warm fragrant spices and rich tomato sauce, this excellent vehicle for using up leftover turkey or roast chicken will be a recipe you’ll want to have on repeat. Save yourself some time by using a store-bought rotisserie chicken, which will yield lots of delicious tender meat and the basis of a rich stock. A touch of sweetness from prunes lends a special touch to this hearty stew that’s finished with toasted sesame seeds and fresh, fragrant parsley.
The simplicity of this soup, which comes together in about 20 minutes, belies its sophisticated flavour. After building a solid flavour base from a standard mirepoix of carrots, onions, and celery, the chickpeas are simmered in vegetable broth until the vegetables are tender. A heap of healthy greens with a dash of zingy, bright flavour, starring tarragon and lemon juice, adds the finishing touches.
This soup takes a shortcut to flavour by adding ginger, garlic, and a dash of heat to your favourite vegetable stock. It’s further enriched with mushrooms, soy sauce, and a dash of peanut butter for a rich broth that’s poured over prepared vegetables, in this case edamame, bok choy, carrots, and green onion. Feel free to vary the ingredients with whatever you have in your fridge. You can kick the spice level up by serving it with a spoonful of your favourite chili oil.
In this delicious way to use up leftover New Year’s Eve smoked salmon, one of salmon’s best friends, asparagus, is happy to help bring the veg to this rich and vibrant chowder. The chowder’s naturally thick texture comes from potatoes, forgoing the usual heavy cream. Finished with a generous helping of herbs, it’s full of that lemony, anise taste of which fresh dill is the champion.
This collection was originally published in the January 2026 issue of alive magazine.
