No Croutons Required - The Winner for February and the Theme for March

This month we have two winners for the February creamy soup and salad challenge. Congratulations to Heather of Gluten-Free Cat, who entered this mouthwatering and nourishing Curried Ginger Carrot Soup.

Also congratulations to Adam and Theresa of Yogi Kitchen who entered this tempting and most rustic Middle Eastern Minestrone.

I will be hosting the next edition of No Croutons Required. The challenge this month is to come up with a soup or salad featuring whole aduki beans or mung beans. Split mung beans are also acceptable. Spice it up and send your submissions by the 20th of this month. I will change things up a bit this time around and you may enter any vegetarian dish, be it a casserole or baked good containing these most wholesome legumes.

Azuki beans are an Asian bean that is often made into desserts and sweet pastes. More savory creations are soups and salads. High in fiber, protein, complex carbohydrates and iron, these delightful little red beans are sure to please legume fanatics.

Mung beans are native to India and Pakistan. The possibilities are endless and like azuki beans, these little green beans are just plain good for you and oh so tasty. Easy to digest and because the texture of azuki beans and mung beans are rather similar, I have often combined them with mung beans in the same dish and use them interchangeably.

For a recap of the guidelines, check here.