Pearl Barley Minestrone Soup

In my Minestrone soup I have replaced the traditional pasta with pearl barley to minimize the refined carbohydrates. I have used tinned tomatoes and red kidney beans to save time, but be aware that tinned foods contain added salt and other unnecessary ingredients. It is always best to cook with the freshest ingredients and preferably organic as they may contain more vitamins and minerals than typical supermarket vegetables and not coated in any nasty pesticides and other chemicals.
This recipe is great for a tight budget as it only costs around $20 for the ingredients and makes enough to fill decent sized saucepan. Have fun and play around with the recipe by adding extra veggies or bacon. Enjoy :D

Ingredients

2 tbs of olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
3-4 carrots (or 2 cups), peeled, chopped
4 celery sticks (or 2 cups), chopped
2 potatoes (1 ½ cups), peeled, chopped
2 zucchinis (or 2 cups), chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 ¼ litres (5 cups) of chicken stock  (massels is a good vegan brand and gluten free)
2 cans of red kidney beans (around 300g each), drained, rinsed
2 cans of chopped tomatoes (around 425g each)
½ cup of pearl barley

Method

1. Add olive oil to a saucepan of medium heat, followed with the onion and garlic. Cook for a few minutes till onion softens. Then add carrots, celery, potatoes, zucchini, and leek and cook on a medium heat uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the chicken stock, kidney beans, chopped tomatoes and pearl barley. Cover and bring to the boil. Simmer, covered for 30 mins or until the vegetables are tender. If the soup is too thick add more chicken stock or water until soup is at the right consistency. Serve immediately and enjoy :D