For the Health Nuts

Being that I was gonna be home alone for a few days and not wanting to cook for one person over and over, I decided to make something that could last me, something that wasn't unhealthy to eat at 10pm after a shift, something that would fill me up after a run, and something that was easy on the wallet. (Total groceries for this was about $15 and it gave me 8 meals) So I made Vegetable Soup. I actually cut this recipe in half and made some changes along the way. Half of this recipe which fed me lunch and dinner for three days (and I still have more) came out to only 580 calories. But, vegetable calories, in my mind, don't count. ha ha. Even if you did count them, cutting this huge amount of soup into 8th (which is about the serving size I've been having) that is only 72.5 calories a meal. That's NOTHING for something that fills you up and is full of nutrition. So here ya go... Ill explain what I did different through the ingredients and directions.

Vegetable Soup Recipe

• 6 large green onions (I used 3)
• 2 green peppers (1 green pepper)
• 1 or 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole) (I used Del Monte diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano and didn't drain them, just tossed in the whole can)
• 3 Carrots (1 Carrot)
• 1 Container (10 oz. or so) Mushrooms (I used fresh mushrooms, cut into thick slices)
• 1 bunch of celery (1/2 bunch, about 3 sticks)
• half a head of cabbage (stuck with the 1/2 head, I like cabbage)
• 1 package Lipton soup mix (1/2 package)
• 1 or 2 cubes of bouillon (optional) (I did not use this)
• 1 48oz can V8 juice (optional) (3 5.5oz. cans of 100% V8 Juice)
• Season to taste with salt, pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, etc. (I added about 2 pinches of salt and about three full grinds of pepper)

Directions:
Slice green onions, put in a pot and start to saute with cooking spray, then add to pot.
Cut green pepper stem end off and cut in half, take the seeds and membrane out. Cut the green-pepper into bite size pieces and add to pot.
Take the outer leafs layers off the cabbage, cut into bite size pieces, add to pot.
Clean carrots, cut into bite size pieces, and add to pot.
Slice mushrooms into thick slices, add to pot.
Clean and dice the celery, add to pot.
Add Lipton's soup mix and the can of diced tomatoes to the pot.
If you would like a spicy soup, add a few pinches of red pepper flakes. (I did, it gave so much flavor)
You can use beef or chicken bouillon cubes for seasonings. These have all the salt and flavors you will need, so don't add any addition salt.
Use about 12 cups of water (or 8 cups and the V8 juice), cover and put heat on low. Let soup cook for a long time - two hours works well. (Since I cut this in half, I did the three cans of V8 Juice and three cups of water, the balance was perfect)


I cooked this soup in my Crock Pot, it's nice to set a timer and forget about something and just enjoy the smells. Once all the ingredients were in I put the Crock Pot on high and let it cook for two hours. When I had to leave for work, I unplugged it, left it there and came home to exactly what I was wanted!

Most vegetables soups are not very exciting, but this was awesome, the spices were perfect and all the vegetables stayed crunchy (I hate mushy cooked vegetables)!