Veggie Soup

I've got my momentum going now.  Thanks to the water fitness class at the Y, I started the new year with a lot of hope.  I'm definitely more flexible and stronger than I was a month ago.  My cardio endurance is greater.  And I didn't gain weight over Christmas.

I'm still making the green smoothies, and I think they help with easing hunger, building nutrition, and promoting weight loss.  Now I'm making fresh vegetable soup for the same reasons.  So warm and good for winter!  

6-8 cups organic vegetable broth

1-3 tablespoons each of herbs (as you prefer) -- chives, oregano, basil, parsley

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt to taste

1 onion, chopped finely

1 stalk celery (or celery salt)

12 cups organic veggies chopped into bite-sized pieces -- carrots, bell pepper, mushrooms, cabbage, greens, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, etc.

Put broth in a large stock pot, add seasonings, and bring to a boil.  Add chopped vegetables and bring to a boil until veggies soften as much as you like them.  You may wish to add harder veggies (carrots, thick greens like kale) first and softer veggies (pepper, zucchini) last to preserve texture.

When the soup is done, I let is cool until barely warm and then put it into single serving containers.  They go into the fridge to chill and then into the freezer.  I'm getting in the habit of moving one or two from freezer to fridge for thawing each day.  I microwave them as a snack or appetizer.  (I love the Martha Stewart glass containers from Kmart!)

In this last batch, I added beets.  Ugh.  Won't do that again.  The whole soup is Barbie pink and tastes overwhelmingly of beet.  My favorite soup is heavy on the mushrooms and greens.