Soup warms the soul

I just love the way that soup warms me from the inside out, fills my belly quickly, and leaves me feeling completely satisfied... don't you??

Thanks to the Desjardins' Biggest Loser, I've found myself really thinking hard about the food that I choose to put into my body. It's also really highlighted my mindless snacking problem. It's not that I sit down with a bag of chips and just eat non-stop (I can't even remember the last time I bought chips), it's just that little bite of something here and there that really end up adding up. So I've worked hard to stock my fridge with lots of fruits and veggies... these healthy foods ameliorate this with the nice satisfying CRUNCH they deliver and fill me up more substantially than any 100-calorie pack ever will.

Here's a recipe I created today for a healthy, hearty Vegetable Soup. The creole seasoning in this recipe adds a really nice spice (which I love!) and the variety of shapes/textures/flavors of the veggies makes it really fun to eat. The nice thing is that you really can add or subtract whatever vegetables you like and it will still taste just as good! I chose some of my favorites that I happened to have on hand.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 cups chicken broth (leftover from when I made stuffed peppers!) - you can use vegetable broth
• 1 cup low sodium V8
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• 1small onion, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 2 carrots, diced (or sliced)
• 1 cup green beans (mine were canned, no salt added)
• 1 cup sliced zucchini (frozen) - cut in half
• 1 cup sliced yellow squash (frozen) - cut in half
• 1t dry basil
• 1t dry oregano
• Creole seasoning to taste

1. Cut all vegetables to the desired shape/size you prefer. I varied the shapes for texture purposes. Set all vegetables aside. I know from my extensive Food Network watching that this is called mise en place, aka having all ingredients ready before you begin cooking.  ;) Do I sound professional yet?
2. Add broth, V8, water and Creole Seasoning to a large pot. Bring to a boil.                              
3. Add vegetables and seasonings, stir, return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes until all vegetables are tender.

So easy! Depending on how tender you want your vegetables, you may want to add the ones that take longer to cook (carrots, celery) a little before you add the rest of the ingredients. I enjoyed having a little bit of "bite" to some of the pieces so this worked perfectly for me. :)

I topped my soup with a little sprinkle of parmesan cheese, which I couldn't really taste, so it's probably not worth it in the future.

Don't forget to wear your cute apron while you cook... it just makes the whole experience more fun!