Me, I love salads...in the summer. I can tolerate them in the spring and even a warm fall but when the mercury drops...I want soup. Hot tasty bone warming soup. I just can't eat a salad when it is cold out, even when I know it is good for me and my weight loss goals. Insert salad soup...my winter salad.
Salad soup came to me years ago before I had kids when I was regularly active and coincidentally 30 lbs lighter. I spent my winter Sundays making a huge pot of it for the coming week, I ate a ton of it. My mom introduced me to a weight watchers "free" soup or would be now considered zero points. Filled with veges and reminiscent of the cabbage soup diet's only meal it was tasty. I must have called that woman 20 times asking for that recipe and no matter how many times I wrote it down I lost it so one day rather than call her again for it I just improvised. The result is a fat free, veggie filled soup that replaces my salads in the winter.
Why is it called salad soup? Well first I like catchy fun names, second it replaces my salads and lastly it is as versatile and changeable as a salad. It is a basic soup that starts with cabbage, tomatoes, onions & broth. Then from there you add whatever low starch veggies you like. I almost always start with cabbage, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, green beans and kale. I have also added carrots, turnips, cauliflower and broccoli. One time I added green peppers but they were awful and I could barely eat the soup. I love green peppers but the cooking time brought out the bitterness of them. blecht.
The cool thing is after you chop everything and throw it in a pot, it does the rest of the work, you could even put it in a crock pot. After the soup is ready you can change it up just like you would a salad, it never gets old. I eat it as basic as with a little lemon pepper to as elaborate as adding white beans and chicken. It can be a hunger beating snack or a full meal. It is a total chameleon to your taste and desire for the day. Beat salad boredom anyone...
I don't actually have a recipe for this but I am going to do my best. Really don't be afraid of it, it is completely adaptable and hard to mess up.
Salad Soup
One head of cabbage, chopped or shredded ( I have been using Trader Joe's shredded bagged cabbage)
1 28oz can tomatoes
1 large or 2 small zucchini, bite size pieces
1 med onion, chopped
water or broth
soup base (if using water)
salt & pepper
other add ins - carrots, green beans, turnips, kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts. Any non starch vegetable.
Place all chopped vegetables in a large stock pot, add water (or broth) to just covered. add some salt and pepper (you can add more to taste later) and a good spoon of soup base. I used Penzy's chicken soup base in this one, but beef or vegetable will work. Give it a stir.
Now bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, cover and let cook. I let it cook close to an hour, when I feel like the veggies are all done but not mushy and I can smell the flavors melded together.
Now place in a pretty bowl and enjoy. This is when you can enjoy plain (as above) or add in whatever you like. Sometimes I add a cubed cheese stick (I find shredded cheese too stringy haha) or white beans for protein but you can really add anything. Below is a list of some suggested add ins.
Beans - white and garbonzo are best but red kidney are good as well.
Cheese (keep it low fat and small amounts)
shredded chicken
tuna
salmon
pine nuts
hot sauce
lemon pepper
chopped hard boiled egg whites
ff Greek yogurt
various seasonings, I add these to each bowl so I can mix it up. I buy a lot of Penzy's spices and their blends some of my favorite are northwoods, lemon pepper, old world and turkish seasoning. They all change the flavor and make it seem like a different soup each time.
The soup is filling by itself but I find that for a sustaining meal I need a hunk of protein. I hope you give this recipe a try! Enjoy!
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