0 Pt Veggie Soup!

This post is for my WW meeting buddies, Renay and Barbara.

They asked for a post on my 0 pt soup I'm always mentioning.

Truly this is an essential ingredient in my weight loss tool box.

When I started WW I made sure to keep a big pot of this on hand at all times.

Even now, if I'm trying to get back on track you'll find this soup in my fridge.

I call it button soup because it's more or less me pulling out every veggie in the fridge and throwing it in.

You can change it up any way you like to suit your tastes and needs.

One thing I always enjoy when I make this is how bright and vibrant all those beautiful veggies look on the cutting board and in the pan.

I just look at those and feel a sense of Blessing because I know how wonderfully nourishing they are for my body and how they will serve my family, well, my husband any way.  My son is too picky to eat it but maybe someday....

The other thing you need to know is that I change this up a lot.  I think if you eat the same thing all the time you'll end up hating it, so I change it frequently.

Today as I made it I tried something totally new.  I'll tell you about it in just a bit.

This is how I typically make the base~


Ingredients

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes(I often use fire roasted for extra flavor)

1 yellow onion, diced

1 red bell pepper(or whatever color you like), diced

2 cloves of crushed or minced garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder

2 cups of chopped cabbage

1 cup(or so) of diced carrot

1 medium to large zucchini

8 oz of thinly sliced baby bella or button mushrooms

32 oz broth of your choice(I change it up a lot.  Sometimes chicken and sometimes beef- always low sodium)

*** OPTIONAL***  1/2 skin-on seeded acorn squash cut into one inch cubes.

Spices~

Here's where I change it up.  You can go a lot of different ways here.  Sometimes I use a tsp of smoked paprika with a little cayenne, onion and garlic powder and Italian seasoning.

The last time I made it I used a Tbsp of Bragg Liquid Aminos(or soy sauce) and a Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce.

Today I got a wild hair and used taco and chili spice to taste.  I also added another new veggie to the mix today.

I had an acorn squash on hand that needed to be used and decided to use that.  This is one squash where it's okay to eat the skin.

You can read more about eating the skin on squash here.

To make this easy on myself I decided to keep the skin on so I cut it in half, scooped out the seeds and cut off the stem and then cut it into 1 inch cubes and threw it in the pot.

I thought this would make it thicker and heartier and help fill in the space where my taste buds were missing the bean texture.

Since this is a 0 pt soup I'm leaving the beans out.  However, this fall you must try Alisha Silverstone's Black Bean and Kabocha Sqaush Stew.  It's FANTASTIC!!!

And, it's totally vegan.


Instructions

Spray a large soup pan with cooking spray.

Add in the onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper and saute for 5-7 minutes using broth instead of oil to prevent scorching and sticking.  If I'm adding powdered spices I add it in at this point.

Then add all the remaining ingredients except the zucchini.

Let this simmer for at least 20 minutes.  Then taste it and make sure you're good with the spices you have thus far.

That's the added acorn squash.

If you like the taste then add in the zucchini.  I would only cook this for 10 minutes or so.

The zucchini should be al dente like pasta, meaning crisp tender, not hard and not mushy.

There is nothing worse than mushy zucchini!

Voila!

0 Pt Veggie Soup!

I loved the spicy taste of the taco and chili spices!

And I did love the acorn squash in this.  I will admit that I think I like kabocha squash even better, as does my husband, but this is still very good.

The kabocha has a meatier texture but the acorn squash is more readily available and easier to cut.

You can decide what you throw in your own pot of soup.

This makes a nice large pot.  I often have a cup when I get home from work and then wait an hour or more before I have my dinner.

I also eat this any time I start feeling that jittery, crazy hungry feeling, or what we call hangry.

In addition, if you're out of points for the day this is also a great go-to.

My mom makes a great turkey veggie soup too.  It's not 0 pts but it's crazy delicious!

She usually brings me a big pot and thinks we'll freeze some.  WRONG!

My husband and I love it so much it all gets gobbled up quickly!

I hope you not only enjoy this but that it helps you stay on plan.

It will most certainly nourish your body with all those wonderful vitamins.

After all the more colorful natural foods the better it is for you typically.

We've just gotten back from a weekend away.

When I've indulged on vacation I can't wait to get back and load up on veggies.

This is a great way to do that.

Happy Cooking!