MONDAY RECIPE POST - CABBAGE SOUP - SERVES 6

We love soup in our house.  As soon as the weather turns chillier, the search is on.  We have several favorites we make, and enjoy trying different recipes, finding this one at Eating Well. The original version is at this link.  

There are a variety of different Cabbage Soups in our make-again folder, but anything that has even the slightest variation, the motto is ‘lets give it a try’.  

Though not necessarily looking for a weight loss cabbage soup, we love anything with cabbage and as long as it sounds good, it is added to the collection.   Also, always interested in adding extra veggies to our daily mealtimes.

Weight Loss Cabbage Soup 

Serves: 6  

Serving size: about 2 cups

Calories: 133 calories per serving

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

½ teaspoon ground pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 medium head green cabbage, halved and sliced

1 tomato, chopped

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, 6 to 8 minutes. Add bell pepper, garlic, Italian seasoning, pepper and salt and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add broth, cabbage and tomato; increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, partially cover and cook until all the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar.

There was half a box of Bowtie Pasta left in the pantry from another meal.  Not wanting to have all the broth absorbed after deciding to cook the pasta, and not having extra broth which I could have added to compensate, not wanting to add water in case it diluted the taste, the pasta was cooked separately and then added to the soup just before serving.  The pasta would have absorbed the flavor of the broth, only adding to the goodness. Next time this is made, I will remember to add pasta and cook as suggested, plus a cup or two of extra broth.

I sprinkled chopped parsley on mine, but it was suggested to add grated cheese also.  I would like Cheddar or Parmesan.

We didn't have a crusty roll. I thought I would make a batch of cornbread to serve with our next meal.  It is quite a hardy soup - you can eat it on its own.

I will add two more carrots, and a container of sliced mushrooms.  An extra tomato would be nice.

We both thought the Italian Seasoning was perfect.  It gave a nice subtle flavor to the broth.

We didn't add the vinegar to the pot as suggested, instead adding a small splash over our soup and stirred in at the table.  It was nice but be careful not to add too much.  For our own taste we definitely preferred it that way.  We often add vinegar to other cabbage meals.  

Not having any white wine vinegar, we used rice wine vinegar.

There are enough leftovers to last a few days.  I read on the original that you can make it four days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.  You can freeze up to 3 months and the suggestion was to portion them in individual sized containers, for ease of grab and go.  (I ended up freezing two containers for later.)

If you prefer the original website address instead of using the link, I have remembered to add it for you.  

https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/269488/cabbage-diet-soup/