Vegetable Soup

Name: Vegetable Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 2, sliced Carrots (Mature); 1 small, chopped Onions (Yellow); 3 cups Low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth; 1 cup, chopped Cabbage (Green); 1, can, low-sodium, undrained Beans (Snap, Green); 1, can diced, low-sodium, undrained Tomatoes (Canned); 1 medium, chopped Zucchini; 1/4 tsp, to taste Garlic powder; 1/2 tsp, to taste Italian seasoning

Whatever is in the drawer, one pot, forty minutes — 314 calories a bowl.

71kcal per serving

4.6gprotein

11.6gcarbs

1.4gfat

Per 1 serving of 6 — about 1 1/4 cups. Estimated; may vary.

Prep10 min

Cook25 min

Total35 min

Makes6 servings

Difficultyeasy

A USDA MyPlate soup that costs almost nothing and gives you 4 g of fiber a bowl for 71 calories. Built from two cans and whatever is in the vegetable drawer, which is exactly what it was designed for.

One rule decides the texture: the zucchini goes in at the end, for three or four minutes. Everything else can simmer happily, but zucchini collapses fast and clouds the broth.

The other thing worth knowing — do not drain the cans. The liquid from the green beans and tomatoes is part of the broth here.

Ingredients

Amounts below make 6 servings, one serving is about 1 1/4 cups.

Carrots (Mature)2, sliced (122 g)
Onions (Yellow)1 small, chopped (70 g)
Low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth3 cups (720 g)
Cabbage (Green)1 cup, chopped (70 g)
Beans (Snap, Green)1, can, low-sodium, undrained (240 g)
Tomatoes (Canned)1, can diced, low-sodium, undrained (411 g)
Zucchini1 medium, chopped (200 g)
Garlic powder1/4 tsp, to taste
Italian seasoning1/2 tsp, to taste

Cook’s tips

Add the zucchini at the very end. Everything else can simmer; zucchini collapses in about five minutes and turns the pot cloudy.
Do not drain the cans. The liquid from the green beans and tomatoes is part of the broth in this recipe, and draining it leaves the soup thin on flavor.
It keeps 4 days at 40°F (4°C) or below and freezes for 3 months. The zucchini softens further on reheating, which is fine.
Contains: none of the nine major food allergens. Check your broth label, since some brands include soy or wheat.
Naturally gluten-free. Vegetable broth in place of chicken broth makes it vegan with no other change.

Method

Wash your hands and all surfaces before you start.
Slice the carrots and chop the onion.
Warm a large saucepan over low heat with a little oil or non-stick spray. Cook the carrots, onion and garlic powder for about 5 minutes, until the onion softens. Low heat here — you want them soft, not browned.
Add the broth, cabbage, green beans with their liquid, tomatoes with their liquid and the Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil.
Cover, lower the heat and simmer about 15 minutes, until the carrots give easily to a knife.
Stir in the chopped zucchini and cook 3 to 4 minutes more. No longer — zucchini goes to mush fast and it is the one vegetable here that can.
Taste for salt and serve hot.

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