Slimming Soup!

Did you know that people who eat soup before a meal, tend to eat less? Why? Well, soup is generally full of water which fills you up, leaving less space for other foods! Simple concept really! Some soups however are full of cream, butter or fried additions, so obviously these types are not the best option! 😛

It’s very windy here today and soup is definitely welcome! We do often have soup – usually lentil or chickpea or beans, but this soup… this soup was made as part of a plan. Actually… two plans! The first plan was to use up all the vegetables which we keep harvesting from the allotment, the second plan was to make a soup which could be eaten over the course of a few days (for lunch and dinner) to see if this was a feasible way of  getting rid of a few pounds! 😀

The soup can of course (as with most of our recipes) be fully customised to what vegetables you have, following the basic recipe principles. You can use a small amount of oil to cook the base vegetables – but remember that a tablespoon of oil contains 120 calories!!! If you freely pour the oil into your pan, likely is you will use more than this, so I would always recommend measuring the oil or using a spray or spritzer oil if you feel the need to use it.

What vegetables are good to use in this soup? The best vegetables are ones with a high water content (read, least calories) such as courgettes, tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, peppers, spinach and carrots. We do add starchier vegetables to add a bit of flavour such as sweet potato, sweetcorn and peas, but as long as these are additions, the calorie content will remain low.

The soup as it is – un-blended and full of delicious vegetables.

So, what was the outcome? It is a tasty soup! It depends what you are used to eating, but this soup can help you to monitor what you are eating over a few days. Instead of opening the fridge or the cupboards wondering what to eat, picking or grazing, there is the soup- all ready for you to heat up and eat! 😀 You can eat it as it is, or blend it – blended is creamier and more palatable and if you are strict with the other foods you are consuming (read, don’t eat a bar of chocolate for dessert or dip hunks of fresh bread in it)! then this soup can help you drop a few pounds in a few days! 😀

Who wants a bowlful? This version is part blended, part not!

I’m taking this over to Angie’s Fiesta Friday this week co-hosted by the lovely ladies Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook and Jen @ Apply To Face Blog. Come on over and join the party! There’s always so many great blogs to visit and loads of delicious new foods to try! See you there! 🙂

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Speak soon!

Laurena x

Here’s the recipe…

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Slimming Soup

A creamy soup which is low calorie and can help you lose a few pounds! 

Created by:: Laurena @LifeDietHealth

Gather

• 3 parsnips cubed
• 2 sweet potatoes cubed
• 2 carrots cubed
• 1/2 small white cabbage shredded
• 5-6 mini corn cobs whole
• 2 green chillies whole
• 6-7 tomatoes whole (cores removed)
• 2-3 garlic cloves whole
• 4-5 litres boiling water
• 3-4 large courgettes grated
• 3 tablespoons tomato puree
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon mixed herbs or Italian seasoning
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (*optional)
• handful of spinach roughly chopped
• cup of frozen peas
• cup of frozen sweetcorn

Prepare

1. Heat a very large saucepan, add the parsnip, sweet potato and carrot and cook until starting to char (stir so they don't stick). You can use a very small amount of oil if you wish (1-2 teaspoons max).

2. Add the cabbage and allow to soften before placing the corn cobs, chilli, garlic and tomatoes on top of the other vegetables.

3. Pour water over everything and cover with a lid for a minute, then carefully remove the tomatoes (use a slotted spoon). Allow the tomatoes to cool slightly before removing the skins and returning them to the pan. Cook for half an hour.

4. Carefully remove the corn cobs (eat them later or use for something else) and the chillies, then stir the courgette in, top up with water if needed then re-cover.

5. Make a paste with the tomato puree, paprika, herbs, salt, pepper and nutritional yeast (if using). Spoon some of the soup liquid into the paste and mix well until the paste is runny and can be poured. Add to the soup and mix well.

6. Allow to cook for a further half an hour, then add the spinach, peas and sweetcorn (cook for five minutes).

7. Either eat the soup as it is, blend it in batches (allow to cool first) or do half and half so you have a creamy base with pieces of vegetables in.

8. Enjoy! 

Tips & Storage

• This makes a large quantity of soup to be consumed over three days by one person. Always keep refrigerated and reheat individual portions as necessary.
• Use your own choice of vegetables and vary them each time you make this soup!
• If you don't need this to be a slimming soup, feel free to use oil to cook the vegetables in or add some milk or cream to make this suitable for everyone.
• Serve with a spoon of natural yogurt (we used coconut) and garnish with chopped chives.
• The soup should be flavoursome enough without adding any additional flavouring, but if you wish to add some bouillon or stock feel free to do so (check the fat content if using as a slimming soup).
• Eat as much of this soup as you like until you are full - add more ground pepper or chilli flakes to vary the taste.

 

Delicious vegetable soup ready for lunch!

Serve with a dollop of natural yogurt (or a swirl if your yogurt is runny!)