Vegetable Soup

Vegetable soup is always a great way to get a generous helping of vegetables in one meal, and has warm and satisfying flavor to boot! This vegetable soup recipe features eight vegetables, each one adding its own great flavor and texture to the tasty broth, not to mention great color! Some white beans (pinto beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas) or other beans may also be used) and noodles are also added, giving this soup something extra to sink your teeth into. Let's first talk about the vegetables. This easy healthy soup features zucchini, celery, spinach, tomatoes, onion, green beans, leek and potato, all of which are cut into nice bite-size chunks. Only the onions are first sautéed in some olive oil; the remaining vegetables are simply added to the pot. (If you love corn, feel free to add a small can (6-8 oz. can).

When it comes to exploring healthy soup recipes for weight loss, vegetable soups are always a popular choice, not only because of their nutritional value, but because they are almost always low in calories. You can easily reduce the calories in this soup simply by omitting the noodles and/or white beans, though you might find yourself hungry again a little sooner than if you had included the noodles and beans. You can also add some additional flavor (and protein) to this vegetable soup, simply by adding some cooked bite-size chunks of chicken or turkey or some small cooked shrimp at the same time you add the vegetables to the soup pot.

Another great thing about this vegetable soup is how quick and easy it is to make. The soup basically takes 30 minutes to cook, with only a few minutes more to sauté the onions and to cook the noodles and heat the beans during the last 5 minutes of the cooking time. This vegetable soup recipe calls for vermicelli noodles, though other thin long noodles may be used, such as spaghetti, capellini, etc. Breaking the noodles into halves or thirds might make dishing this soup up a little easier, though is not necessary. If you enjoy vegetable soup with a generous amount of broth, feel free to add an addtional cup of water at the beginning of cooking. If you have any leftovers and notice after taking them out of the refrigerator that there appears to be less broth (likely due to the beans and noodles soaking up some of the broth), you can add some canned vegetable broth, if desired, though you might want to season the soup with a little more salt and pepper if you do.

Lastly, what really gives this vegetable soup its fabulous final touch is a generous topping of grated swiss cheese (or any other cheese you prefer, such as pepper jack, cheddar, mozzarella, smokey cheeses, etc.). Yes, this will add on a few more calories, but will make this soup more filling and satisfying - and oh, the flavor! Sprinkling a few croutons on top of that will add even more spectacular flavor as well as a welcomed crunch! (Caesar flavored croutons add great seasoning to this soup, though any flavor croutons will do. If you'd like to make your own homemade croutons, see Croutons.)