Tuscan Vegetable Soup

A friend of mine, mentioned this great recipe to me and I didn't want to wait until my post on Wednesday. I figured it is an excellent meal idea for a Sunday since it  takes little preparation and can be made quick. The main addition that puts this recipe over the top is the kidney beans. Beans are great for losing weight, and are very healthy as well as good at fighting diseases. Beans are high in fiber and antioxidants. Another great thing about beans is that they are cheap and can be used as an alternative for meat.

The recipe idea was found at: Beans: Protein-Rich Superfoods

The recipe prepares approximately 12 small bowls (6 large bowls) of soup.

What will you need? 

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups of finely chopped onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried thyme or 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh thyme
• 3 teaspoons of minced garlic
• 4 cups of coarsely chopped green cabbage
• 14.5 ounce can of stewed tomatoes
• 2 cups of sliced celery
• 2 cups of diced carrots
• 8 cups of low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth) 
• 3 cups of diced potatoes
• 1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil
• 3 cups of zucchini
• 15 ounce can of red kidney beans (White kidney beans can be substituted) Make sure they are rinsed and drained
• Optional: Shredded Parmesan cheese

Preparation steps:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, nonstick pan on medium heat. 
2. Add your onion, thyme, and garlic and then let it saute for between 3 and 5 minutes. 
3. Stir in the cabbage, the stewed tomatoes, celery, and carrots and let that saute for between 8 and 10 minutes. 
4. Stir in the chicken broth, potatoes, fresh basil, zucchini, and kidney beans until it comes to a boil. 
5. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the saucepan, and let it simmer for about an hour. 
6. Spoon it into soup bowls and if you decide to use Parmesan cheese then you can place a tablespoon of it over your soup. 
7. Bon appetit! 

Nutritional Information: 

All nutritional information is an educated guess, it varies based on portion sizes. 

Per serving without Parmesan cheese: 138 calories, 7 grams of protein, 24 grams of carbohydrate, 3 grams of fat, 3 mg of cholesterol, 7 grams of fiber, 113 mg of sodium. 

Per serving with Parmesan cheese: 168 calories, 10 grams of protein, 24 grams of carbohydrate, 5 grams of fat, 11 mg of cholesterol, 7 grams of fiber, 241 mg of sodium. 

Try this recipe out and let us know what it is like. Hope you enjoyed this posting and stay tuned for many more coming up within the next couple weeks. Thanks for reading! FOLLOW us on Twitter @budgetsnacks , and LIKE our Facebook page Healthy Students on a Budget ! Have a great rest of the weekend! 

- Kurtis