Monday, January 30, 2012

Minestrone soup - the lazy way


I've been loving soup and sandwich for lunch lately and I would rather make soup and bring it than eat canned soup. It just seems so much healthier to me.

So here is the original recipe that I've been using:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/11/crock-pot-minestrone-soup.html

I was introduced to www.skinnytaste.com a few months ago and I LOVE it!  I love being able to make more healthful versions of usually decadent or unhealthy food. 

Yesterday when I had originally planned to make soup, I only needed a few things from the grocery store, and used a few substitutions so as to reduce the amount of items that I needed to purchase.  My modifications are as follows:
  • Instead of diced tomatoes, I used canned whole tomatoes and just diced them up (b/c I had a ton of whole tomatoes and didn't get the right size can of diced tomatoes while shopping).
  • I used dried herbs instead of fresh (b/c I was lazy).
  • I added 3 cups of fresh baby spinach instead of 2 (b/c I like spinach).
  • I added 1 cup (before cooking) of ditalini pasta (b/c that is what I had).
  • I added 2 tbsp parmesan cheese (b/c I didn't have a leftover cheese rind).
  • I added more like 4 cups of reduced sodium chicken broth - I didn't measure.  I just poured it in my crock pot until it looked full enough.
For a 1 cup serving here are the nutritional values of my modified/lazy version:

111 calories, 23 g carbs, 0 g fat, 8 g protein, 5 g fiber. 

Paired with a sandwich or salad and it's the perfect lunch for me!


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