Healthy Veggie Soup

There is nothing quite as comforting as a bowl of healthy vegetable soup. Well, maybe a big fat chocolate chip cookie could do the trick, but that's a different comfort. I love encouraging people to eat well, but even I'm not perfect about it myself. According to my boyfriend I don't eat enough veggies. So whenever I feel like I'm in need a big dose of health-- I make this soup.

What I love about this recipe is you can tweak it all you want it it still turns out delicious. I've used canned tomatoes, bean sprouts, chicken, or whatever sounds good to me or I have handy. Since I work from home now I can make a big batch in the afternoon and have it for lunch and dinner for a few days. Cooking healthy makes me feel good and I love passing on the tools/recipes to a healthy life (while sneaking in a chocolate chip every once and a while).

Printable Recipe 
Recipe adapted from Katie Lee Joel's Vegetable Soup 
Yields 8 servings, Prep-10 min, Cook-1 hour and 40 minutes

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and  chopped
1 bay leaf
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium turnip, peeled and chopped
1 pint fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
1.5 cups sugar snap peas
2 quarts low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable)
One 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1.5 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions:
-Heat oil in stock pot over medium heat (I like to use my Le Creuset)
-Add celery, onions, and bay leaf and cook until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes.
-Add carrots, parsnips, turnip, and Brussels sprouts and continue to cook them until tender, about 5 minutes.
-Add the stock and bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for an hour.
-Add the beans, salt, pepper, and simmer for another 30 minutes.

I like to add a little Parmesan cheese to give it a little more flavor. It's all yummy without too much "damage" to your tummy.