Tuscan Vegetable Soup

I am trying to get back on the wagon post-Thanksgiving. To be fair, I can't just blame Thanksgiving for the pounds I've packed on lately. A great deal of it is just semester-living. Mondays and Tuesdays I'm at school until 10:00 pm, Wednesdays we've been getting home around 9:00 ... the last thing I feel like doing is cooking. And even if I did there's no time to do it! So with the combination of not having making time to exercise and the easy deliciousness unhealthiness of Fresh Tortillas nachos, well I am nearly 10 pounds from where I'd truly like to be.

So my solution for the last two weeks of the semester ... SOUP! I love soup. I adore it. So.much. You have no doubt heard my insane ravings about Butternut Squash Soup lately. Every time I go to the store I seem to come home with four of them. Thank goodness I can still make a few more batches! But I'm looking to change it up a little. I need more veg in my life. My goal is to lose that 10 pounds by the time the Justice Project goes up in February. Today I read a bunch of Blu's Hanging on the elliptical and made Tuscan Vegetable Soup.

My mom gave me this recipe over a year ago. I have no idea where she got it from, but it is some seriously fabulous and healthy soup. Here's what you need:

Ingredients:
2 15 oz cans of cannelini beans (I didn't have these today so I used 1 can of chickpeas instead)
1 T olive oil
1/2 lg onion, diced (I definitely used a whole one)
2 carrots, diced (I'm lazy. I chopped)
2 stalks celery, diced
1 sm zucchini, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 3. Gotta love garlic)
1 t dried thyme
1/2 t dried sage
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
32 oz chicken (or veg) broth
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (I found fire-roasted ones at the store. Very tasty!)
2 c baby spinach (I used fresh not-baby spinach)

Heat the oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven or stock pot or what-have-you over med-high heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, salt and pepper. I chopped onions and carrots first to get them on the heat while I chopped the celery, zucchini, and garlic. Worked just fine, though they definitely cooked longer than the suggested 5 minutes. You could also use fresh herbs instead of dried -- just increase to 1 T fresh thyme and 2 t fresh sage. I was heavier-handed with the dried herbs than listed and just dumped them in. I like herbs.

Once the veg are tender, add the broth and the tomatoes and bring to a boil. While this is heating, mash one can of beans.

I was trying to cut calories in this soup so I used only one can of beans and mashed half. The texture didn't turn out as nicely as if I'd used two cans, but it was still very tasty. Also note to self, the cannelini beans definitely work better than chickpeas.

Once the soup comes to a boil add the mashed beans and the whole beans and the spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes. Top w/grated Parmesan cheese. The cheese is so good!

I let the soup sit for awhile to let those spices ruminate. It's even better the next day, so I'm looking forward to lunch tomorrow. We served this up tonight with some toasted Italian bread and black olive tapenade. Delicious.

Later this week, I'm planning on some Cream of Asparagus, Herbed Pea Soup, Split Pea Soup, and of course another round or two of Butternut Squash Soup. That should hold us until December 15 when the final papers are all due.