Ryan's Minestrone Soup (without pasta)

My hubby Ryan is not too big on veggies but he does love Olive Garden's Minestrone. So, shortly after we got married (5 years ago November), I made it my mission to develop a Minestrone recipe that he would deem just as good as OG's, so that I could get as many veggies into my picky husband as possible. Well, after about 4 years of working on it, I have accomplished the impossible. I have come up with a minestrone, that my husband not only said was as good as OG's, but that he liked it BETTER! Well, I knew I had to write this down. And since I started leaving out the pasta, this delicious soup is LESS THAN 150 calories for 2 cups!!!! And its SO EASY!!! 

Hope you love this as much as my hubby does.


Ryan's Minestrone

*Photo note: This picture makes the soup look a lot more tomatoey than it is. The purple cabbage will turn your soup a darker red when it cooks.



1 small onion- chopped (about 1/3-1/2 cup)
1 med sized zucchini- chopped
2 carrots- chopped or shredded (shredded will cook faster)
1-2 celery stalks with leaves- chopped (celery leaves add so much flavor!)
2 cups purple &/or green cabbage (Chopped)
2 cups baby spinach
5 cloves garlic- minced
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup basil
1 Tbs. dried thyme
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbs. sea salt (more or less to taste)
1 can white beans (drained and rinsed)
4-5 cups vegetable broth (I recommend Swanson brand)
*I have tried this with chicken broth and it didn't turn out as good.
1 can chopped Italian tomatoes with juice. (I recommend S&W Italian recipe diced tomatoes)


1.Prep all ingredients
2.Throw them in a big pot
3. Bring to a boil
4. Turn down heat and let simmer about 30-45 min or until all veggies are cooked. 
(usually when the carrots are done, so is the soup)
5. If you can spare a few extra calories, top with some Parmesan or pecorino Romano.



Nutrition Info

Per 2 cups

Calories- 148.5
Fat- .5g
    Sat- .1g
    Poly- .2g
    Mono- .1g
Chol.- 0
Potassium- 700.8mg
Carb.- 29.5g
Fiber- 6.6g
Sugars- 4.8g
Protein- 8.1g
 

Enjoy!