Karen’s Cabbage Soup

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A few months ago I saw a video from one of my favorite YouTubers, Sophia from My Great Challenge, showing how she makes cabbage soup. I have never been fond of cooked cabbage, but it looked so good and she raved about how good it tasted, so I decided to get all the things and give it a try myself. The fact that it was super low calorie was a bonus. Sophia told us how much of each chopped veggie to add, but then pretty much said to season it to taste. That was the problem, I had no idea how much of the seasonings to try putting in, so I winged it. I really liked it the first time so I kept the seasonings the same and just increased the quantities of some of the veggies the next time I made it. My almost 14-year-old niece was there when I made it the next time with the increased veggies and helped me make it. She knew what was in it and was hesitant to taste it, but after it had cooked a while, she told me she had to try it because it smelled amazing. She tried just a cup at first and liked it so much she came back for seconds. So, this recipe is officially Brittany approved. Hubby loves this soup and says I can make it as often as I want.

Karen’s Cabbage Soup Recipe
Makes about 8 (2-cup) servings

3 cups cabbage cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup kale (stems removed)
1 cup spinach
1.5 cups carrots diced or sliced
1.5 cups celery diced or sliced
1 cup onion diced (used 1-2 Vidalia onions)
1 head garlic peeled and smashed (use more if you like)
14 can crushed or diced tomatoes (1 cup or more)
1 (32 oz) carton fat-free chicken broth (Fit & Active)
3 cups water
1/2 tsp black pepper (to taste)
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 Tbsp Parsley Flakes

Cut everything up ahead of time and measure the veggies into a big bowl and set aside.
Put carrots, garlic, and onion directly into the pot and cook on med-hi until browned or tender. The onions will become transparent. Stir almost constantly and add some of the water if needed to keep it from scorching on the bottom of the pan.
Add the rest of the veggies and stir/fold them in. Add the tomatoes, broth, and water. Stir. Add seasonings. Stir.
Let boil on med-hi heat for about 30 minutes or until cabbage and carrots are tender. This will cook down a lot. Stir frequently and do not let it boil dry. This soup is delicious.
Serving size is 2 cups and has 106 calories.

Here are the nutritional details for my version of the recipe:

Variations:
Add a cup or two of cooked meat of your choice. If you choose beef you might want to switch the chicken broth to beef broth.
Pasta of choice could easily be added to this to make it stretch.
Double up on carrots and/or add more of the other veggies as you like.
The recipe I adapted called for a cup of mushrooms.
Could use a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes.

Tips: Cut up enough for the recipe above, and then while that is cooking cut up the rest and measure and bag it in a zip-top freezer bag to make future batches much easier and faster. (Note: keep tomatoes in a separate bag then slide it in the gallon bag with the other veggies. (Keep carrots, onion, and garlic in a separate bag too because they cook together before the rest.)

Do you have any great recipes that the family loves and are also low calorie? Please share them with me. I am always looking to expand my cooking repertoire.

Here is the video I adapted from:

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