Minestrone is my very favorite soup but I can’t say I love the sodium in the canned version. I wanted to make something that could easily be stored and eaten when I’m craving something warm and comforting. I adapted a recipe from Taralynn McNitt (www.simplytaralynn.com) that makes 32 servings. Be careful! This almost didn’t fit in my crockpot. Again, this is something I prepped the night before.

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen peas

3 small yellow summer squash

1 cup snapped green beans

2 medium zucchini

5 medium celery stalks

1 red bell pepper

1 cup baby carrots

1 large white onion

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp black pepper

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp garlic powder

1/8 cup oregano

2 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp parsley

2 cans reduced sodium kidney beans

1 can white kidney beans

2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes (can do regular if you don’t like spicy)

2 boxes organic low sodium vegetable broth

2 tbsp light brown sugar

How To:

Rinse green beans and cut off ends (trash them). Cut the green beans into thirds and set aside. Peel and dice your onion. Be prepared to cry…I had to keep leaving the room! Rinse your celery and then cut off the ends and dice it as fine as you’d like. Do the same with the carrots, summer squash, and bell pepper (remove the seeds first!). Then cut each zucchini into fourths and dice them as well. Add all of these ingredients into a large bowl and set aside (or into a Tupperware in the fridge if you’re prepping like me).

Open all cans. Add the beans to a strainer and rinse well.

When you’re ready to start up the crockpot:

First add the vegetables, tomatoes, and beans. Make sure to combine the, well as it gets harder as you add ingredients. Then, mix in the chopped oregano, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic powder, olive oil, brown sugar, minced garlic, and broth. Combine well again.

Turn your crockpot on HIGH and cook for 5-6 hours.

Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition:

Serving Size: 1 cup

Per Serving: Calories: 58, Fat: .06(g), Carbs: 5(g), Protein: 3(g)

This recipe is a great way to sneak in those veggies. It goes great with the Rosemary round bread from Trader Joes. I love getting cozy on a cold fall night with a bowl of this soup. It’s low in calories and big in taste!