Day #247 - Veggie Soup

Tonight I cooked up a large pot of vegetable soup, based on a South Beach Diet recipe.

I started by heating up a little olive oil in the bottom of my soup pot.  I added in some minced celery and onion, pressed garlic cloves, dried basil and oregano, and a tiny pinch of red pepper flakes, and let cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.   I then added chopped baby bella mushrooms, diced zucchini and diced yellow squash, and let cook for another 6-8 minutes.   Next, I dumped in 1 can of lima beans (drained & rinsed), 1 large can of diced tomatoes with the juice, 1 cup chicken broth, 1 cup of water, and 2 cups of V-8 tomato juice, and stirred well.  I let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes, then dumped in 1/2 package of thawed frozen spinach.  Let simmer for another 5-10 minutes and then served up a large bowl for dinner.

It was loaded with healthy vegetables, and a great recipe to keep on hand as we get closer to the autumn/winter months ahead.