Our weather may be waffling between 20 and 70-degrees, but that doesn’t keep me from craving soup all Winter, and the heartier the better! We spent the night with Mama Sugarplum over the holidays, and she whipped out a delicious soup for dinner…a soup that both my kids inhaled, and then asked for seconds. So of course I had to have to the recipe! Turns out, it’s extra-healthy, and from her diet plan.
Many of you noticed her drastic weight loss in recent Dressing Room Diaries posts, and have asked how she did it. It’s called the Ideal Protein Diet, recommended and monitored by her doctor. She definitely wanted to lose weight, but her first goals were to her health. It utilizes prepackaged foods in the early stages, but I’ve asked her for ways of applying the principles to everyday life, and will hopefully be able to share some of those tips soon. But for starters, this soup is a regular for her now!
Tuscan Vegetable Soup
{What You Need}
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped kale or cabbage
1 cup diced celery (about 2 stalks)
1 cup diced zucchini (about 1 medium)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
1/2 tsp. sea salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper, plus more to taste
4 cups chicken broth (fat-free & low-sodium)
14 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
2 handfuls baby spinach (about 2 cups packed)
1-2 cups shredded chicken (optional)
{What You Do}
1. Heat oil in medium-sized soup pan over medium-high heat. Add veggies and spices (kale through pepper), and cook until tender (about 5 minutes)
2. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, and chicken, and bring to boil. Add the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes.
Soup Bowl | Dinner Plate | Gold Flatware (on sale!) | Striped NapkinÂ
So easy, right?! I double the recipe for hearty-sized bowls, and serve with crusty bread (which isn’t on the diet, but whatevs). The chicken is optional, but with a teenager in the house, all-veggie dinners don’t quite cut it for us! #humandisposal I was hoping to have leftovers for lunch today, but no such luck! What’s on your menu tonight? Find more easy dishes here or under the Lifestyle tab.
Pssst…the Container Store is here all day photographing the closet, so follow along for peeks on my Instagram Story!
Hi Cassie! This sounds delish! I’m so making this! I wanted to share a tip I learned from a nutritionist. Diced tomatoes have a chemical in them to keep the “diced shape” You are better to buy a can of whole tomatoes and slice them up or squeeze them to make them a smaller size ( gross I know, but after the first squeeze it’s not so bad LOL )
Yikes…that’s creepy!! I’ll have to look into it, thanks for the tip!! xo
Annnnnnnnnnnd, now I want soup for breakfast. Looks delish!
I have a friend who had been doing IP for over a year. She’s down 200#s as of last week. It takes great strength and follow through. Yea Mama SP! Keep the faith!
Wow!! That’s incredible!! I wouldn’t last 2 days! :/
This looks delicious and it actually looks pretty hearty, which is hard to do for veggie soups.
This is similar to a minestrone I make, and I’m like you–bring on the soups even on these 70 degree days đŸ™‚ Can’t wait to see your closet transformation and hoping it will inspire me to finally tackle my mess!
I can’t for the life of me find the Instagram Stories!! I’m sure it’s just operator error but ya know….. #40isold
Mindy
LOL!! I was the same! You just tap my profile pic when you’re on my profile page. Also, when you’re on the home screen, that stream of little profile pics across the top is all the people you follow who have live stories. The stories each expire after 24-hours, too! Oh, if you don’t see those, you may need to update your app! xo
Ha!! Success, I figured it out….even without the help of my kids. It wouldn’t work on my computer but as soon as I downloaded on my phone, voila!!! Whew! #40aintthatbad
Mindy@OurDreamHouseDIY
That is so sweet of your mama to share her diet with us all. She does look wonderful!
Your recipe for Tuscsn soup brought back memories of a diet I went on years ago, called the Cabbage Soup diet. After about four days I was dizzy and pale. Even the young barista at my favourite coffee shop noticed and said ” Get off that diet!” This recipe if much healthier and even if you don’t need to lose weight, it would be a hearty lunch or even dinner.
I remember hearing about that diet!! That’s crazy!! Yes, I think we’ll stick to a hearty soup instead! đŸ™‚
This is cosy and warm on these dismal dreary days! I do a similar soup called HOBO Stew. a FAT FREE low cal meal. http://www.abercrombieandfitness.wordpress.com
I can’t wait to try this sugarplum soup!
This sounds yummy. I think I’m going to make this. Would your mom mind sharing how much the IP plan has cost her? Meals and such. This sounds interesting to me and there are a few places in my area but I hate sticker shock. Ha!
Also, how has the packaged food tasted? I’ve heard others like nutrisystem are gross.
Thanks
Do you think you could put the recipes in a print format as well as the tutorial with photos?
That’s a great idea! Do you have any idea how to do that?! #technicallychallenged đŸ™‚
Nope – but I googled it and it came right up
https://www.printfriendly.com/button
Awesome, thank you!!!
Thanks to you, there’s a new ‘printer friendly’ button at the end of each post! Just click that, and you can custom the area you wan to print, save or email. I hope that’s helpful, and thanks for the great tip! xo
I just made this today and it was DELICIOUS! Perfect for this cold and rainy day. Thanks for sharing this easy recipe!
Wonderful! I’m thrilled you liked it!
I love this recipe! Since it was a vegetarian night, I substituted the chicken with black beans and the soup tasted amazing!
Thanks Cassie – for all that you share with us – you’re truly an inspiration!!!
I just made this soup (minus the squash which I didn’t have). So I added kale AND cabbage:) It is DELICIOUS! The house smells wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you and your mama for sharing! I made this soup and it is awesome! I did however put a can of chicken and I went to two stores looking for zucchini and couldn’t find any so I googled substitute and put in a yam was delist! I am also interested in your mamas diet plan, she looks amazing and you, well I don’t really need to tell you how awesome you look! Love your blog, you both give me great inspiration!! đŸ™‚
Thanks so much, Samantha!! It sounds delicious to add sweet potatoes!!! Good tip! xo