My sister has been gently encouraging me to write a guest post, so – DEEP BREATH – here goes!

[So yes, this post is being written by Adanna, not Alanna. And yes, we're sisters. But no, we're not twins. In fact, our memories are so different that some times, we wonder if we grew up in the same family. For example, Alanna claims she's the younger sister. Hmmm. My memory of that is almost four years different.]

Our family has always been a little over-the-top when it comes to food. Our mom taught us about nutrition at such an early age that at about age four, I finished eating my chicken at a family dinner and announced, “There! Now I’ve had my protein!” In college, when given the assignment to plan a week’s menus for a family of four on the amount of food money given to families on welfare, I was the only one in my class who could do it.

Learning such information so young has served me well.

My kids have grown up on broccoli and whole wheat bread, and while they love pizza and fries as much as any kid, they also know about whole grains and cutting back on fat. I use lots of frozen bagged veggies, both for ease of preparation and for their simplicity – I LOVE steamed veggies with nothing more than some herbs sprinkled over top.

So my sister’s A Veggie Venture blog has definitely challenged me! I’m branching out with new-to-me vegetables (last week I bought my first turnip and felt very superior when the grocery store check-out clerk wasn’t sure what it was).

I’m also, like many of us, wanting to lose 10 pounds after the holidays. So this vegetable soup seemed perfect on all counts: lots of veggies, very filling for few calories, little fat, easy to make, and delicious! There will be a cup of this on my lunch table every day for the next few weeks.

LEANNE'S VEGGIE SOUP
Serves 12

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped (I used 4 t. from a jar)
2 large carrots, chopped
2 small celery stalks, chopped
1 medium turnip, chopped (Update: Surprise, surprise, I've now learned -- thanks to Stephencook's photos -- that what I thought was a turnip was actually a rutabaga)
2 cups green beans, cut in 1” pieces
1/4 head cabbage, chopped (I used about a quarter of a bag of pre-shredded slaw mix)
Zucchini (I also had some zucchini begging to be used, so I chopped one up and threw it in)
1/2 teaspoon thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

6 cups low sodium chicken broth (I used 2 cans chicken broth and 1, by accident! beef broth)
2 14.5 oz. cans low sodium diced tomatoes, undrained

In a stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook a few minutes. Add the garlic and cook a few minutes more. Add the rest of the chopped veggies, sautéing for a few more minutes. Add the thyme, salt and pepper.

Put the veggies in a crockpot, then add the tomatoes and broth. Cook on low heat for 7-9 hours, or high for 4-6 hours. (After about 3 hours on low heat, we had to try some and the veggies were still enjoyably crunchy. At that point I decided to just cook the soup for another hour on low, then refrigerate it. Since the rest of the soup will be reheated in individual portions, I wanted to retain some of the crunch.)

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 74 Cal (27% from Fat, 16% from Protein, 57% from Carb); 3 g Protein; 2 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 11 g Carb; 3 g Fiber; NetCarb8; 35 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 456 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1 point

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT'S DUE
Leanne Ely at SavingDinner