Weight Loss Soup (Turkey Vegetable Soup) from The Food Charlatan

A vegetable-heavy recipe for weight loss soup! Because it is mostly vegetables, broth, and ground turkey, this homemade Turkey Vegetable soup has very few calories. A great way to add a lot of flavors is to use ground turkey! Therefore, you’ll want to eat it! It’s the first meal I make whenever I start a diet because it’s so delicious!

What is Weight Loss Soup?

Have you heard of soup for weight loss? It’s from one of those diet patterns from the 80s (the 80s: indeed an odd time period). When I told my brother that I was making soup for weight loss, he asked, “Oh, like the celery soup my mom always made when she was on a diet? “Honestly, I don’t recall ever having celery soup, and unless there is a lot of cream in it, which would definitely make it not so healthy, it sounds disgusting. Mom? Soup with celery? Please elaborate.)

Weight Loss Soup (Turkey Vegetable Soup) Recipe that is pressed brimming with veggies! Because it consists primarily of vegetables, broth, and ground turkey, this homemade Turkey Vegetable soup has very few calories. Ground turkey is a fantastic low-calorie way to add a lot of flavor to your food! Therefore, you’ll want to eat it! It’s the first meal I make whenever I start a diet because it’s so delicious!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground turkey
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced (at least 1 tablespoon)
• 2 & 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 10-12 cups chicken or turkey broth
• 4-5 large carrots, chopped
• 1 & 1/2 cups celery, chopped
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups coleslaw cabbage, or more to taste
• 1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes , (I like fire roasted)
• 1 (14-oz) can white beans
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 yellow squash, chopped
• chopped parsley, to garnish (optional; low calorie!)
• pesto, to garnish individual bowls (optional and not low calorie!)
• parmesan cheese to garnish, optional (not low cal!)

Instructions

• Place 2 pounds of ground turkey and chopped onion in a very large soup pot with at least 6 quarts of capacity. Crumble the turkey and bring to a saute over medium-high heat.
• Drain the fat and turn off the heat. To accomplish this, I like to line a small bowl with foil, tilt the pot to one side, and use a spoon to transfer the grease to the bowl. After that, I put it in the refrigerator until the fat hardens, and then I throw it away.)
• Restore the heat to medium. Add all of the spices and four minced garlic cloves:2 and a half teaspoons kosher salt (less if using table salt), 1 teaspoon each of black pepper and oregano, 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder and smoked paprika, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon each of celery seed and basil, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon each of crushed red pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon each of dried thyme if using. The mixture should be cooked until the garlic and spices are fragrant.
• Add 10 to 12 cups of broth. I combined four teaspoons of Better Than Bouillon Turkey Base with four cups of water and eight cups of my readily available chicken broth. This turkey base has an amazing flavor that I adore. If you don’t have any chicken broth, you can use water and either a turkey or chicken base.1 cup broth is made from 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon base.
• Bring to a boil by raising the heat to high. Squash and all other vegetables should be added. Start with the harder vegetables and work your way up: Add the chopped carrots, celery, sweet potato, and 2 cups of coleslaw cabbage. You can change the amounts of any of these vegetables. Not a fan of sweet potatoes? Remove it and add additional carrots. Soup is extremely lenient. If you’re using fresh thyme, add the sprigs of thyme to the broth as well.
• Include the juice from the can of diced tomatoes. Add the drained beans to the pot.
• Reduce the heat to a medium simmer once the soup reaches a boil so that it bubbles but not too much. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the sweet potato and carrots are almost soft enough to eat with a fork.
• Include the chopped yellow squash and zucchini. Squash should be tender after another 5 to 10 minutes of simmering.
• You can remove any foam from the top of your soup by skimming it off with a spoon. The stems should be removed and discarded if using fresh thyme.
• Hot soup is best! Although adding shredded parmesan and pesto to each bowl adds calories, I like to use them as garnish. Parsley is a calorie-free, delicious garnish.

Instructions for the Slow Cooker

• Follow the steps through step 3 (sauteing turkey with spices and garlic).
• In a slow cooker, add the mixture, then all the vegetables and broth, with the exception of the yellow squash and zucchini.
• The carrots should be cooked until they are tender, either on low for 4-5 hours or high for 2-3 hours.
• Continue to cook for another half-hour or so, or until the squash and zucchini are tender.

Nutrition