"So Many Vegetables" Soup With Sausages

I had a lot of veggies in the fridge that were on the verge of going bad. I'm terrible for that! I always over estimate how many veggies I'm going to eat during the week. 

Anyway, I decided to make the best of the situation and make a tasty, incredibly healthy soup. 

I have specified the measurements for the sake of the nutritional counts but feel free to add a little more of this or a little less of that as per your preference. (Just remember that it will change the nutritional count.)

I used Myfitnesspal to figure out the nutritional count:

208 calories, 27 carbs, 5 fat, and 15 protein. 

That is per serving. Serving size it 1/5th of the recipe OR approx 1 1/2 cups of soup, 1 sausage, and 1 Tbsp mozza. 

Trust me...that is a very generous amount. It is so nutrient dense that it is very filling. 

"So Many Vegetables" Soup With Sausages

Ingredients

3 cups broccoli (1 medium head)

2 cups zucchini (1 large)

2 cups squash (Delicata or acorn or similar)

1 large onion

2 cups carrot (2 large)

1 portobello mushroom cap

2 cups beets

4 cloves garlic

1/3 cup fresh cilantro

2 stalks celery

2 tsp sesame oil

2 cups beef broth, low sodium

4 cups chicken broth, low sodium

2 bay leaves

salt & pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

5 turkey breakfast sausages

1/2 cup partly skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

Prep all your veggies by coarsely chopping them (broccoli through celery). (The carrots and beets you should dice smaller than the others so they cook faster.)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, drizzle the sesame oil. Place all of the veggies into the pan. 

Cook and stir for about 10 minutes, until veggies start to soften. 

Add in the broth, bay leaves, and spices. 

Bring to a boil. Turn down heat, cover, and let simmer until veggies are tender, about 15 - 20 minutes. 

When cooked, remove from heat and let cool until no longer steaming.

Remove bay leaves. Place warm soup into a blender or food processor and process until smooth. 

Pour pureed soup back into the large saucepan and place back over medium heat. Cook and stir until hot again - about 5 - 10 minutes. 

While soup is reheating, cook the breakfast sausage links. Cut the 5 sausages into small, bite sized pieces.

Serve soup - Scoop about 1 1/2 cups of soup into a serving bowl.

Take a second to admire how amazing it looks and how fantastic it smells.

Ready?

Okay. Now top with a Tbsp of Mozza.

And finish it off with one of the diced sausages.

**A couple of notes**

-- I used beef and chicken broth but if you want to make it vegan then use veggie broth.

-- I had to cook my squash in the microwave for 10 minutes to be able to scoop out the guts into the soup. Keep that in mind - depending on what kind of squash you use, you may have to precook it to cut/scoop it.

-- I used turkey breakfast sausages to cut down the calories but you can certainly use any type of sausage you like or skip it altogether. 

-- Add more cayenne and/or a dash of hot sauce if you like it spicy. I'm not a fan of too much spice so I just gave it a good sprinkle of cayenne.

Need something that is filling and full of SOOOO much healthy good stuff that your insides will thank you?

This is the soup for you. 

Be sure to stop by Carole's Chatter and Hun... What's For Dinner? for tons of great links!