Another cold day ending in 2 hours on the windy lacrosse field and I was SO grateful I’d thrown this cabbage soup together before we left for practice!

As many of you know, I don’t give myself labels : Vegetarian, Vegan, Pescatarian, etc. I’m more of a “Flexitarian” meaning that I listen to my body and eat what it needs. For years that has NOT been beef. But this is good beef – raised on my friend’s family farm and crazy lean, so great for the hubby and kids. Beef also gives great flavor to cabbage soup so I cooked it up and then removed it from the pan before adding the vegetables. This gave me the flexibility to make one meal that met all dietary needs.

** Look, it’s seriously just a handful of ingredients! That’s what I LOVE about soups! SOUP-ER simple!  **

Cabbage Soup

• 1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 t garlic, diced
• 6 c green cabbage, chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 5-6 c broth (beef, chicken or vegetable)
• 1 (14 oz) can of diced tomatoes with juice
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• top with 2 T chopped fresh parsley

1. brown ground meat – remove from pan.
2. Add olive oil and onion, cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
3. Add cabbage, carrots and celery and season with salt and pepper. Cook 3 minutes.
4. Add broth, tomatoes and bay leaves.
5. You can add the ground meat back to the soup or leave it out and add it to the bottom of the bowl when serving. This made 6 large servings.
6. Top with chopped parsley.