The Best Homemade Vegetable Soup

I try my best to maintain as healthy a diet as possible, but during spring break, it’s safe to say I dismiss the notion of healthy eating almost entirely.  I was on a cruise a couple weeks ago celebrating my last spring break with a bunch of friends, which meant consuming a lot of alcohol and carbs.  Needless to say, as soon as I got home, I was desperate for a nutritious meal.  This homemade vegetable soup my mom and her best friend taught me how to make is not only insanely healthy, but incredibly satisfying as well. 

Ingredients:

48 oz. reduced sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth

1 sweet onion

4 cloves garlic

1 head of cauliflower

2-3 carrots

2 zucchini

2 yellow squash

One 14 oz. can diced tomatoes (or you can dice your own, of course)

¼ scotch bonnet hot pepper (1/2 if you prefer food to be more on the spicy side)

¼ tsp ground black pepper

Sea salt to taste (if desired)

Chop zucchini, squash, and carrots and place in a large pot filled with the broth.  Sprinkle with pepper.  Heat to boil, and then reduce to simmer (heat setting 2) and cover.  

While pot heats to a boil, quarter the cauliflower, break the stem off, and break apart into smaller pieces.  Place in the pot. 

Remove the seeds from the scotch bonnet pepper, and finely mince.  Chop the garlic into small chunks.  Cut onion in four and coarsely chop.  Add to the pot. 

The soup should be ready to eat when the carrots and cauliflower have softened.  Enjoy!