First Day- Detox Vegetable Soup.

Well, Day 1 of the fast is almost over and so far so good. We didn't cheat and we aren't starving so I'd call that a win. Only 20 more days to go :). Tonight I made the "Fall Detox Vegetable Soup". I'm not sure why it's considered a 'detox' soup but I'll just take their word for it. It was a new recipe so I wasn't sure what to expect but thankfully it was really good. As Keith said, this would be a good meal any day of the week, not just during a Daniel Fast. This recipe made a lot so we'll be having this again. But anyway I can now confidently give this one two thumbs up. I made a couple of changes just because I used what I had, but it was pretty close to the original. So here's my version of the recipe but the link to the original version is on my Week 1 Menu post if you want to try that one instead. It sounds amazing as well.

I forgot to take a pic of the finished product until after we'd already eaten.  But as you can see there's still a lot ( I know what we'll be having for lunch tomorrow. :)

"Detox Vegetable Soup"

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (I admit it, I didn't peel anything)
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 large sweet potato chopped (Didn't peel this either)
2 cups of yellow squash
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1 cup chopped broccoli
2 cups sliced cabbage
1 28 oz can organic crushed tomatoes with basil
4 cups *vegetable stock
2 cups water
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt (I added more to taste. 1 tsp didn't seem like enough but that may just be me)
1 cup of brown rice cooked

1. Heat oil in large pot (I used my cast iron Dutch oven).
2. Throw in onion, carrot and celery and cook 3 minutes (I definitely went over the 3 minutes recommended. Got busy chopping the other vegetables and the time got away from me.)
3. Add in garlic and cook 1 minute (again, I got sidetracked and cooked this longer)
4. Add in sweet potato, squash, broccoli and cauliflower and cook 5 minutes (and yet again...)
5. Top with cabbage, tomatoes, stock and spices and stir
6. Bring to a boil and then let simmer uncovered for 30 minutes (it was more like 45)
7. I cooked the rice separately to be added to the bowls of those who wanted it, since two of mine aren't crazy about rice.  But it could be added to the soup right before serving if you prefer.

As I said earlier, this makes a lot. So you could half this recipe if you don't want a lot of left-overs. So filling we don't yet feel like we are fasting.

*About the vegetable stock- you can buy vegetable stock, but something I do is whenever I chop vegetables, I put the scraps (tops, left over bits) in a freezer bag and store in the freezer. I add to it every time I chop vegetables. Once the freezer bag is full I fill a large pot with water, add a bay leaf, a crushed garlic clove if I have it, some dried herbs (parsley, basil etc, whatever I have) and boil about 45 minutes. Then I strain the stock, keeping the liquid and discarding the vegetables and cool to room temp. Then I freeze it by the cup in quart freezer bags to pull out and thaw whenever I need vegetable stock. Saves money and cuts down on food waste.