Apparently soup is a great way of filling you up without adding unnecessary calories into the bargain. Something to do with it being partially liquid means that it gives you a fuller feeling. This recipe I got from the restaurant I work in - chef makes it when time is a bit short, but the customers love it and feel really virtuous when they eat it. I make a big batch and freeze it in portions, it defrosts quickly and safely and I have it for lunch 3 or 4 times a week without getting bored.

Ingredients (vary the amounts depending on how much you want to make, obviously)

For the base (and according to our chef this is what you would use for the base of any soup) -
Leeks
Celery
Onions
Garlic (optional)
Olive oil

For the main components these are my preferred veggies but you could add or delete as you wish -
Tins of good quality tomatoes
Peppers of various colours (the more variey of colours you have of veggies the better)
Carrots
Green beans
Courgettes (Zuchini)
Aubergines (Eggplants)
Mushrooms
Vegetable stock cubes

Dice the base ingredients into 1 and a half cm chunks and sweat in a large pan with the olive oil until they are just turning soft (you don't want mush), season as required.

Add the rest of the vegetables (diced to the same size, larger or smaller according to your taste) and sweat some more. I start with the carrots as they take a bit more softening, then add the others according to their softness.

When all veggies are just turning soft (this really won't take long) I add the tinned tomatoes and vegetable stock cube and water as neccessary, check for seasoning. Allow the whole lot to simmer until the vegetables are at the softness stage you prefer (I like mine with a bit of crunch left in them).

Now let it cool before dispensing into freezer containers (I use freezer bags - open one up and put into a large mug and spoon the soup into it, then tie up, remove from the mug), let it cool right down before putting into the freezer.

It really couldn't be simpler and it genuinely fills you up and gives you a boost all for about 100 calories a shot! You'll also get a good porion of your five a day in each serving.

To make more of a meal from it and get a protein boost, you can add cooked chicken or tinned beans (borlotti, kidney, butter etc) or whatever takes your fancy when you are reheating it it.

I hope you enjoy it.

...and if I feel like I deserve a treat I sprinkle some cheese on top

Wow! That soup sounds wonderful. On Weight Watchers it would have zero points. I'm going to try it next week!

Wow that soup does sound good, thanks for the recipe and compliments to the chef! I am glad that you translated for us, because I had no idea what Courgettes and Aubergines were LOL! I will print this out and try making it one day, thanks again for the great idea.

I made this soup today. I skipped the eggplant, and added some fresh basil. Other than that, I pretty much followed the recipe exactly. It's very good. I enjoyed a bowlful at lunch.

I was just about to start packaging it up for freezing when I got an idea. I thought as a snack it might be good if I could drink it from a mug instead of needing a spoon, so I threw a couple cups into my blender and pureed it. YUM! I've decided I like it better that way than chunky. I'll no doubt be blending it up from now on.

Either way, it's VERY satisfying. And on Weight Watchers it's ZERO points. Thumbs up! Thanks for sharing!

Great to hear you like it, Pam. I'm going to try blending it myself - never thought of that. Cheers

I made another batch of this soup today. It's rocketed up to my number one favorite soup now! Absolutely yummy and I get to feel vituous at the same time since it's loaded with great vegetables.

This time I ran the whole batch through the blender before freezing it. This way I won't have to mess up the blender every time I heat it up for myself. I also used your trick of putting a baggie in a mug to measure out the portions. That worked great! I got 12 servings out of it.

I think I'm going to try adding butternut or acorn squash next time I make it. I think that would be a tasty addition.

I like the idea of squash in it - gives it a bit of sweetness.