skinny soup

**The following article was written by guest contributor, Beverly Schaefer.**

Now that I have gone through the leftover Thanksgiving stuffing, mac and cheese and candied yams, I know I have to do something drastic, not to mention the family is looking for a change.
But I do have to give Barb credit for reminding me that I had this great recipe hid away in the box.

Ingredients:

1 – 46 ounce jar of V-8 juice
1 small head of cabbage
2 bell peppers (I like to use one green and a red or yellow just for color)
1 large onion
6 carrots
1 – 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 – 15 ounce can of French cut green beans (drained)
2 cloves garlic or to taste (I usually use 3-4 cloves, but I love garlic)
Pepper
No salt, the canned vegetables have enough for the whole pot of soup.

Directions:

Cut all the fresh vegetables into chunks. Place the fresh vegetables, canned tomatoes and seasonings into the pot with the V-8 juice, cook until carrots are tender. Add the green beans and continue to cook until heated through. Enjoy!

If you really miss that meaty flavor in your soup but still want to minimize calories, a half a pound 93 % lean ground beef, browned and drained. A little bit goes a long way and adds a lot of flavor.