Veggie Minestrone: I'm Just Not That Into You

4 c. low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth
4 c. low-sodium tomato juice
1 tbsp. dried basil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c. fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
28-oz. can low-sodium diced tomatoes
1 1/2 c. uncooked rotini pasta

1. Combine all ingredients except pasta in slow cooker. Cook on low 7-8 hours.
2. Add pasta. Cook on high 15-20 minutes.

Makes 12 servings, 70 calories per



Alright, well, if you noticed the copious use of the word "low" and the fact that each serving contains enough calories for about 20 minutes of living life, you might be tipped off to what I had to find out the hard way: this soup sucks. I didn't see a footnote that said "If your diet allows, you may want to increase the salt to 2 tsp." I'm not even on a diet, I just didn't think the low-fat cookbook would have totally bland recipes. Now I know why everything I truly enjoy eating has 1000 mgs of sodium on the package.



I used zucchini instead of mushrooms because I loathe fungi, and I added a can of kidney beans because I thought that's how I'd seen it done elsewhere. Something in the mix--maybe one of these two--made things suspiciously, and unappetizingly crunchy. Adapting this 5-qt recipe to my 4-qt pot by only using 3 cups each of broth and juice also made the finished soup look more like chili. Chili that could only be saved by a merciful rain of salt and cheese. If you have any minestrone tips, please share because I love the soup. Just not this one. Low-Fat Veggie Minestrone, it's over between us. Your beauty is skin deep, you're too skinny, and you have absolutely nothing to say...it's not me, it's you.