(Spicier) Vegetable Lentil Soup

What are your resolutions in the kitchen for 2008? While we have a goal to make and share more calorie-friendly soups all year long, we've already started a tradition of posting a "healthier" soup every New Year's Day. This makes sense to us since it's that time of year when people start hitting the gym in full-force and resolve to eat better. We've also received a number of emails requesting healthier versions of our soups, so Margaret's also been working on a post with tips on how to cut corners in soup recipes and make them healthier. Look out for that a little later this month.

For now, put on a pot, enjoy your last day out of the office, and delve into this 98-calorie-per-cup soup, adapted from Dr. Michael Roizen's book YOU: On A Diet.He's the guy you may have seen on PBS in his scrubs. The soup is called Spicy Vegetable Lentil Soup, but as I made it, I realized there wasn't going to be any spice to it. Typically, that's fine with me, but when a soup says it's spicy, you expect it to have at least a little zing. The only pepper in it was a red bell, which tends to be the sweeter pepper and the only seasoning mentioned was an optional salt and fresh ground pepper.I thought *maybe* the abundant garlic and the balsamic vinegar might do it, but just not so. This soup seemed to be missing something. So, I decided to make a few minor adjustments that I knew wouldn't really impact calorie intake. Those changes included using a little vegetable stock instead of all water and adding some red chili flakes for some much needed heat and body. What's also nice is that if you like a thicker soup, you can just simmer it down longer and it will end up with more of a chili texture.

You'll make enough to finish out the rest of this week, so pack your lunch tomorrow and take along this guilt-free soup with only 1.6 grams of fat per serving. It's a great way to start recovering from the gluttony of the holidays.

If you're looking for something even more extreme health-wise or something to nurse that hangover from last night's celebration, you could try the Detox Broth from Ultrametabolism. Or, if you're trying to ensure good luck in the coming year, we have a not as healthy, but cheesy and yummy Blue Luck Soup recipe you might want to check out.

Whatever you're eating to kick off 2008, we wish you a healthy, happy, and fun New Year!

(Spicier) Vegetable Lentil Soup
Makes 10 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
5 garlic cloves, sliced
2 quarts (8 cups of water), we used 2 cups of vegetable stock and the rest water.
1 cup dried lentils
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes, undrained
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4-1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes
salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in carrot, bell pepper, and garlic; cook 3 minutes.

2. Add stock and/or water, dried lentils, tomatoes, bay leaves, and vinegar; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 18-20 minutes until the lentils and veggies are tender. If you prefer a heartier texture to your soup, let it simmer for another 20 minutes or so to cook off some of the liquid.

3. Season to taste with the chili pepper flakes and a few pinches of salt and a few twists of fresh ground pepper.

Enhanced recipe from YOU: On a Diet
by Michael F. Roizen, MD & Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.