Hello there! It’s been a weird Thursday for sure. I forgot to publish the post I wrote up last night for yesterday, so I just did that when I logged in tonight. Oops! Confusing, I know. Sorry. 🙂

BUT, the weirdest part of my day happened around noon while I was at work. The day started our normally:  I got in a nice 5 mile run, got myself to work on time, and had my normal breakfast of oatmeal, yogurt, and fruit. But around noon, I started feeling horrible. I was sick to my stomach and feeling light-headed and dizzy. I stuck around the office as long as possible before I headed home for an early lunch.

I drove home like a mad woman and got sick immediately after I walked in the door. I called into the office and put myself to bed for the rest of the afternoon. I slept for about 2.5 hours between getting up to drag myself to the bathroom. TMI? Maybe. But it was the weirdest thing and came out of nowhere! I’m guessing it was from something I ate for breakfast. Anyways, I’m still a little sick feeling tonight, but I’m just being lazy around the house and eating Cheerios to help my body recoup.

And what could be more fitting for getting over sickness than a healthy homemade soup?!

I threw this recipe together last night for Nick and I’s dinner, and I have tons of leftovers which is perfect for my upset tummy tonight. Here ya go!

Hearty Vegetable Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 cups V8 Tomato Juice
• 4 cups water
• 2 large potatoes
• 2 cups baby carrots
• 1 can green beans
• 1 bag or 1 can corn
• 1 can beets
• 1 can tomatoes
• 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes

• 1 1/2 tbsp minced onions
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 1/2 tbsp garlic salt
• Dash of salt and pepper
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Dash of All Spice

Begin by adding the 4 cups of V8 juice and 4 cups of water to a large stock pot on medium-high heat.

Put in the 3 bouillon cubes to dissolve in the mixture as it heats up. While they are dissolving, wash and cut up your potatoes and carrots into bite-size pieces.

Add these veggies into the pot and stir well. These go in first as they will take the longest to cook!

Next you can add in the minced garlic and the rest of your vegetables: the corn, green beans, beets, tomatoes. Drain off most of the liquid from your canned veggies before adding them in. Mix well.

Lastly, add all your spices: the minced onions, garlic salt, parsley, salt & pepper, cayenne pepper, and all spice. For the last 2 spices – the cayenne pepper and all spice – you really only need a dash or pinch of each. A little goes a long way! Stir the soup well and kick the heat up to bring it to boil.

Once the soup is at a good rolling boil, turn the heat down to keep it simmering, cover it, and let it cook for around 40 minutes. Stir often to make sure it’s still simmering and not sticking to the bottom of the pot. It’s important to keep that slight boil to cook those potatoes and carrots all the way through! You’ll know the soup is ready to eat when the large potato chunks are soft.

Look at all those pretty vegetables! Even though this soup was meat-free, it was hearty and filled up our bellies!

And this huge pot held enough to make around 10 servings. Meaning lots of leftovers for my lunches during this chilly time of year!

Guess which one is mine and which is Nick’s??

Try out this soup recipe soon for a healthy and filling dinner. It takes just around 5 minutes to throw together, and if you’re really strapped for time, try to put it in the Crock Pot for around 3-4 hours. This will be my next experiment!

Hope you’ve had a great Thursday, everyone. Fingers crossed that I feel back to normal tomorrow. Stay healthy out there!