This low-calorie Italian vegetable soup is perfect even on a hot summer day.

By SARA VANDEN BERGE

I know, I know, it’s the middle of summer and you are probably wondering why I got up first thing this morning and made a gigantic pot of soup.

The answer to that is simple: It’s delicious and we love it.

My friend Lori Lesley, owner of Casseroles To-Go, shared this recipe for Italian vegetable soup with Beneath the Surface News last year, and since then, I have made it no less than a dozen times.

Packed full of veggies, this tasty dish comes with a big bonus: Only 127 calories and 3 grams of fat per cup.

So after a Saturday night at Newton’s Cellar where we enjoyed a delicious dinner that included crab-stuffed mushrooms, calamari, salmon and bison, it was time to get back to the diet.

I doubled this recipe so I could send some home with my daughter when she heads back to Dallas this afternoon and enough for my mom.

It’s going to be nice to spend the day by the swimming pool knowing that dinner is already made!

Have a happy week!

WHAT’S IN IT

½-pound lean ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 cups chopped cabbage

2 medium carrots, sliced

1 cup fresh Brussels sprouts, quartered

1 cup chopped fresh kale

1 celery rib, chopped

1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp. basil

1/4 tsp. salt

3 cups beef stock

1 can Italian diced tomatoes

HOW TO MAKE IT

Brown meat and onion in large pot.

Stir in remaining ingredients and cook on low until vegetables are tender.

This soup freezes well for up to three months.