In effort to start 2011 off on the right foot, I vowed to eat MUCH healthier than the way I ended 2010.  So, for me that means detailed menu planning and preparations once a week.  That way I can stay on track all week long.  Last night I made several dozen granola bars for the kids’ lunches and a batch of nutella biscotti for Brent and I to snack on in the evenings.

I also made plans to try a new soup.  I think we had soup every other night between Christmas and New Year.  And I should add it wasn’t the soup that led me to this New Year’s resolution…it’s all the peppermint joe-joes and see’s candy and toffee…you get the idea.

Winter Vegetable Soup fit perfectly into the realm of healthy eating, seasonal vegetables and today was rainy, which made it sound even better.  I’ll post the recipe at the end, if you don’t feel like clicking on the link.

I should add that I got a late start making this tonight, so all the pictures were taken with VERY LITTLE light.  Thank goodness for the high ISO on my Mark ii, but the pictures are a bit on the dark side.

I was really excited about a soup that had dark leafy greens…I’m not great about eating them alone, but when they’re all wilted down and mixed with hearty vegetables…yum!

Have you noticed how much chopping I had to do?  This recipe is labor intensive, but it’s the kind of thing you could make for dinner, then have for a few lunches.  And it was really good!  So, it was worth the effort.  Speaking of effort…the hardest part was peeling this acorn squash.  I should have googled ‘how to peel an acorn squash’.  All the ridges were not conducive to being peeled!  So, I had to post a pretty picture of my squash next to it peeled and all the kitchen utensils I had to use to peel it!

And pancetta…I must say I’ve actually never used pancetta, but it was very easy to find (at Trader Joe’s) and it added a lot of flavor to the soup.

Winter Vegetable Soup:

• 1  teaspoon  olive oil
• 2  ounces  pancetta, chopped
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 2  cups  cubed peeled acorn squash
• 2  cups  diced peeled red potato
• 1/2  cup  chopped celery
• 1/2  cup  chopped carrot
• 1  teaspoon  dried basil
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/4  teaspoon  dried thyme
• 1  (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 2  (14 1/2-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 4  cups  chopped kale
• 1  (15.5-ounce) can navy beans or other small white beans, rinsed and drained

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pancetta; sauté 3 minutes. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Add squash and next 6 ingredients (squash through thyme), stirring to combine; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes; cook 2 minutes.

Stir in broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 8 minutes. Add kale; simmer 5 minutes. Add beans; simmer 4 minutes or until potato and kale are tender.

This soup was amazing with a nice crusty bread and the kids ate it with a dollop of sour cream on top.  I also wanted to add that I included a new category to my list- In the Kitchen.  I do love to cook and bake, so it’s fine time these posts have their own category.

Here’s to healthy eating in 2011!

-Kristin