Food Babe Family - Header

Wedding Weight Loss Soup

This week was me and my husband’s 5th year wedding anniversary. Celebrating has brought back so many great memories. Especially, memories about what I ate and how I exercised during the weeks leading up to the big day.

Unlike typical brides, my wedding dress was a little revealing and showed off my mid-section! Thinking about showing my stomach to all my friends and family scared the you know what out of me. This was the only thing I needed to keep myself super disciplined day in and day out.

I worked out 5 days a week. I resisted offers for co-worker birthday cake and sweets at the office. I ate in for the majority of the time and created a routine of foods to stick with.

This is a head to toe shot of my wedding dress. It was easy to go a few months without cake  knowing I was going to wear this!

Check out my abs! Dancing at one of my wedding pre-parties. “The Lady Sangeet”

 

As I strolled down memory lane, a particular soup I made kept popping up in my mind… So I decided to make it yesterday in honor of our anniversary weekend. It’s based on mostly green vegetables of kale and celery, but also includes some protein sources of cannellini beans and organic chicken.

 

Wedding Weight Loss Soup

 

I ate this soup every week for a few months. I call it the “Wedding Weight Loss Soup”  because it really helped curb my appetite and satisfied the urge for something warm and comforting at night. I didn’t have a wedding planner, so I was crazy busy every night doing something for the wedding. I made this on Mondays and it lasted me a few days so I wouldn’t have to cook every night. Left overs were so easy to heat up on the stove for 10 mins.

 

FOOD BABE’S WEDDING WEIGHT LOSS SOUP
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • sea salt
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 TBSP of olive oil
  • 1 large organic onion chopped
  • 1 bunch organic celery chopped (including green leafy tops)
  • 1 bunch organic kale chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 pound organic chicken breast
  • 4 cups organic chicken broth (if you buy packaged – make sure it doesn’t have any yeast extract or autolyzed yeast – a hidden name for MSG)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 can of "Eden Foods" organic cannellini beans (this is the only canned product brand I use, the liners are guaranteed BPA Free)
Instructions
  1. Salt and pepper organic chicken breast on each side, cut into small cubes and set aside
  2. Heat large pot with olive oil on medium for about 3-5 mins
  3. Add chopped onions and celery and cook until soft about 5-7 mins
  4. Add the bay leaf, broth, water and chicken and turn heat up to high
  5. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat down to a simmer for 10 mins
  6. After 10 mins add cannelloni beans and chopped kale and cook another 10 mins
  7. Remove bay leaf before serving
  8. Serve with Mary’s Gone Crackers (onion is my favorite!)
Notes

This soup can easily be made vegan by adding one extra can of beans, omitting the chicken, and changing to vegetable broth which sometimes I do, if I make this on Tuesdays, the day that I give up meat entirely each week.

 

 

A bunch of kale chopped yields about 5-6 cups.
Bringing the broth to a boil… it’s getting hot in here.
Just added the beans & kale – it will cook down in 7-10 mins.
Please cool down soup! Don’t burn my tongue!

 

Hope you enjoy the recipe and share it with others!

Xo,

Vani

P.S. I share a lot more “getting fit on real food” advice in my new book coming out soon too!

Food Babe Family - Book
Food Babe Grocery Guide

Sign Up For Updates

And Get A FREE Healthy Grocery Guide Sent To You Now!

Find out what to buy and where at the top grocery stores near you

Posts may contain affiliate, sponsorship and/or partnership links for products Food Babe has approved and researched herself. If you purchase a product through an affiliate, sponsorship or partnership link, your cost will be the same (or at a discount if a special code is offered) and Food Babe will benefit from the purchase. Your support is crucial because it helps fund this blog and helps us continue to spread the word. Thank you.

83 responses to “Wedding Weight Loss Soup

  1. How do you feel about whole foods is it ok to shop there for the ingredients to this yummie recipe? And how can I make sure to avoid msg because in the whole foods site they say there is no such thing as hidden mgs I want to make sure to keep my body safe Thank you for all you do

    1. Finding a local farmer and giving them your money is a better way to shop. Localharvest.org is great for resourcing local eats. I purchase a farm share , also known as a CSA, from a local farmer that costs me $30 a week for fresh produce. Buying directly from the farmer ensures the farmer is being paid the true cost of food, it ensures you get the freshest, best tasting most nutrient dense food possible, and you will literally save hundreds compared to Whole Foods. Craigslist is also a great resource.

  2. Well this is exactly why you got m good match. I know the American body positive crowd won’t agree with this a bit but it’s the truth. A healthy midriff is what attracts, and that comes from eating right and stressing less.

  3. Love following your posts! Are you a belly dancer too? Just wondering, I dance tribal belly dance and so many of us in the dance community are into healthy eating as well!

    Happy Anniversary!

  4. Hello! I love your page and all that you do to help educate the public about making healthier choices.

    Just wondered if it’s possible to make this in the slow cooker. If so do I have to make any changes to the recipe? Thank you so much for your help 🙂

    1. Hi Delia – I don’t like cannelloni beans (I’ve tried!), so I either leave out all together, or sometimes add in a half cup of cooked quinoa. Yum! I love this soup. I usually add in some dried basil and oregano, too.

  5. My family loves this soup! I add carrots for my 1.5 year old (that’s his favorite!) and I scoop around the kale for him because I am pretty sure he can’t chew that. We have eaten this for 3 nights in a row now…we just can’t get enough!

  6. I am wondering if you know how many calories are in one cup serving? It really tastes amazing. Thanks for sharing this!!

  7. ok, i love food babe’s recipes, and i made this tonight. this is the blandest soup i’ve ever tasted – the only seasoning called for is A bay leaf!?

    it’s a great base – you will just have to play around with spices. i added chopped fresh parsley, the juice of a lemon, a little crushed red pepper flakes and SOME GARLIC! 🙂

    also, i didn’t have white beans, so i used garbanzos, and it was awesome.

  8. I LOVE this soup, the only changes I made is the following. I add carrots along with the celery and onion, use baby spinach, also have squeezed fresh lemon juice and zest if I have a cold coming on. VERY SIMPLE SOUP and OH SO GOOD! Thanks Food Babe!

  9. PS to my initial review. I add more than one bay leaf, I have also added fresh thyme, garlic and red pepper flakes. Remember a recipe is a guide, sometimes you schooze a recipe to make it your own 🙂 I also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs with chicken breast. ANYWHO, Thanks Food Babe!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

food babe with grocery cart - footer image