Vegetable Soup for Life.

Yesterday, my mom and I went down to the Dallas Farmer's Market to buy some fresh produce. We loaded up on tons vegetables for my planned vegetable soup. Taking a cue from my girlfriend's parents, I'm going to start eating a healthy veggie soup for dinner Monday through Friday. I'll probably pair the soup with a cup of cooked brown rice too. Think healthy, eat healthy, live healthy...

Here's the recipe for a gigantic pot of healthy vegetable soup:

• 5 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 10 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• Handful of okra, chopped (about 3/4")
• 3 tomatoes, crushed
• 1/2 head of cabbage (I used white, but red might provide a nice color.)
• 2 bell peppers (I used a red and orange... not the biggest fan of green.)
• Fresh corn (I used two ears of corn and simply cut off the kernels.)
• 8 small red potatoes, quartered
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 handfuls of split peas 
• Dash of black pepper
• A few pinches of various herbs (whatever looks and tastes good).
• Low-sodium chicken stock (for added flavor), enough to cover all of the vegetables.

Let that simmer on medium heat for a few hours and you'll be enjoying some hearty soup in no time. That might seem like a lot of garlic, but it provides a lot of delicious flavor. You can basically add sort of vegetables you'd like I actually doubled this whole recipe and made two pots to last throughout the week.

Note: Sorry if my recipe isn't too precise. I'm a cook, not a chef.