45 Calorie a cup Beef Barley Soup

Lynn_babcock

I'm not sure I've posted this one before but I just made it today and wanted to share it because it's so good for so few calories.

Today I used 7 ounces of sirloin steak.. which is what my calorie count went by, you can use more or less (original recipe called for 12 ounces.. but I think my mom used a larger pot). 1/2 cup dry pearl barley, 4 large carrots (sliced), 3 stalks of celery (sliced), 1 tablespoon of tomato bouillon (that was pretty good, my moms recipe just calls for more beef bouillon. If you don't use the tomato bouillon use 3 more beef bouillon cubes), 5 small beef bouillon cubes, garlic in some form, 2 cups broccoli, 1/2 cup white onion.. and another 1.5-2 cups of other vegetables. Today I used zucchini and tomatoes because that's what I had that needed used up. Other ones that I've used that I liked were cabbage, bok choi, greens (kale, collard, swiss chard, broccoli greens, etc). I use a 5.5 quart pot (makes 22 cups officially but I only divide it by 20 cups in my recipe counter.. so it's actually less calories per cup.

To make: My steak was precooked.. leftovers from the night before. If your meat is raw you'll want to slice it thin/dice it and cook it in a skillet.. with the onions preferably.. sprinkle with garlic powder or dice some fresh garlic in there. You don't have to cook it fully.. since it'll be boiling for awhile too. Fill your pot 1/2 - 3/4 up with water and start boiling the barley in it (it takes 30+ minutes to cook it). So start boiling the barley. While that's boiling unwrap you bouillon and put that in. Let the barley boil for 15 minutes.. then add the rest of your ingredients and boil until the barley is soft and starting to split. Once it's done I fill it the rest of the way with water. It's so easy, low-calorie, and even my husband likes it because it's 'beef'. If you want it to have more substance you can add like 3 diced potatoes too (that's what original recipe called for.. but I omit on account of making a calorie deficit.)