Low calorie egg drop soup w/Brussels sprouts!

This is my new favorite thing. Not only is it very low calorie at around 70 calories per serving, but it's delicious and great on these cold days we've been having. Yes, the recipe does include BRUSSELS SPROUTS. The most hated vegetable of all time? I say no! Even Brian, who is not fond of Brussels sprouts really enjoyed this soup. Give it a shot. It's especially good if you are trying to lose weight like me!

Ingredients:

Brussels sprouts, around 10. Leaves peeled and the rest quartered.
2 Tablespoons EVOO
2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups chicken broth divided (32 oz pre-made or use bouillon. I like the tomato chicken bouillon.)
1 or 2 stalks of green onions, chopped (I like a lot of green onion so I often add extra if I've got it)
1/2 teaspoon salt
A few dashes of ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch (not pictured oops!)
2 eggs and 1 egg white, beat together.

Directions:

To begin with, I usually double this recipe (except for the Brussels sprouts. I usually just use however many I feel like.) Each recipe has 4 servings, but I usually eat 2 servings at a time because it's so low calorie (60-70 per serving)



-Add 3 1/2 cups chicken broth (reserve 1/2 cup for later!), green onions, ginger, and salt to a large pot. Set on medium high and bring to a boil.

-While you are waiting for your broth to boil, prepare your Brussels sprouts. I cut off the bottoms, peal off as many leaves as I can and then quarter the rest. It's not necessary to separate them, I just did it for the visual. 

-Add EVOO to a saute pan. Heat over medium and then add your garlic. Let it sizzle for a minute or so. 

-Toss in your sprouts and stir 'em up! Add a little bit of water to the pan (a little under a 1/4 cup) and turn up the heat to medium high.  

-Let those bad boys cook for about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. You will know they are done when the quartered bits are starting to get tender, and the leaves turn bright green. Turn off the heat! 

-Take your 1/2 cup of reserved broth and stir in your cornstarch until it is dissolved. This step is really important. If you try to add the cornstarch directly to the hot pot of broth, it starts to congeal immediately. No good. 

-Add cornstarch mixture and Brussels sprouts to what should now be a boiling broth. 

-In a small bowl, beat your eggs. Now, this part is a little tricky. I've seen that a lot of people use a large fork for dropping the egg into the broth. Personally, I think that takes wayyyyy too long. So, I use a small spoon. A spoonful at a time, drop the egg into the boiling broth in a stream so that the egg cooks almost like noodles. If you want big chunks of egg, by all means, plop it in there with the spoon. I do a combination of both. 

When you are done, it will look a  little something like this! 

And if you are a hot sauce freak like myself, it will look like this.

Directions (Condensed version)

1. Add 3 1/2 cups chicken broth, green onion, ground ginger, and salt to a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium high. 

2. Add EVOO to saute pan and turn heat to medium. Add minced garlic and let the pan heat for about 1 minute. Add Brussels sprouts and stir to coat. Add a little less than a 1/4 cup of water and turn heat to medium high. Cook for 4 minutes or until quartered bits are becoming tender and leaves are bright green. Turn off heat. 

3. In a small bowl, incorporate cornstarch into 1/2 cup reserved chicken broth until dissolved. Add to boiling chicken broth mixture. Stir, then add cooked Brussels sprouts. 

4. Beat eggs in a small bowl. With a spoon, fork, or utensil of your choosing, drop egg into boiling broth. I use a spoon and pour each spoonful slowly so that the egg forms into almost "noodles." You can also use a fork, dipping it into the egg mixture, and then holding it over the pot. Using a fork will make your egg much thinner. 

Enjoy! Let me know if you make it and what you think of it!

jill