One of my best-loved comfort foods is homemade soup, and vegetable beef barley is one of my favorites. 

As I almost always do with home-cooked meals, I’ve tweaked the traditional recipe to make it healthier. I leave out the teaspoon or so of salt the recipe usually calls for, use reduced-salt or no-added-salt ingredients, and substitute a bit more spice to retain flavor. I also cut the amount of meat in half to lower both the calorie count and the cholesterol/saturated fat levels and double the veggies. The result is nutritious as well as delicious.  

The soup is super easy to make. As a bonus, it freezes well for up to three months, and therefore lends itself to batch cooking. This recipe makes approximately 10 one-cup servings.

Ingredients

• 1 pound beef cubes or crumbled ground beef, browned and drained
• 2 32-ounce cartons unsalted beef broth
• 2-3 cups water, as needed
• 16-ounce can no-added-salt diced tomatoes with juice
• 16-ounce can no-added-salt whole kernel corn, drained
• 6 carrots, peeled and diced
• 6 stalks celery, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup quick pearled barley
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2-3 small bay leaves

Directions

Cut beef into 1/2-inch cubes, or crumble and brown ground beef, and drain well.

Peel and dice carrots, celery and onion.

Combine all ingredients in a large pot or dutch oven and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, for approximately a half hour, or until the meat, barley and vegetables are tender.

If the soup begins to get too thick, add water a cup at a time, as needed, to achieve desired consistency.

Nutrition information

Serving size: 1 cup | Calories: 168 | Carbohydrates: 23 g | Protein: 12 g | Fat: 4 g | Saturated fat: 2 g | Cholesterol: 28 mg | Sodium: 78 mg | Potassium: 475 mg | Fiber: 4 g | Sugar: 5 g | Vitamin A: 128% | Vitamin C: 24% | Calcium: 3% | Iron: 6%