Vegetable Soup

I'm a big fan of anything with a bunch of mixed vegetables. All the color and flavor... mmm mmm mmmm.... So I made this Biggest Loser recipe. It is so healthy. For a 1 cup serving there are only 70 calories, 3 g protein, 12 g carbs (7g sugars), 2 g fat (no sat fat), no cholesterol, 3 g fiber and 380 mg sodium. It's a nice colorful soup and makes quite a bit. I froze a bunch so I've got lots of leftovers. Plus you can use the veggie scraps to either make your own veggie broth or if you do your own compost you can toss this in the pile and add lots of goodies to your soil. So here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cups chopped yellow onion
1/2 c thinly sliced carrots (about 8 medium baby carrots)
1/2 c sliced celery (medium stalk)
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes
1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
6 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth or veggie broth
1 c. cooked lentils
1 med zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/4 c. fresh cilantro or Italian parsley
1 tbsp. grated lemon peel

Heat olive oil in a 5 qt saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until soft but not browned. Add the carrots, celery, and bell pepper and cook for about 4 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, but don't allow the garlic to brown.

Add the tomatoes, oregano, thyme, cumin, and chili powder. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

Carefully add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and add the lentils and zucchini. Cook for approximately 4 minutes, or until the zucchini is just tender. Stir in the cilantro or parsley and lemon peel.