Cleansing Vegetable Soup

Christmas is through, and Matt and I are several pounds heavier.  We have been gorging ourselves since pretty much Thanksgiving.  Not good.

So today I am making a cleansing soup full of fiber, and devoid of meat and wheat.  A perfect way to spend our first day back home.  I'm sure we can all use some cleansing.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups dried lentils
3 parsnips (When the soup was complete, this was not my favorite part.  I would probably put carrots next time.  But Matt liked them in the soup.  I much prefer the taste of roasted parsnips to those in the soup.)
1 bunch green onions
3 celery stalks
1 bunch cilantro (for garnish)
2 eggplants
1 bunch of kale
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Water
Chicken bouillon (or chicken stock, or vegetable stock if you prefer)
Splash of wine (I had some old wine in the fridge and thought, hey let's dump that in too)
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice (I prefer lime)
1/2 tsp black pepper, cracked
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil (fresh or dried)
1 tsp oregano (fresh or dried)
Vegetable oil (3 tbsp)
Drizzle of olive oil

Directions:

Rinse the lentils with warm water several times.
Soak the lentils for at least 2 hours (up to overnight).  They can be soaking while you're chopping vegetables and preparing the first part of the soup
Heat the vegetable oil in a large stock pot on medium heat
Chop the green onions into small pieces (diced), stir
Peel and chop the parsnips into small, bite-size pieces (or smaller if you like), and add to the pot, stir
Chop the celery (including the leaves) and add to the pot.
       Note: Play it by ear.  I had to turn the stove to low heat because it was taking me a while to chop everything in each step.  Try your best to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Chop the eggplant, leaving the skin on, into bite-size pieces as well.  Stir into the mixture.
Optional: Chop the stems of the cilantro and add to the pot.
Drizzle with olive oil and stir for 5 minutes.  The parsnips should smell nice and sweet by now.

Drain the lentils that have been soaking, rinse them thoroughly again, and drain again.  Add them to the pot and stir a bit.
Add hot water from the sink until it covers the eggplant mixture.
Chop the kale and add it to the pot.  Add more hot water until the pot is almost full (see picture)

Add 2 tbsp of the bouillon and put the lid on the pot.  Bring the pot to a boil.

Taste the broth and add more bouillon if it is not flavorful enough.
Add the minced garlic and other herbs and seasonings at this time.

Turn the heat down and let the pot simmer with the lid on for an hour.
Taste the broth and add any desired seasoning (I just added a bit of salt)
Drizzle olive oil before serving.
Serve with chopped cilantro on top.  Enjoy!