Five days into the new year and already December feels like a distant memory. I think my brain has been dulled by too much of everything. Too many expectations, too much preparation, too much family (you know what I mean) and of course, too much food. Way too much food.
Let’s face it, in January we have to pay the piper for the pounds we likely packed on in December, and that won’t happen without some dietary changes. It can be doubly difficult to get back into healthy eating in January when we’ve become accustomed to consuming larger amounts of rich foods during the holidays, and returning to our pre-holiday portions can make us feel deprived.
Does the title of this entry tell you where I’m going with this? Vegetable soup is one solution that may help get us back on track and keep us filled up. Weight Watchers has several great zero-point vegetable soups on their web site.
Mexican Chicken Soup variation
This version is from Good Housekeeping. Their basic recipe is highly adaptable to variations, which I’ve included below. I’ve also added my own variation of Shrimp Creole that I improvised on a whim. It was fabulous and so easy. No further vegetable chopping–you just add the shrimp and lots of hot sauce and serve with brown rice.
The basic soup has 45 calories per cup, or zero WW points. The variations have more points depending upon what ingredients you add, but they’re still very low in fat and calories. I’ve halved the original recipe, which calls for a 12-quart pot. If you have that large a pot, I’ve given the original amounts in parenthesis after each ingredient. The soup will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, so you can make any or all of the variations and enjoy different flavors with minimal time and effort.
The basic, all-you-can-eat recipe, unadorned.
1/2 lb. carrots, sliced (1 lb.)
1 1/2 onions, chopped (3 medium)
2 stalks celery, sliced (4)
1 large garlic clove, minced (2)
1 (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes (2)
4 oz. cabbage, thinly sliced (I used coleslaw mix) (8 oz.)
Scant 1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed and each cut into thirds (3/4 lb.)
1 (24-oz.) carton reduced-sodium chicken broth (2)*
3 cups water (6)*
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 small zucchini, sliced into half-moons (3 medium)
1 (6 oz.) bag baby spinach, roughly chopped (2)
Coat a large stock pot with nonstick spray and add carrots, onions, celery and garlic. Cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes.
Add tomatoes and their liquid, cabbage, green beans, broth, water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer about 10 minutes. Stir in zucchini and spinach and continue to simmer another 10 minutes until all vegetables are tender. Season to taste.
*You can use all chicken broth instead of part broth, part water.
The following variations turn the basic recipe into a full-meal soup.
Mexican Chicken Soup variation:
To two cups of the original recipe, add:
3 oz. chicken, cut into 1/2 ” cubes
1/3 cup corn (I use frozen)
1/4 t. cumin
1 T. chopped cilantro
Lime wedges (squeeze onto the soup when you serve it)
Minestrone Soup variation:
To two cups of the original recipe, add:
1/2 cup white beans
1/2 cup cooked small pasta
2 T. Parmesan cheese, grated
1 T. chopped fresh basil
Shrimp Creole Variation:
To two cups of the original recipe, heavy on the vegetables, add:
1 lb. large shrimp
Frank’s Hot Sauce or Tabasco Sauce to taste (this gives it the spicy Creole flavor)
Serve with brown rice
I’m making this tonight! Thanks for the reminder!
I think the creole shrimp version sounds delish!
I’ve been eating this the last two days; it is yummy. So far I have made the shrimp creole version and Mexican is tomorrow night, but it is also yummy as an afternoon snack just as it is. Great! Thanks.