Clean Eating Chicken Tortilla Soup (OAMC)

Makes about 10 servings, 1 cup each
As I've said time and time again, we eat a lot of soups in our house. It's a perfect medium to throw all kinds of veggies into which get happily eaten unnoticed. And all of my boys (even the biggest one) love anything they can dip tortilla chips into. I'm pretty sure Matt would eat this or Black Bean Salsa Soup every single night if I let him.


There are a TON of different ways you can make tortilla soup but two interesting things about this recipe are the addition of cornmeal and okra. The cornmeal gives the soup a nice texture and rounds out the flavors. Also combining a bean with a whole grain makes a complete protein. Okra is a vegetable that people don't often think about unless they're frying it. I'll admit that until we moved down south I had never heard of it. Back when I was first making baby food for Colwynn I learned that Okra is actually a power packed green vegetable and it also thickens the soup nicely. No one in my house is very fond of slices of okra in soup, though, so I cook it and puree it before stirring it in. 
Update: Instead of precooking and pureeing the okra now, I just cook it right in the soup and then puree it after I take the chicken out to shred it

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup diced onion (any kind will do)
• ½ cup diced bell pepper (any color)
• 2 cups sliced okra (I use frozen)
• 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 3 Tbsp tomato paste
• 4 cups water 
• 2 15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed well 
• ¼ cup whole grain cornmeal
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
• 5 wholegrain corn tortillas, cut into strips (optional)

ONE: Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onions, pepper, okra, garlic, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt. Cook 5 minutes or until veggies begin to soften.

TWO: Add in diced tomatoes, chicken stock, tomato paste, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Add in chicken breasts and cornmeal and cook, uncovered, 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Stir every few minutes for the first 10 minutes, scraping the bottom, to make sure the cornmeal doesn't settle to the bottom and stick.

THREE: Remove chicken from pot. If you don't want chunks of okra, use an immersion blender to puree the soup mixture still in the pot. Allow soup to continue simmering while you shred the chicken using two forks.

FOUR: Return shredded chicken to pot, add the beans, and let simmer another 5 minutes until heated through. Remove from heat, and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. If using tortilla strips, stir them in 5 minutes before serving.

Serve garnished with sliced avocado, shredded cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro, a drizzle of lime juice, or even a spoonful of plain yogurt. My boys like to dip tortilla chips into it instead of having the corn tortillas stirred in. Freeze leftovers in 1 cup portions using the medium/large portions method to feed your freezer stash.

NUTRITION INFO:
Per 1-cup serving without tortilla strips or garnishes - 190 Calories (35 Calories from Fat), 4g Total Fat, 1g Saturated Fat, 27mg Cholesterol, 397mg Sodium, 22g Carbohydrates, 6g Dietary Fiber, 4g Sugars, 15g Protein, 11% DV Vitamin A, 27% DV Vitamin C, 5% DV Calcium, 39% DV Iron

:)

Clean Eating Italian Wedding Soup

Makes 14 servings, 1 cup each (I think…)
I first made this soup when my superbly awesome and wonderful sister, Anthea, was visiting me over the summer. (Hi, Anthea!) We eat a LOT of soups in our house because it’s such a great vessel for throwing a ton of veggies into which my kids will happily eat because they are soft and too hard to pick out. Also, soups freeze exceptionally well which is always a plus in my book. If you search for Italian Wedding Soup you will find literally thousands of different recipes… so naturally I couldn’t follow any of them and had to make my own :)

I poured over the bazillion variations to get a general idea of what the main idea of the soup should be and then made some substitutions and adjustments. It made a HUGE pot… and I'm not totally sure how many servings it was because we ate it so fast I didn’t get a chance to count. All of the kids scarfed it down with little to no coercion, even my super picky nephew. And then we made it again and again and again.

How I “healthified” it:
Many of the recipes used ground beef or fattier types of ground pork for the meatballs. I stuck to ground turkey and added some chopped sundried tomatoes and some other seasonings to tasty them up.

Many of the recipe were basically just broth, eggs, and cheese with little to no veggies. I added carrots and celery to my broth because these tend to do really well in soups and lend a nice texture. Plus I bumped up the greens from a measly ½ or 1 cup to 5 cups and used kale for it’s power packed nutrition profile. It shrivels and gets all soft in the soup anyway so you don’t even really notice it’s in there. I like to get as much greens into my family as possible :)

Many of the recipes used orzo or some other type of pasta. None of my stores carry whole grain orzo and Anthea insisted that big pasta was just not right so we used quinoa instead. Quinoa is great in soups because it softens but doesn’t lose it’s texture and it’s a complete protein all in itself. Plus it gets those curly ribbons when it’s cooked so it’s just fun.

I substituted some of the broth for water because, when we made it with all broth, it was too salty. Plus, I knew for a fact that we were going to sprinkle a little extra parmesan cheese on top before serving which would make it even more salty.

Finally, a LOT of the recipes had an egg or two and a bunch of parmesan cheese stirred into the soup. I felt like the soup was tasty enough and a nice texture without this addition and I like to sprinkle my little bit of parmesan on top at serving so I skipped it. I’m sure this means that this is not an “official” Italian Wedding Soup but I’m cool with that.

The results: Only 143 Calories but it packs a whopping 12g of protein, 2g of dietary fiber, 118% of your daily value of Vitamin A and 51% of your daily value of Vitamin C. In one little bowl of soup… that my kids will happily eat… and tastes delicious while being filling. Yay :)

Ingredients:
Soup –

• 7 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 3 cups water
• 4 tsp minced garlic
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
• 2 stalks of celery, sliced
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 5 cups of kale (or other greens)
• 1 Tbsp dried fennel (Anthea did NOT like this addition and she felt it was a weird taste [not that it stopped her from inhaling two full bowls mind you] so the next time we made it we didn’t put it in. I thought the second batch was missing something and that the fennel really added a nice flavor so, when she’s not here, I always add it. I say, if you have fennel on hand, sniff it and if you think it would be a taste that you’d like, throw it in there. It kind of has a licorice flavor but it worked for me.)

Meatballs-

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/3 cup finely diced onion
• 3 big sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• ¼ cup whole wheat bread crumbs (I use unfrosted miniwheats ground in the blender)
• ½ cup parmesan cheese

ONE: Add a little drizzle of olive oil to a big pot and toss in the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, fennel (if you’re using it) and quinoa. Cook over medium high for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onions just start to soften and the quinoa is slightly toasted.

TWO: Add the broth, water, and pepper and bring to a gentle boil. While the soup mixture is heating up, begin cutting the kale into small pieces and adding it into the liquid. I hold a bunch of kale in one hand and use my kitchen scissors to snip the leaves into the pot. Discard any stems or tough pieces.

THREE: Once the soup is boiling, reduce to a simmer. In a medium bowl combine all of the meatball ingredients and mix well. (I use my hands which is totally gross-feeling but does the best mixing job)

FOUR: Using your hands, roll the meatball mixture into mini meatballs and drop them into the pot. (If the mixture seems too dry and the meatballs won’t stick together, add a splash of egg whites.) After about every 10 or so meatballs, use a spoon to push them down into the soup. You might need to add a little extra water or broth if there’s not enough liquid to submerge them all.

FIVE: Once the last meatball is in the pot, increase the heat to medium and let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through, the veggies are tender, and the quinoa has little curls. Serve garnished with a bit of extra parmesan cheese if desired.

Freeze leftovers using the medium/large portions method to feed your freezer stash. Defrost in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Nutrition info:
Per 1-cup serving – 143 Calories (40 Calories from Fat), 4g Fat, 1g Saturated Fat, 26mg Cholesterol, 160mg Sodium, 14g Carbohydrates, 2g Dietary Fiber, 1.5g Sugar, 12g Protein, 118% DV Vitamin A, 51% DV Vitamin C, 10% DV Calcium, 10% DV Iron.
:)

Clean Eating Shrimp Jambalaya

Makes 4 servings of soup, 1 cup each
This recipe was one of the very first recipes I made from Clean Eating Magazine. It's so fast and easy to throw together and is totally delicious. In fact, the first time I made it, I was babysitting my friend Nicole's little boy. He was really into "cooking" at the time and we all know how slow going it can be when a toddler helps you cook. But this recipe was so easy that he actually could help and it was still done quickly.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 16 oz can stewed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp red pepper
• dash pepper
• 1 lb deshelled shrimp
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• Olive oil cooking spray

ONE: Spray a saucepan with cooking spray and cook onion, pepper and garlic until tender.

TWO: Stir in stewed tomatoes, water, bay leaves, thyme, basil, red pepper, shrimp, and cooked rice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Stir frequently.

NUTRITION INFO:

Per Serving - 310 Calories (26 Calories from Fat), 3g Total Fat, 223mg Cholesterol, 266mg Sodium, 43g Carbohydrates, 4g Dietary Fiber, 4g Sugar, 29g Protein, 20% DV Vitamin A, 42% DV Vitamin C, 6% DV Calcium, 28% DV Iron

:)

Clean Eating Crockpot African Peanut Soup

Makes 12 servings, 1 cup each
I got the idea for this soup HERE and made a few modifications (you know I can never just follow a recipe LOL). The first time I made this it was for my friend, Martha. I made a double batch and canned it all using my pressure canner to bring to her as a Congrats-On-Your-New-Baby Present (yes I canned it even though it has peanuts in it and no they didn’t die of botulism). I was so focused on packing up meals for her that I totally forgot to save some for us and had to make a whole other batch the next day because it smelled like HEAVEN while it was cooking.

You could easily make this a vegetarian recipe by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. It tastes even better the next day after it’s had more of a chance for the flavors to blend. My family is wimpy when it comes to heat so I used barely any chili powder. Adjust the heat according to your own family’s tolerance.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 2 large red bell peppers, chopped
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and shredded
• 2 medium carrots, shredded or diced small
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tsp)
• 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes, with liquid
• 8 cups chicken broth (can use veggie broth)
• 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder (optional, I used 1/8 tsp)
• 2/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro plus extra for garnish
• Chopped peanuts for garnish (optional)
• Plain non-fat yogurt for garnish (optional)

ONE: Swirl the olive oil around the bottom of the crockpot. Dump in all of the veggies, garlic, tomatoes with juice, broth, brown rice, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, and chili powder. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours (high for 4 hours) or until veggies are tender.

TWO: Stir in peanut butter and fresh cilantro and cook on high an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve sprinkled with extra cilantro, chopped peanuts, and a dollop of yogurt.

THREE: To thicken the broth before serving, use an immersion blender (seriously the coolest tool ever!) and blend everything right in the crock for about a minute or until it’s how you like it. If you don’t have an immersion blender, scoop out 2 cups of the soup and CAREFULLY (because it will be really hot) puree it in a regular blender and then add it back to the soup.

STOVETOP DIRECTIONS: Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Add veggies and cook until lightly browned and tender. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds or until fragrant. Stir in tomatoes, chicken broth, brown rice, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, and chili powder. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Stir in peanut butter and fresh cilantro, cover, and simmer another 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Serve sprinkled with extra cilantro, chopped peanuts, and a dollop of yogurt. If desired, thicken according to instructions in step three above.

Look at all those brightly colored veggies :)

Freeze leftovers in 1 cup portions using the medium/large portion method to feed your freezer stash.

NUTRITION INFO:

Per 1-cup serving (without garnishes) - 218 Calories (98 Calories from Fat), 11g Fat, 2g Saturated Fat, 0mg Cholesterol, 153mg Sodium, 23g Total Carbohydrates, 4g Dietary Fiber, 4g Sugars, 10g Protein, 92% DV Vitamin A, 73% DV Vitamin C, 5% DV Calcium, 11% DV Iron