Soups! Soups! Soups!

If anyone is interested in making a soup from the soup article that I mentioned was on the Blog tab, I made the Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup from the soup recipe article. It was very good and very filling with lots of vegetables.

I entered the ingredients into the My Recipe Box on the Food and Recipe tab and it calculated 136 calories for a cup serving. The recipe says it makes 4 servings, but I changed it to 8 because it made 8 cups of soup. I made a few changes. I used a zucchini and replaced the red pepper with green beans since I had them in the freezer. My non-calorie counting husband loved it, too.

I will try a different one next week. I like to try different recipes and there were several good ones that I have my eye on.

Just to let you know if you are interested, I did make the Tortellini Vegetable Soup yesterday. It was wonderful, especially with the low calorie count. My husband does not like vegetables too much but did like the soup with the squash in it. The package of tortellini was 12 ounces, so I just used half the package (6oz.) instead of the 9 ounces the recipe indicates. That actually made the recipe a few less calories, too. It makes a BIG pot full!

I would suggest you use all the spices listed to add flavor. It is very tomatoy with the crushed tomatos and chicken broth as the base. I did add some spinach since it was in the refrigerator.

I actually served it with rolls and made homemade chicken nuggets too, because my husband is definitely a "carnivore". "Where's the meat?" kind of guy.

Again, here is the link to the soup article if you want to try it or any of the other 14 soups:

This is the soup article GreenValli referenced:
http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/15-hearty-soups-youll-want-to-sip-on-under-355-calories/[/quote]

Jessica,

Pumpkin soup sounds good! I have made butternut squash soup before and really enjoyed it. Does your recipe use a pumpkin or canned pumpkin? I don't know if there are stores around that sell pumpkins this time of the year.

Thanks to Alicjakrol:

Vegan African Peanut Soup
192 calories per serving

Total Cost: $5.64
Cost Per Serving: $0.94
Serves: 6 (1.5 cups each)
Ingredients
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil $0.02
• 4 cloves garlic $0.32
• 1 inch fresh ginger $0.15
• 1 medium (1 lb.) sweet potato $1.32
• 1 medium onion $0.42
• 1 tsp cumin $0.10
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper $0.02
• 1 (6oz.) can tomato paste $0.59
• ½ cup natural style chunky peanut butter $0.93
• 6 cups vegetable broth $0.81
• ½ bunch (2-3 cups chopped) collard greens $0.75
• ¼ bunch cilantro, garnish (optional) $0.21
Instructions
1. Peel and grate the ginger using a small holed cheese grater. Mince the garlic. Sauté the ginger and garlic in vegetable oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until the garlic becomes soft and fragrant.
2. Dice the onion, add it to the pot, and continue to sauté. Dice the sweet potato (1/2 inch cubes), add it to the pot, and continue to sauté a few minutes more, or until the onion is soft and the sweet potato takes on a darker, slightly translucent appearance. Season with cumin and red pepper flakes.
3. Add the tomato paste and peanut butter, and stir until everything is evenly mixed. Add the vegetable broth and stir to dissolve the thick tomato paste-peanut butter mixture. Place a lid on the pot and turn the heat up to high.
4. While the soup is coming up to a boil, prepare the collard greens. Rinse the greens well, then use a sharp knife to remove each stem (cut along the side of each stem). Stack the leaves, then cut them into thin strips. Add the collard strips to the soup pot.
5. Once the soup reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and allow it to simmer without a lid for about 15 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are very soft. Once soft, smash about half of the sweet potatoes with the back of a wooden spoon to help thicken the soup. Taste the soup and add salt if needed (will depend on the brand of broth used).
6. Serve the stew hot with a few cilantro leaves if desired.

Minestrone soup this week. A bit spicy made with spicy V-8.