Tuesday, September 11, 2007

My "Soup Meal"

Kale Soup with Jalapeno, Roasted Corn and Shredded Chicken Breast


I eat basically the same foods everyday. Currently, I have one soup meal, one salad meal and one or two snack meals like yogurt, fruit (lots!) or PNB/celery/raisins. The first year of my diet I never ate a bowl of soup! Instead, I prepared a yogurt shake everyday (as my noon time meal), I still had two other meals, one salad meal and another veg based meal w/pasta or rice and a protein.

I do not know how I ever lived so long without eating soup! I think I've eaten more soup in the last 1 1/2 years, than my whole life combined! It is the perfect meal for many reasons, first it's extememly low cal/high volume (the way I prepare it), it can be prepared in advance, and many different ingredients can be added to accomodate caloric and nutritional needs.

I think I started making soup on a regular basis in the spring (March/April) 2006, after my weight loss, because I was cooking alot more, it was still chilly outside, I needed more diversity in my food, and it was appealing in the fact that I could make a large amount in advance and freeze it, and most importantly, at the time, I could eat huge amounts and still stay within my caloric parameters!


I started with a recipe from The Joy of Cooking cookbook called, Barley Soup with Sausages. From that point I made it so often (soup) that I developed my own recipes using ingredients I had on hand. Vegetable soups are all basically the same and once you get in the habit of making soup, changes comes naturally, the protein and/or carb additions are endless. Here are some of my regulars,

chicken/turkey

ground beef/steak

sausage/ham

beans

corn

pasta

spaghetti squash/butternut squash

rice/barley

etc...

I currently make two veggie soups, one basic veg w/cabbage onion, carrot, celery, and kale,(I posted the recipe couple of weeks ago), and a spicier variation of that when I add peppers and/or tomatoes, and spices, like chili powder....the latter has a "mexican" flare.

Kale Soup w/Jalapeno, Roasted Corn and Chicken

onion (1 lg, sliced or diced)

celery (2-3 stalks diced)

carrot (2-3, diced)

jalapeno (4-5, sliced)

kale, stems (diced) and leaves (sliced across width, 1") separated, (1 bunch)

garlic (4-5 cloves, chopped or minced)

4 cups chicken stock, or broth

chicken breast (2)

roasted corn (kernels from 2 ears, or more)

S & P, dried oregano, squeeze of lime

Saute onion, celery, carrots, jalapeno, and kale stems in 2 T. olive oil until soft and starting to brown (10-15 min), add garlic cook for 1-2 min more. Season with S&P, add oregano if using (1 T). Add stock, kale leaves and chicken breast (no bone) if using, bring to a boil, turn heat to low and simmer slightly covered for 15 min.

Remove chicken, dice or shred, and put back in, add corn kernels.

I topped my soup w/ a roasted and sliced jalapeno pepper, and a squeeze of lime.

I'll be taking this soup to work with me today, but with squash and black beans, instead of corn and chicken.

I will post my recipe and step by step instructions for home made chicken stock withinn the next couple of days!

Soup is good!

15 comments:

Franz Snideman said...

That looks unbelievably tasty! You should come up with a KB'ers recipe book.

what do you think?

christina said...

Yum! I love soup too, I usually pass on the soup making for the summer but I'm thinking it's time for a pot soon. Maybe this weekend after I hit up the farmers market. All of your food sounds and looks delicious :)

Happiness Within said...

Tracy,

I love soups and get so excited making large batches to freeze. I am eager to learn your stock recipe.

I love "volume" foods that are lower in caloric value and high on taste.

Thanks for continuing to share.

Tamikka

Himitsu Joe said...

Inspired by the picture (not the recipe) it was'nt posted at the time. Dinner last night was homemade beef and lentil soup.

Love the recipes and the pics.

Aaron Friday said...

I printed out the page and ate it.

Tracy Reifkind said...

Franz,

I don't think the average kettlebeller cooks! Maybe I can inspire a few though, lol

Tracy Reifkind said...

Christina,

I used to think of soup as cold weather food too, but honestly it was deliciuos and appropriate all summer long! Maybe because I eat my soup warm, not necessarily hot.

And cooking it only takes 20-25 min. It's the homemade stock that goes all day and heats up the kitchen, but I only make that every 10-14 days.

Tracy Reifkind said...

Tamikka,

I used to make large batches, but now I make smaller, more manageable amounts. It's quick and easy.

Tracy Reifkind said...

JOE!!!!

It's always great to hear from you!

Lentils....yum! Did you use stew meat, ground beef or steak????

I've been grilling up alot of skirt steak, slicing the leftovers and throwing it into my soups!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Aaron,

Fawn can teach me how to really cook soup!

Christine said...

Yum! Okay, I'm going shopping tomorrow and now that the weather has cooled down, I'm going to start making some soup and freezing it to take to work. I'm going to try this recipe, and some classic Italian Wedding soup... without the pasta.

Tracy Reifkind said...

Christine,

Isn't wedding soup a classic veg/chicken soup with egg? Or is it meatballs? I put meatballs in my soup,(or cut up meatloaf, same difference) quite often.

Either way, the important thing is to get in the habit of making and eating soup!

Christine said...

Hey Tracy,

I made some wedding soup today. The recipe I took from food network was chicken broth, meatballs, and escarole with a little cheese and egg drizzle. I left out the pasta. I'll go look for the recipe again and paste the link here.

Christine said...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_28928,00.html


Now... I used Better Than Boullion for the chicken stock instead of lugging home that much stock from the store. It turned out a little salty, so next time I'm either going to a) make my own broth, or b) not put as much salt in the meatballs.

I also think this would be fantastic with some turkey meatballs instead of the beef/pork.

Tracy Reifkind said...

Christine,

I forgot to mention that I started out using 1/2 sodium , Swansons, chicken broth instead of homemade, (when I post step by step of my chicken stock recipe, I'll be sure and disclose that little detail, so "normal" people can relate!).

Canned broth isn't as salty, especially, obviously 1/2 sodium, as boullion...but boullion is super to use in risotto. I'll be doing risotto soon, since it was one of my staples in the beginning.

Bottom line, use Swansons 1/2 sodium chicken broth!