Mmmmm! Good

As a follow up to my comments yesterday, I thought I would post some of my quick healthy satisfying recipes. I'll try to include comments at the end that explain why this is good for you. Every cook has a list of items that they believe you should have on hand. I try to always have on hand chicken broth, canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, and chicken breasts. One of the quick easy soups that I make with this is Tortilla Soup (sans tortillas). The soup has such great flavor that you won't miss the tortilla strips. Here is the recipe.

Tortilla Soup

2 tsp veg oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 can tomatoes, undrained (14.5 oz)
2 cans chicken broth (14.5 oz)
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
2 tsp lime juice
1 small avocado, diced (optional)
2 Tbsp cilantro leaves (optional)
1 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese

Saute chopped onion in veg oil until tender. Add garlic then tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add chicken and lime juice. Simmer 5 more minutes. Serve soup with avocado, cheese and cilantro.
Note: If you must have some tortillas you can fry some strips of corn tortillas until crisp and lightly browned. Serve on top of soup.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 430 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 314
Calories from Fat 189
Total Fat 20.9g
Saturated Fat 7.7g
Cholesterol 52mg
Sodium 1121mg47%
Total Carbohydrates 7.4g
Dietary Fiber 3.6g
Sugars 2.0g
Protein 24.3g
Vitamin A 7% • Vitamin C 12%
Calcium 24% • Iron 8%
Nutrition Grade B-
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

If you are watching your cholesterol go easy on (or omit) the avocado and cheese.

Avocados are rich in good fats though. They have been shown to decrease levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) and help increase the levels of good cholesterol (HDL). They should be avoided if you are on a low potassium diet. They have 60% more potassium than bananas. (Need a trick to remembering which is the good and the bad cholesterols? LDL is lousy and HDL is healthy!)

The tomatoes in this recipe are a treasure trove of goodness. Besides they contain lycopene and other antioxidants. Lycopene is associated with decreased risk of certain cancers and is thought to help protect from harmful UVA rays.

I could dissect this recipe even further but you get the picture. A hot bowl of soup can be very satisfying on a cold day. If you've got a guy like mine that wants a little more protein in his soup double the amount of chicken in the recipe. Enjoy!