Pumpkin Coconut Curry Soup

The first time I made this I ate it like a soup and then realized that it was very similar to the sauce that comes with my favorite thai dish which is usually listed on the menu as just “red curry”. I ditch the rice that it comes with and usually serve mine over mashed sweet potato (try it!) The second time I made this I added chicken and vegetables and ate it like thai takeout – it was delicious both ways!

Pumpkin Coconut Curry Soup or Thai Pumpkin Red Curry (Paleo)

1 can pumpkin puree
1 can’s-worth of chicken stock/broth
onion powder to taste
garlic powder to taste
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tablespoons red curry paste (I like 3)
1  tablespoon lime juice
1/2 can coconut milk

Add everything except the lime juice and coconut milk to a sauce pan and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. Add the lime juice, remove from heat and stir in the coconut milk. Enjoy as a soup or with  chicken and vegetables. I like to add a squirt of Sriracha as well!

Nana’s Spanish Saffron Chicken Soup (Paleo)

This is a  bowl of nostalgia! The first time I made this I was nervous about using just water and not adding some broth but I wanted to follow Nana’s recipe so I didn’t change it. I’m so glad! It is perfect as is. Exactly as I remember it as a child. Spanish saffron is pricey but so worth it.

Nana’s Spanish Saffron Chicken Soup

1 lb of chicken pieces
1 clove minced garlic
olive oil
2 pinches of Spanish saffron
salt and pepper to taste
parsley

Saute the garlic in pasta pot. Fry chicken in garlic and olive oil. Put enough water in pan to cover the chicken (about a quart or so). Add salt, pepper, parsley, and 2 pinches of dried saffron. Boil about 1 hr 15 minutes and serve broth and chicken over cooked spaghetti.

Winter Squash and Carrot Soup

Winter Squash and Carrot Soup

1 can organic butternut squash (could use a package of frozen, or fresh of course)
3 medium carrots
small clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup leeks
2-3 cups organic vegetable broth
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
tiny dash cinnamon

Soften the garlic and the leeks in the olive oil and add the squash. Steam the carrots (I used the microwave) and add them, broth, salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes then transfer to a blender and puree until completely smooth. Add back to pot and sprinkle a tiny dash of cinnamon. Adjust broth consistency of your choice.

I kept mine really thick but that’s just my palate. You could use pumpkin or any winter squash here. It was warm and comforting and good.

Sweet Potato and Kale Soup

This is my new favorite soup! I picked this up courtesy of Joy the Baker and modified it just a tiny bit.

Kale and Sweet Potato Soup
inspired by Food and Wine

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, chopped fine (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon crushed red peppers
3/4 pound kale, tough stems removed and roughly chopped
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 3/4-inch cubes
2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook down until tender and translucent, about five minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minutes.

Add the sweet potato chunks and stir.

Add the chicken or vegetable broth and bring to a simmer.

Add the kale once the broth is simmering and submerge all of the leaves, helping them to cook down.

Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes have become tender.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Butternut Squash Soup

My co-worker brought this into work for Soup Day and it was so delicious I had to ask for the recipe. I’ll be making this at Thanksgiving but also whenever I want something light, flavorful and substantive enough to be a meal. I made some very minor tweaks for my taste. As a side note, this soup is vegan but tasty enough for even the most voracious omnivore!

Butternut Squash Soup

2 Tbsp   Olive oil
4 cups yellow onion (about 3 large onions)
1 T Tbsp curry powder (your choice, but I used red curry powder)
5 lbs Butternut Squash
1½ lbs sweet apples (about 4), peeled, cored and cubed – golden delicious or honey crisp work well
2 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups water
2 cups good apple cider or juice

Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds and roast until tender (in a preheated, 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes). Scoop the flesh out.

Warm olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.

Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Puree the soup (in batches) in a blender or a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.

Spicy Broth

I threw this together last night based on what I had in the house after being gone for five days and not having been grocery shopping since Thanksgiving. I’ve just been eating it as a soup, but it’s a yummy, spicy base to which you could add rotisserie chicken pieces, little turkey meatballs, beans, rice, or big chunks of veggies to make it a heartier meal.

Spicy Broth

8 or so cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 sweet onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, diced
a couple handfuls frozen corn kernels
kosher salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 – 1 tsp cumin
1/2 – 1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp oregano
about 1 Tbs lemon juice (optional)

Cook the onion, celery, and carrot until soft. Add all remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for a bit.

Yum!

Spicy Tomato Lentil Soup

I bought some lentils the other day because I’ve never cooked with them before and they are supposed to be quite healthy. With a trip to the beach coming up this Saturday I’m on a mission to keep the eats ultra clean this week.

I looked online and found a few different recipes, then made this based on what I had in the house. It’s quite tasty and has a good kick! If you want to tone down the spice then only use 1 dried chili pepper.

Spicy Tomato Lentil Soup

1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 dried chili peppers, chopped
1 cup lentils
1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes
2 cups waters
1 packet Herb Ox sodium free chicken bouillon
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil

Spray a saucepan with cooking spray and add the garlic. Lightly brown the garlic and add the tomatoes, chili peppers, lentils, cumin and basil to the pan along with the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.

When the lentils have softened, puree the soup in a blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 4 servings, each:

195 calories
.5 g fat
34 g carb
15.5 g fiber (leaving 18.5 g net carb)
13.5 g protein

Buffalo Chicken Soup

NOM NOM NOM

I love buffalo wings and all their tasty, spicy, greasy chicken goodness. But it’s not exactly a mid-week meal, ya know? Unless maybe you don’t care about wearing your skinny jeans to the Christmas party next weekend. Guess what? I TOTALLY CARE ABOUT WEARING MY SKINNY JEANS NEXT WEEKEND.

So, this soup does a wonderful job of curbing that craving (not to mention my raging PMS) in a much more figure friendly way. It’s a bit high on the sodium side, but there’s virtually no fat per serving and plenty of lean protein.

Of course, probably downing my second bowl isn’t doing quite as much for the skinny-jean cause. Did I mention the PMS?

Buffalo Chicken Soup
(adapted from three or four various recipes I found while scouring the interwebs)

1/2 white onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 cup I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light
1/4 cup flour
2-3 cups low sodium fat free chicken broth
2-3 cups cooked chicken breast, diced or shredded
2 cups fat free half and half
1 cup Frank’s red hot sauce
1 tsp – 1 Tbs Old Bay seasoning
1/2 cup fat free cheddar cheese

Saute the onions and celery in the ICBINBL over medium heat until tender. Add flour and mix to cook out raw flour. Add broth, chicken, half and half, hot sauce and Old Bay. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add fat free cheese, simmer another 30 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken and flavors to meld.

Makes a lot. You can adjust heat by increasing/decreasing hot sauce to taste. Also, I add just a touch of kosher salt even though there’s a lot of salty ingredients in there already, I find a small pinch of kosher salt helps keep everything from tasting a bit flat.

Chicken Soup

It’s probably the weather, but I was really craving some homemade chicken soup so I whipped some up in the crockpot the other day.

While I’m thinking of it, I own the world’s MOST PATHETIC food processor. Seriously. I really don’t want to go out and buy a new one, but this thing is really lame. It will process approximately 1/4 of a carrot at a time. Yeah.

Anyway, I mention that because I wanted to get veggies in my soup, but I wanted to puree them. I’m not a fan of chunky veggies in chicken soup. Also, I prefer rice over noodles but you can alter this recipe (method) pretty much however you like.

Here’s how I made mine this week. No macros listed because ingredients can be switched up so easily to your tastes so YMMV.

Easy Homemade Chicken Soup

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I season mine with S&P, spray a pot, add the chicken and cover with the lid so it steams)
1 bag frozen broccoli florets, microwaved then food processed
2 fresh carrots, food processed
1/2 medium white onion, food processed
2 stalks celery, food processed
1 cup brown rice, uncooked
2-3 boxes (32 ounces each) reduced sodium, fat free chicken broth
salt, pepper, thyme, marjoram, basil, bay leaf

Plop all in the crockpot and cook on low 6-8 hours. This makes a ton, I put a few individual servings in the freezer to have ready whenever I get a craving for soup. Also, it tastes momunentally better after about two days in the fridge.

P.S. Of course you also really should put a teaspoon of grated parmesan on top of your bowl of chicken soup. Is there any other way to eat it?

The Veggie Soup With The Little Meatballs

This is a recipe I put together after taking elements from a bunch of different recipes. It has a really nice, light and bright flavor. It’s not overly salty but it’s definitely not bland. Also, it’s a relatively inexpensive meal since part of the protein source is canned beans.

The Veggie Soup With The Little Meatballs

1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained
6 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth
1 bag frozen chopped green beans

1 pounds 99% lean ground turkey
1 cup grated fat free Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup cheese, Italian seasoning, and ground turkey. Mix together well and form into small meatballs, no larger than 1 inch in diameter; set aside.

Heat a medium soup pot over medium high heat. Spray bottom of pot with non stick spray and add onion and zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 or 6 minutes alone, stirring frequently, then add the canned beans and the chicken broth. Cover the pot and bring the soup up to a boil. Add the frozen green beans. Reduce heat to medium. Slowly add the meatballs, stirring gently so that they do not clump together into one uber-meatball. Cook for about 30 minutes, until turkey is no longer pink.

Makes 8 servings. Each serving:
218 calories
1.75 g fat
28.5 g carb
6.6 g fiber
23 g protein