Skinny Grandma's Vegetable Beef Soup

There are two soups that remind me of my Grandma. One is Vegetable Beef and the other is Chicken Noodle. I have tried my best to replicate those flavors over the years but adapted them to a much healthier lifestyle. Omitting the oils and the higher fat ground beef. You can find my Chicken Noodle version here. 

SKINNY GRANDMA'S VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP

10 oz. diced red potatoes (skin on if you prefer - I do!)

10 oz. lean ground beef  96/4 (like Laura's Lean beef)

10 oz. baby carrots - chopped

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 c. frozen peas

2/3 c. frozen yellow sweet corn

1 c. frozen cut green beans

3 medium celery stalks, diced

1 1/2 c. crushed tomato

5 cloves garlic, minced

6-7 cups water**

4-5 beef bouillon cubes**

Bring water to a boil in a soup pot or Dutch oven and add in your bouillon cubes. Next add in your potatoes and carrots. Let boil for 3-5 minutes and add in onions and garlic. Crumble raw beef into simmering pot. Continue to simmer on medium adding in remaining ingredients for about 20 minutes allowing all flavors to mesh. 

Makes about 11 - 1 cup servings - 100 calories each.

**You can substitute a lean beef stock if you prefer, the bouillon has zero calories but if you are watching your sodium you may want to swap a low sodium vegetable or beef stock.

Chili 2 Ways - Meaty and Veggie!

I make chili a different way every time I make it. Sometimes vegetarian.Sometimes with turkey, or chicken, or beef, or even hot Italian sausage. Sometimes I add carrots or zucchini or any other veggie I think might be tasty. Here are two versions I've made recently. One for my meaty friends and the other for my veg heads.

LOW FAT BEEF CHILI

1 pound Laura’s Lean Beef 4% fat

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

½ medium white onion - diced

4 cloves garlic - minced

1 can pinto beans (drained & rinsed)

1 can light red kidney beans (drained & rinsed)

1 green pepper – diced

1 large (28oz) can diced tomatoes

1 large (28oz) can crushed tomatoes

2 c. water

1 tbsp. cumin

1 tbsp. chili powder

½ tbsp. cayenne pepper

salt & pepper to taste

In Dutch oven, toss oil, onions, garlic and a dash of salt. Sweat the onions until semi transparent. Add in beef, cook until about half way done. Add water, simmer for 5 minutes. Add rest of ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Makes 13 – 1 cup servings – 146 calories and 2.4 fat grams

VERY VEGGIE CHILI

1 large can of crushed tomatoes

1 can of diced tomatoes with green chiles

10 oz. chopped baby carrots

1/2 chopped yellow onion

2/3 c. frozen yellow corn

1 green pepper, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

6 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp each of cumin and chili powder

1/2 tbsp black pepper

salt and chipotle chile powder to taste

(I would begin with 1/2 tsp. of chipotle chile powder - it's hotter than you think.)

Entire Crock Pot - 930 calories - Yields about 10 - 1 cup servings

I just tossed all ingredients in the crock pot on low for about 5 hours. You could also easily cook this on the stove in a soup pot. 

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

I have joined the Pinterest bandwagon and I'm hooked. I came across a recipe for a Chicken Tikka Masala  you could make in the slow cooker and thought too good to be true! Now, as usual, I had to make it a fit food - omit the olive oil, heavy cream and rice.

15 oz. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (trimmed fat) or chicken breasts

2 c. crushed tomatoes

1 6oz. container of plain Greek yogurt

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced

1/2 fresh jalapeno, finely chopped (use the whole thing if you like it spicy!)

5 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tbsp. fresh grated ginger (use jarred if you prefer)

1 c. unsweetened almond milk

1 tbsp. corn starch

2 Tbsp Garam Masala

1 Tbsp cumin

1/2 Tbsp paprika

2 tsp sea salt, or to taste

3/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1-3 tsp cayenne pepper*

2 bay leaves ( I actually didn't have any - but it does call for them!)

fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish

Her recipe calls for basmati rice, but for the same amount of calories you could have a hefty serving of roasted veggies. This recipe gives you quite a bit of sauce that you can use on the veggies too. I roasted fresh cauliflower, green bell peppers and sweet peas.

In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients except chicken, bay leaves, corn starch and almond milk. Once combined pour half of the mixture into the bottom of your slow cooker. Add diced raw chicken and pour remaining sauce mixture over chicken. Put bay leaves on top (you'll need to remove them before serving). If you want to thicken and cream the sauce you can add 1 tbsp. of corn starch and 1 cup of cold almond milk. Whisk these together and add to slow cooker for the last twenty minutes. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for about 4. Serve over roasted veggies or rice. 

This recipe makes 6 - 1 cup servings. Each cup is 140 calories.

The original recipe calorie content is approximately 2200 total or 365 each yield 6 servings.

One more variation... Carrot Pineapple Almond Raisin Bar.

I can't seem to stop making variations with the original Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. The second type I made were Pumpkin Apple Date Bars. Most recently I made a Carrot Pineapple Almond Raisin Bar.

Here's the skinny on these:

Carrot Pineapple Almond Raisin Bar

5 oz. baby carrots (about 15 baby medium carrots) grated finely and squeezed dry

1/2 c. crushed pineapple (fresh or canned in juice - not syrup)

1 mashed over ripe banana

1/4 c. unsweetened (natural) applesauce

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. baking Splenda

2 mini boxes or about 50 raisins

1/2 oz. sliced almonds

1 c. old fashioned oats

1 c. Original Fiber cereal

only 66 calories each bar!

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grate carrots on the short side of a stand grater - for a medium grate, not the largest or the smallest. Carrots are packed with water, so you'll need to squeeze the excess out. The easiest way to do this is to place the grated carrots in the center of a paper towel (the good kind) and wad the paper towel around the carrots to form a ball, squeeze as much as you can over your sink. If you're using fresh pineapple after skinning, coring and chunking it you can take the chunks and chop them even finer. You almost want to crush them with your knife or a fork.

Add all the wet ingredients together: banana, pineapple, applesauce, carrots and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients together into a separate bowl. Once both bowls are mixed well, add the wet into the dry. Spread mixture out onto a sprayed 9"x13" cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 20-22 minutes. Makes 12 - 3"x3.5" bars.

Gadgets!

Nordicware makes some pretty fantastic kitchen goodies. My recent two favorites: the bacon microwave tray and the eggs n' muffin breakfast pan (which has a little bit of a deceiving name)

I'm a sucker for breakfast food. Plain and simple. I love it ALL. From pancakes to french toast to omlettes to breakfast sandwiches to scrambles and hashes and of course, biscuits and gravy. When I'm keeping an eye on my calories and being healthy I like to try and make something with a good protein & carb combination - especially before a busy work day. But, like most of you I don't have time to watch something cook on the stove. So I often turn to two appliances: the toaster oven (which I adore) and my microwave (which hopefully won't kill me one day).

These two gadgets make eggs and bacon manageable while I'm taking the dogs out or getting dressed for work.

In the egg pan, you can toss in an egg (scramble it with a fork - no milk needed) or two (egg beaters work too!), your favorite veggies, salt, pepper, whatever! 45 seconds to 1 minute later you have a perfectly cooked egg "patty" perfectly shaped for an English muffin. It's even a little larger than the light muffins I eat.

Most stores carry these - my bacon tray came from Wegmans and my egg pan came from Target. Both less than $5. Ahh the joys of convenience.

So don't push a warm breakfast aside! Toast yourself some bread, a bagel or a muffin. Toss some bacon and/or an egg in the microwave and there you have it. No excuses not to break the fast and opt for that donut!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I love pizza. LOVE it. But I cannot eat it as often as I want because it "costs" way too many calories. So I have tried various ways to substitute my cravings with fit foods. Sure, you could go grab a Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Pizza for 340 calories (which is mostly dough and has tiny pieces of chicken) or you could make your own.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 Mission brand Flour Tortilla (or any other tortilla for 90 calories)

1 1/2 tbsp. BBQ sauce (choose your favorite, just keep it 30 calories or less per tbsp.)

2 oz. rotisserie chicken (you can use those precooked chicken strips too)

2 tbsp. chopped red onion

1/2 oz. shredded part skim Mozzarella cheese

310 calories

Take 1 tbsp. of BBQ sauce and spread in the center of the tortilla like you would tomato sauce. Add strips of chicken and onion, then top with cheese. Using a toaster oven or the broiler heat until cheese is melted and tortilla is desired crispness. 

This pizza is about the same size as a Lean Cuisine, but it has more protein and more toppings for less calories. Plus, you made it!

Talkin' bout Barbecue...

A friend was telling me that the best way to make pulled pork was in a Crock pot, slow cooked on low all day, using a fatty cut of pork like the Boston butt and using root beer as a cooking liquid. Being experimental and always calorie conscious I decided to try it with a leaner cut of meat.

PULLED PORK TENDERLOIN

1 lb. pork tenderloin

1 can of diet Root beer (I prefer A&W)

Slow cook for about 5 1/2 to 6 hours on low.

That's it! Super simple. Add your barbecue sauce when it's done and cook for another 10 minutes or so. If you prefer, add your barbecue sauce at the table. Serve with homemade cole slaw and turnip greens.

(I have no pictures because I gobbled it up before I remembered to take a shot!)

3 oz. cooked meat = 122 calories, 3g fat, 22g protein

TURNIP GREENS AND BEANS

1 pkg. frozen turnip greens

1 can, drained, pinto beans

1/2 cup chopped onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 beef, chicken, or vegetable bouillon cubes

1/2 - 1 tbsp. crushed red pepper

1 cup water

Bring water to boil in a large pot. Add in your bouillon, garlic and onion. Cook through for 2 minutes or until bouillon dissolves. Add in frozen greens and beans. Let simmer on medium 25-30 minutes. Stir every ten minutes or so and add a little additional liquid if necessary. 

Total calories: 415

Makes about 5 cups - 83 calories each

Of course, the appropriate Southern bread to serve with this meal is corn bread. However, it can be a little calorie expensive. I have made due with Thomas' Toast - R- Cakes Corn Muffins. Are they as good as a freshly baked, savory, dense piece of corn bread? No. Will they satisfy your craving? They might do the job. 

100 calories a pop.

Or, for 40 calories more you could have a 2"x2" square of Marie Callender's Corn Bread mix. I am not sure I have the self restraint to make a batch of corn bread and not devour the entire pan, so I opt for Toast R Cakes. 

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