Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Seriously Skinny Soup...



It is so easy to put on weight over winter, as we wrap up in our winter warmers we don’t notice the kilos piling on. Until that is - spring hits and then we panic – how to take the weight off!

Best thing is not to put it on in the first place!

One way to help maintain our weight over winter and stay healthy too, is eating delicious home-made soups.

Not only are they healthy but they are full of vitamins with hardly any calories. So long as you keep out butter, cream and sugar you will probably be only consuming about 100 calories per serving!

Soup for lunch is ideal whether you eat at home or take it to work. Make up a batch enough for several days and keep it in the fridge, then take out just enough each day.

It is proven that soup stays longer in our stomach than whole vegetables – so you shouldn’t get hungry again until that terrible 4 o’clock time!

Because soup is not bulky food like bread it won’t swell up in your stomach making you look bloated throughout the day! It is the perfect flat tummy food! Anti-aging and anti-fattening!

Soup is a great way to add more vegetables to your diet, topped with a dollop of non-fat yoghurt or soy yoghurt and some slices of nuts...mmmmm so divine!

Bon Appétit
Denyse

Here is one of my many favourite soup recipes…
Spinach Soup
Ingredients:
  • 2 teaspoons of olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped up
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 medium potato, chopped up (about 1 cup)
  • 450 grams of frozen spinach
  • 4 cups of vegetable stock
  • A dash or two of nutmeg
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Non-fat plain yogurt or soy yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons of sliced almonds
Directions:
Heat oil in a large saucepan and add onion, garlic and a pinch of salt. Allow to cook for about five minutes or so or until the veggies are nice and tender.

Stir in potato, spinach, and stock. Turn the heat up to high until you have a boil and then reduce to medium low and allow to simmer for about twenty minutes or until the potato is fork tender.

Allow the soup to cool a bit before spooning it into a blender or food processor. DO NOT blend when it is super-hot because everything will explode and you will get burnt!

Pulse soup a few times to get it started and then blend until you have a smooth consistency. Stir in, nutmeg, salt and pepper and blend one more time.

Give it a taste, adjust your seasonings, and top each bowl with a dollop of yogurt and 2 teaspoons of sliced almonds. Enjoy!

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Analysis
Calories: 150; Total Fat: 0g; Saturated Fat: 0.5; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 260mg; Carbohydrate: 19.4g; Dietary Fibre: 3.6g; Sugars: 4g; Protein: 7.8g