Soups on!

(wrote this on January 21st)

In the Colwill house, January should be official soup month. After all the fancy dinners, and food over the holidays, and with how easy it is to throw a pot of soup, salad, and some bread on the table on a chilly evening.......well, I've gone a bit overboard. Let's just say it's Wednesday, and we've had soup three evenings this week! I might have to tuck the other ones I'm dying to try away for a few days and give the family a break. :) Recipes will be below.



So I'm am doing a sympathy diet with someone, 14 days long of Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. I actually don't have many issues with the South Beach Diet, besides it being impossible to stay away from meat, dairy, and fake sugars these first few days. The diet itself in a nutsell has you stay away from refined sugars, and white starches. I think by now, we all know there is nothing wrong with that. What makes it a "diet" is that you go through 3 phases.



On Phase 1, which lasts 12-14 days depending on who you talk to, you cut out ALL sugars and starches, so that you can break your addiction to them. I've had to say goodbye to even some of my beloved healthy sugars such as FRUIT, and raw honey. *sniff*sniff*. The starches thing hasn't been that bad actually. I'm on day 4 now, and honestly don't miss them. However I was usually only eating a starch at dinner before, as I was trying to eat raw until dinner, so I have an advantage there.



I did not realize really, that though I eat a lot of healthy sugars, how many sugars I do eat. Lara Bars? can't have them, they have dates. Raweos? Can't have them, they have Raw Honey. I can't have my Green Lemonade, Raw Smoothies, or my Kombucha Tea!!! It's really a big switch for me in some ways, but very informational. Even though I've successfully cut out almost all refined sugars, am I still riding a sugar rollar coaster on the natural sugars? I'm starting to think maybe yes, a little bit.



The first day or two I had moments where I felt, well, manic. Really it was brief, but in those manic moments I wanted something sweet so badly, I thought I would tear my hair out. It doesn't help that I'm a stay at home mom, and I prepare food for the kids, and that fruit for me is probably what cake is to other people. It makes me go weak in the knees, I love fruit so much. So I obviously have to keep giving the kids fruit, and healthy whole grains, and that has been hard.



However, day 3 and 4 were easier. I haven't looked at the Dark Chocolate today with squinty eyes, even once. I realized I wasn't suppose to have corn either, which I didn't know before, so that's one more thing to cut out. I've been eating WAY more protein then I normally do, like probably 3x. In fact, I always drink my breakfast, so it has been a huge change for me to have eggs and veggies instead. The deal I made with this person was simply this: if I gain weight, I'm out.



However, I'm 4 days into it, and have lost 3 pounds. weird. so I'm going with it. I'm happy with my weight, so it's a bonus to me, and I'll keep going with the experiment. I'll write more about the other Phases when I get to them.



On to the soup recipes! I made the first one before starting Phase 1, just as a side note (there is corn, BBQ sauce which has sugar, and white flour in it, which are all no-nos) They all turned out really yummy, with the asparagus one being the biggest surprise. I didn't know what to expect with such a short ingredient list, and it was fabulous. Easy, quick, and yet interesting and yummy. That will go into my recipe file for sure. (The one in my brain, I'm not that organized)



The corn chowder I wrote about last time turned out surprisingly well. I bought 1 pound of crab meat to substitute the 2 pounds of chicken, and it was definitely a good call not to get more than that. In fact you would probably want less than that, maybe 1/2-3/4 pound depending on how much of a crab fan you are. I say that because it felt very indulgent, as it was overflowing with crab. You could eat this chowder how I made it with a fork people. yum!



It mocks the taste and texture of real chowder, which uses obsence amounts of half anf half, which a mix of creamed corn, and evaporated milk. Smart! This is not my typical recipe, but we liked it. It was something different for us.



Smoky Roasted Chicken and Corn Chowder

from Healthy Cooking magazine, featuring the recipe from "Eat, Shrink & Be Merry" by Janet and Greta Podleski
PREP/TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes

YIELD: 6 servings



4 slices bacon, chopped

1 cup diced onions

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 1/2 Tbsp. minced fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried

2 Tbsp all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth (I used veggie)

1 can (12 ounces) 2 % evaporated milk

1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, well drained (push juice into a sieve as I did, and it tastes much better)

1 can (14.75 ounces) cream style corn

2 cups chopped roasted chicken breast (authors tip: buy a rotisserie chicken, and use shredded breast meat from it) (I used 1 pound crab meat)

1 Tbsp. hickory-flavored barbecue sauce

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)



1. Cook chopped bacon in a large, non-stick soup pot over medium-high heat until lightly browned but not crisp. Stir in onions, celery, red pepper and garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.



2. Add Thyme and flour. Mix well. Stir in broth and evaporated milk. Bring mixture to a gentle boil and stir continously until soup thickens slightly.



3. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occaisionally. Serve hot.



Per serving (using chicken): 270 calories, 7.1 total fat (2.6 sat.) 24 g protein, 30g carbs, 3g fiber, 53 mg cholesterol, 619 mg sodium


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Asparagus Soup with Parmesan Sprinkle
(from South Beach Diet Quick and Easy cookbook, by Arthur Agatston, MD)
Again, surprisingly easy, and shockingly satisfying for not being a cream soup. The kids ate a ramekin of the soup, and gave it a so-so rating. :)
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
"Just a few simple ingredients create this rich and flavorful springtime soup. You can thin it with a little water if you prefer a thinner soup, and use black pepper if you don't have white."

1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 1/2 pounds asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
4 cups lower sodium chicken broth (can use veggie, will taste a bit different)
4 teaspoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground white pepper

Heat oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add onion, garlic, and asparagus, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions soften, 5 to 7 minutes. Do not brown.

Add broth, bring to a simmer, and cook until asparagus is just tender, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and carefully puree with a blender (BE CAREFUL, it's hot! I had to hold the top down on my blender.) or hand blender. Return to the pan, gently reheat, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve each serving with a sprinkle of Parmesan.

Makes 4 (1 1/4 cup servings)
Nutrition
per serving: 90 calories, 2 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 9 g protein, 12 g carbohydrates, 4 g dietary fiber, 170mg sodium