January 8, 2015 – Healthy, Delicious (& Light) Soups INTRO TEXT Equipping our bodies with good, healthy food is key to feeling our best and living well each day. With a few shifts in choices and some key cooking techniques, healthier food is not only delicious, but satisfying. IN THIS ISSUE, we’re cooking a few soup favorites in a fresh, healthier mode. Nourishing for these chillier months, you’ll find each of these appetizing recipes full of flavor: Too-Good-To-Be-True Potato Soup, Slow-Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup, and Italian Escarole and White Bean Soup. Try them, you’ll not only like them, you’ll love them, and make them again – we have! Thumbnails “Fresh & Easy” Small Shifts towards Eating Well Add Up! Our consciousness is raised this time of year regarding how we might feel better while eating well. So many choices are placed in front of us everyday. Consistently choosing well can frequently be a challenge. But, small choices can accumulate and propel us in the directions we desire. In the coming year, we plan to focus on making a positive food choices for something instead of having to make so many negative choices against something. Here are a few shifts that are on our list as we start the year: Eat more plants. Use a smaller plate. Consume less processed foods. Start meal planning by choosing the vegetable first. Use meat as an accent to vegetables. Cook at home more. Eat seasonally — (foods in season just taste better!) Include more high fiber foods. Drink more water. Eat more beans. Recalibrate what a portion is. Opt for fruit as a snack. Wait 20 minutes before taking seconds. Identify and eliminate unhealthy trans fats. Don’t wait until tomorrow to start over; the next choice can be a better one. Move more -- take the stairs, go for a walk. Get enough sleep. Too-Good-to-Be-True Baked Potato Soup What a delightful surprise this soup is! With a little makeover magic, a favorite comfort soup has all the delights of a good potato soup, but without all the calories and heaviness of traditional versions. The secret ingredient halves the calories and increases the nutritional value without any compromise to the taste. Substituting light sour cream for regular sour cream re-creates key baked potato flavors, while center-cut bacon has more meat and less fat, but all the flavor. We love that the author includes cheese and bacon garnishes – just a little, enough to add flavor and texture without compromising the overall healthier profile. Reprinted with permission from The Skinnytaste Cookbook by Gina Homolka. Copyright 2014. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, New York, NY. Reprinted with the permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Recipe Notes: Cauliflower is the New Kale! You’ve probably heard this already, but it’s true! Once relegated to being the leftovers on the raw veggie tray, cauliflower has gained new life and respect! As a cruciferous vegetable it’s up there on the list of superfoods. When cooked, it mellows into something deceptively rich-tasting. It pairs nicely with potatoes in this soup, (or in mashed potatoes), by reducing calories without any compromise to taste or flavor. Pureeing Tips: A smooth, creamy soup is a wonderful presentation. An immersion blender works magic in the soup pot. They’re easy to use directly in the pot without any awkward hot transfers to a blender. While in use, to break any suction that the handheld blender might have, tip it at an angle before lifting. If you like your soups a little chunky, remove a portion prior to pureeing, then add back into the pot as the last step. Use a lid and apply very low heat when reheating completed, thick pureed soups. Cooking More Healthily: Michael Pollan, a preeminent food writer and author, famously said, “Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.” It took a little while for this to sink in, but the underlying message regarding the accessibility of certain foods finally translated into an “ah-ha” moment for us. In the time it took to calculate how long it would take to make a Snickers bar, the urge disappeared. The point is not to cook junk food, but to simply cook your own food using recognizable ingredients – good choices emerge along the way. How you cook, in addition to what you cook, impacts the quality of the food that’s fueling your body. If it tastes good, you’ll eat it, even if it’s healthy! Cook at home for better control of ingredients. Use nonstick pans to reduce oil use. Steam foods for low calorie cooking. Rediscover oatmeal for breakfast. Use a spritz of lemon juice to brighten foods. Use fresh herbs to flavor and season. Oven roast potatoes instead of frying. Plan ahead – yes, it works…. Cook once, eat twice; make a double batch and enjoy the leftovers. Cut guacamole by adding salsa/chopped veggies. Enjoy open-faced sandwiches instead of two slices. Cook with more whole-grains. Substitute plain Greek yogurt for sour cream. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store; not the aisles. Slow-Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup A little pizzazz can go a long way in creating satisfaction. This chicken enchilada soup packs plenty of flavors for taste buds to enjoy. Made fresh, the core flavors of cumin, chipotles in adobo sauce, cilantro, and tomatoes are a classic combo and a great starting place for this soup. Add a few black beans, some corn, and a couple of chicken breasts to the pot, and it’s hands-off until supper time. You’ll be so glad that you invested 15 minutes, (yes, just 15 minutes), earlier in the day when suppertime arrives. Once again, garnishes are key to maximizing the enjoyment of this soup; they provide a visual feast and just the right flavor and texture accents. Reprinted with permission from The Skinnytaste Cookbook by Gina Homolka. Copyright 2014. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, New York, NY. Reprinted with the permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Recipe Notes: Apply Slow Cooker Techiniques: One answer to healthier eating is planning ahead. Even if we accomplish the planning step only part of the time, we’d be better off. By using slow cooker methods, this scrumptious soup can be made in minutes with foolproof results. Assemble the ingredients early in the day when energy levels are greater, and you’ll avoid the evening dilemma of “what’s for supper?” A Little Oil: This and many soup recipes begin by sautéing onions, garlic, and other aromatics in a little olive oil. As a plant-based oil, olive oil, in moderation, is a healthy choice. Not only does a little oil add to satiety and slower digestion, it also serves to bloom and dissolve flavor compounds that do so only with heat and a little oil. The light sautéing process adds greatly to building big flavor. Spice It Up: Spicy foods satiate appetites. Whether you enjoy mild or off-the-charts quantities of heat, food will taste better when flavored well. Among the many flavor makers in this soup, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are included. If you’re unfamiliar with this ingredient, chipotles are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers, and adobo sauce is a tangy red sauce. It’s readily available at most grocers in a small can. One cautionary word, these peppers and their sauce are potent – much more than one might guess; a teaspoon or two for this full recipe is about right for us, and we like it hot! Freeze the rest of the can in small, usable portions. Cheese, Sour Cream, Avocado: These items are not necessarily on the “low calorie” list, but used in moderation, they offer a burst of visual appeal and just enough flavor to satisfy. Avocados, calorically dense, feature monosaturated fats, a healthy type of fat. Cooking Tools: LE CREUSET 5.5 QT. ROUND OVEN A classic pot in the original “Flame” color. A kitchen workhorse for braising, roasting, and soup-making. STAUB 5.5 QT. COCETTE Elegant glazes grace this oval oven that’s comfortable on the stove, in the oven, or on the table. Charming lid knob! LE CREUSET 3.5 QT. BRAISER This pan shape offers lower sides for easier access during braising steps. Makes a great serving vessel, too! LE CREUSET 5.5 QT. ROUND OVEN A classic pot in the original “Flame” color. A kitchen workhorse for braising, roasting, and soup-making. STAUB 5.5 QT. COCETTE Elegant glazes grace this oval oven that’s comfortable on the stove, in the oven, or on the table. Charming lid knob! LE CREUSET 3.5 QT. BRAISER This pan shape offers lower sides for easier access during braising steps. Makes a great serving vessel, too! Italian Escarole and White Bean Soup This traditional Italian soup receives a makeover in this recipe. It’s a simple soup assembled in about 20 minutes and loaded with nutritious greens and beans. Beginning with an aromatic base of sautéed onions, this broth-based soup develops character with the addition of greens, cannellini beans, and a customary dose of soup pasta. Flavors build as each layer is added. The result is a delicious soup that you’ll love for lunch or supper. It tastes good, and you’ll feel good after eating it! Reprinted with permission from The Skinnytaste Cookbook by Gina Homolka. Copyright 2014. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, New York, NY. Reprinted with the permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Recipe Notes: Change the Greens: Substitute any number of leafy greens if escarole is unavailable. We used kale in our version, and found it to be a great way to incorporate this superfood into our menu. Kale, while wonderful raw in salads, becomes ultimately palatable when wilted such as in this soup. Spinach would also be a good substitute choice for this recipe. Prep the Pantry: If cooking at home more is key to your healthier eating plan, a prepped pantry can be a lifesaver on busy days. Keep frozen greens in your freezer, the rest of the ingredients on the shelf, and in minutes, this fabulous soup can be ready. Pasta Perfection: We so enjoy pasta, that when a regimen eliminates it, life feels compromised. This soup is proof that a little pasta can go a long way toward satisfaction. The recipe calls for the pasta to be cooked separately from the soup, a great idea for keeping pasta toothsome and not mushy. COOKBOOK REVIEW: The Skinnytaste Cookbook, Light on Calories, Big on Flavor by Gina Homolka. Copyright 2014 Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, New York, NY. Over the years, we’ve made the rounds of dozens of “healthier eating” cookbooks. Why would we be interested in another one? Because, fresh ideas and recipes are always necessary for staying on course. Originating in the blogosphere, Ms. Homolka strives to present recipes that have big flavor, while reducing caloric overhead. She has accomplished her goal well throughout this cookbook. She understands, first hand, that diet foods can be boring, and therefore, ultimately unsuccessful. By focusing on taste, everyday food can be healthful, interesting, and enjoyable. The recipes focus on fresh ingredients, a basic of big flavor cooking. Each entry is very doable and accessible for busy lifestyles. The emphasis is on plant-based eating, though she includes meat, and favorites, like cheese and pasta, in sensible quantities in some of her recipes. To us, this is realistic eating in a healthy direction. We’re so glad we found this book and are looking forward to cooking our way through its pages. Closing: Healthy eating is a journey — experiment along the way and keep moving forward!