January is National Soup Month!
When it’s cold outside, we tend to gravitate toward warm, comforting foods like pasta, stews, and the star of the show this month: soup! Low-calorie, high-fiber soups—especially those packed with vegetables and/or beans—are super healthy, super satisfying, and can be a great tool for shedding unwanted pounds.
Following are 4 tips for making soup your best weight-loss friend this winter:
1. Homemade soups are by far the healthiest choice. The canned varieties are usually packed with sodium (can you say water retention?!) and other undesirables.
2. Broth-based soups are the way to go. Steer clear of all the cheesy and cream-based soups (bisques, chowders, etc.)…delicious but loaded with extra calories.
3. When making your own soup, don’t be afraid to load it up with veggies and lean, high-quality protein. Soup is really hard to screw up. Add lots of what you like and you can’t go wrong.
4. Start your meal with a vegetable soup. Research shows eating a low-calorie veggie soup prior to your entree can result in you consuming 20 percent fewer calories over the course of the meal. In other words, you’ll feel a little full right out of the gate, leaving less room for the foods you want to eat in moderation.
5. Use a bowl of warm, comforting soup to thwart other cravings. Choose a broth-based bean soup instead of a dense bowl of chili, or sip some bone broth instead of a sugar-filled coffee drink. You’ll scratch the same itch, with a fraction of the calories.
Bone Broth…Like a Super Soup!
You might have heard of the many health benefits of Bone broth, including reduction of inflammation and joint pain, increased bone strength, and healing leaky gut and other digestive issues, just to name a few. What you may not know is that, thanks to a healthy dose of gelatin in each serving, bone broth is REALLY filling. Sip it in the morning instead of coffee, or as an afternoon pick-me-up. And use it as the base for your favorite soups and stews. Trust us…it will keep you from craving empty-calorie snacks.
You can make your own bone broth at home; it’s really pretty easy. Or…both antibiotic- and hormone-free chicken bone broth and grass-fed beef bone broth are available every day at the Rising Tide Market Broth Bar. Lastly, EPIC Bone Broth is on sale at Rising Tide all month long: $4.79/each (reg. $6.99).
Now…Make One of Rising Tide’s Most Popular Soups at Home
Turkey Lasagna Soup
Recipe by Chef John Hill
Yield: 4 quarts
INGREDIENTS
5 lbs Roma tomatoes
2 large Spanish onions
10 cloves garlic
1 bunch basil ·(fresh)
2 TBS oregano (dry)
2 lbs turkey meat
4 oz safflower oil
1 tsp crushed red pepper
6 oz parmesan cheese
4 TBS sea salt
8 oz pasta (we use Rombi pasta)
Salt & pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Bring a large pot with 4 quarts and 4 tablespoons of sea salt to a boil.
2. Prepare the tomatoes by putting an “X” in the bottom with a knife and trimming the stem end.
3. Plunge the tomatoes into the boiling water for approximately 1 minute until the skin peels away easily. Shock in an ice water bath.
4. Once cool, peel tomatoes, skin them, and squeeze out the seeds. Rough chop tomatoes.
5. Save tomato blanching water and cook pasta until al dente. Cool.
6. Rough chop onion and garlic.
7. Add tomatoes, garlic, onion and safflower oil to a large pot. Season with salt and pepper, crushed red pepper and oregano. Cook for about 30 minutes until tomatoes break down.
8. In a separate pot, cook turkey meat, and drain excess liquid. Set aside.
9. Add tomatoes to a blender or use a stick blender. Puree until smooth, then add basil and parmesan cheese.
10. Fold in turkey meat and pasta to serve.