Healthy Minestrone Soup Recipe
What sounds more cozy and satisfying on a chilly day, or when the sun fades and it finally cools down in the evening, than a comforting bowl of flavorful soup? In addition to the warmth and comfort soup can offer, it's also a "secret weapon" for both improved health AND weight loss!
A study was performed in a laboratory in which twenty-four lean women ate breakfast, lunch and dinner under supervision in the lab on one day a week for a total of four weeks. On three of the four days, these women ate one of three different types of "snacks" seventeen minutes before sitting down to the lunch meal. One type of pre-lunch "snack" was a measured portion of chicken and rice casserole. The second type was the same amount of chicken and rice casserole served with a glass of water. The third type was a bowl of chicken and rice soup, which contained the exact same measured amounts of both the casserole and the water that had previously been served separately.
The average amount of calories these women ate at lunch following the pre-lunch snack of soup was significantly lower than on the other days when either just the casserole or the casserole plus a glass of water was ingested prior to the meal. Also, these women did not compensate for the smaller calorie intake at lunch by eating a larger dinner later in the day.
The result of this study suggests that eating soup can help a person to feel full and satisfied while taking in fewer calories. This is just one reason soup is considered to be an essential component of the Tortoise Diet's "Daily Seven for Success." Regularly enjoying broth-based soups filled with colorful vegetables and heart-healthy legumes is an easy way to increase the intake of fiber, phytonutrients, vitamins and low-fat protein- all in one satisfying bowl. In addition, eating a hot liquidy concoction, one spoonful at a time, forces a person to slow down the act of eating. This allows the stomach to get the "I'm full" message sooner, so over-eating is less likely.
You'll find several excellent recipes for delicious, nutrient-dense soups in my book, The Tortoise Diet. The following is just one of the many "How Low Can You Go?" recipes you'll find located in Appendix C. All of these recipes are intended not only to be nutritious, but to be quick and easy enough for anyone to be able to regularly whip up in their own kitchen. Making this recipe for Minestrone Soup, for example, requires just a few minutes to gather the ingredients, clean and chop the vegetables, open a few cans, and toss everything into a pot.
Once the soup has simmered for an hour or so, you'll have a week's worth of individual servings to place into serving-sized containers and pop into the refrigerator or freezer. Throughout the week, it will be a snap to toss one of these containers into a lunch bag, to take with you when you leave the house. The frozen container will help to keep the contents of your lunch bag chilled until you are ready to pop it into the microwave to heat and eat.
So, for your health and for your weight loss ... EAT LOTS OF SOUP!
THE TORTOISE DIET RECIPE FOR MINESTRONE SOUP
Place all of the following ingredients into a large stockpot:
1 can fat-free chicken broth plus 32 ounces of water ( may delete the broth and instead use three chicken, vegetable or beef bullion cubes, if desired) 2 cans stewed tomatoes, including liquid
1 can great northern beans, garbanzo beans, or cannellini beans, including liquid 1 can kidney beans, including liquid
2 cans cut green beans, including liquid
1 can (12 ounces) vegetable juice (like V-8)
2 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, cut into bite sized pieces
1 small onion, diced
1 whole bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, cut into fourths and placed into the broth 1 teaspoon oregano
1½ teaspoons dried thyme
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste
Add salt only after the soup has been simmering for 30 minutes or so, after you've tasted it, as the liquids already added contain salt.
Simmer for 1 to 2 hours until vegetables are tender.
During the last ½ hour or so of simmering, add 1/4 cup (dry) tiny elbow pasta. During the last 5 minutes of simmering, add 2/3 cup green peas.
Entire recipe = approximately 1,500 calories.
Sprinkle each serving with 2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese, if desired (adds 50 calories).
About the Author
Patricia S. Church RN, BSN, author of The Tortoise Diet invites you to learn more about how
she lost 120 pounds
. Visit her site at
http://www.wintheracetolose.com
Where can i buy a Soup Spoon?
i dont need a set of them, just a soup spoon or two. i live i england. im not sure where to look, ebay ones are quite expensive, i dont want 2vintage Silver Plated, comes with a bed of silk and itd own foot massager...." just a spoon with which to slurrrp soup = D
I like your question.
How about the cook shop in Debenhams, I'm sure they sell individual pieces of cutlery that don't cost the earth, open the door for you or make the tea!
Or try Wilko's - Woolies or Sainsbury's.
Merry Christmas......xxx
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Soup Spoons
Thank You. We hope you found the
Soup Spoons
you were looking for.
Toasted pita bread and some sour cream help turn soup and salad into main course by Torri
Soup and salad. This duo is very well known to everybody, but often skipped as the diners want to save room for what they consider real dinner, mainly meat and potatoes or some pasta with add-ons. No matter if you're on a diet, though, or just looking to shake things up in the dinner department, soup and salad are great alternatives to your typical, heavier meal. And altering the serving size as well as making some ingredient changes can easily take these starters and turn them into features at your dinner table.
Some lettuce, a couple of slices of tomato, maybe some peppers and cucumbers and a teaspoon of dressing, that's probably the most common side salad possible. It's better than no salad at all, but it's not great. And if you make it bigger in order to make it the main course, you won't be making it better. So just start over and make a great dinner salad in an instant. A bed of greens is the perfect basis, but make sure it's mixed greens, that there are some dark leaves and not just worthless iceberg. There is noting wrong with leaving the tomatoes, but why not grilling them for a more interesting effect? Adding some grilled eggplant, balsamic vinegar drizzled strawberries and toasted pine nuts will also shake things up. And instead of typical grilled chicken, try tofu or grilled goat cheese on top. It will create an unexpected explosion of flavors in place of a well known, boring salad. Just drizzle it with a home made light dressing and stick herbed, toasted pita bread triangles on the side, and not only will you have nutritious, but also a pretty dinner.
Many people consider soup to be this savory drink they have to spoon in before the real food you can chew. Fortunately, sup doesn't have to be watery and there are many different ways you can make it filling. Basing on a vegetable stock you can add lean meat, barley and vegetables, you can cream the whole thing or leave it chunky. The secret to turning it into a main course is in the serving. Whether you add leftovers to the stock, turn it oriental with spices and dumplings, make it thick with cream and cheese or colorful with all kinds of different vegetables, with the right presentation it can't be mistaken for a starter. So use a big plate, sprinkle some spices and fresh herbs on the rim, pour the soup in and decorate with a dollop of sour cream, a cheese toast on thick low carb bread slice, add a couple of basil leaves or a drizzle of olive oil. A fragrant, steaming plate, decorated with edibles, will draw anyone to the table and once they start eating, they won't be thinking where the main course is, they'll be too busy with the soup.
One reason to start eating more soups and salads as main courses is that they're healthier, provided you don't overdo the cheese or cream, than your typical meat and potatoes dinner. But the fact that it's very easy to get creative with the soup and salad ingredients is also a great thing. Not to mention that this creativity doesn't take long and you ca have a fabulous new salad ready in minutes, which always beats waiting for a more traditional main course.
About the Author
I am a dietician and a healthy lifestyle enthusiast I write publications about healthy products like this diabetic friendly pita bread or low carb bread.