Soup’s On

Much of the country, certainly the northeastern states, are blanketed in inches or feet of snow while temperatures hover well below freezing.  Even here in South Florida, we are experiencing well below normal temperatures and most everywhere it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. 

With the caloric damages starting a month ago at Thanksgiving, we are all looking for ways to battle the war against holiday weight gain!  Yesterday I indulged in some decadent delights as Mitch and I tried out Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Lobster Roll in Delray Beach, Florida.  Since we ventured up there for the lobster roll, we somehow felt compelled to try the lobster stew and a nice tall glass of Eleven Brown Beer.  (“Why have a 10 when you can have an 11?” the menu asked.)

Today and tomorrow I will work at countering the weekend calories, before we celebrate my birthday on Tuesday, and then the obvious Christmas eve, Christmas day festivities later in the week.  I woke up this morning with 2 solutions.  Back to P90x for the holiday weeks and a BIG pot of soup.  Soup is a wonderful comfort food and made in a healthful, low calories way, it can keep us full and nourished, at a minimal caloric cost.

Here is a simple soup recipe that comes to us from the people at Weight Watchers.  This recipe will make 4 servings (I always double or triple it to make enough to last for days).  While comforting and filling,  a cup is so low in calories and high in fiber that Weight Watchers considers it a ZERO calorie item. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sliced carrots

1/2 cup diced onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups broth (beef, chicken or vegetable)

1 and 1/2 cups diced green cabbage

1/2 cup green beans

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup diced zucchini

Preparation:

In a large pot, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, saute the carrot, onion and garlic over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato paste, basil, oregano and salt; bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until the beans are tender.

Stir in zucchini and heat 3-4 more minutes.  Serve hot.

You can also google low calorie soups and find others that may better suit your taste.  Avoid any of the starches like potatoes and corn, to keep the calories low enough to eat and enjoy all day! 

On your quest to keep from gaining weight this season, you must remain resilient.  Even, like the Miami Dolphins, if you got off to a bad start, you can still come out a winner.  Today, with a big bowl of vegetable soup to fill me and keep me warm,  I’ll be routing for them…and YOU!