Foodie Friday: Healthy Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Not only is this an easy and filling recipe, it is also really healthy! It has a little bit of a spice to it, but not too much. My parents even has a bowl and loved it (rare). After our first attempt at cooking this last night, I would have to say that we would definitely make it again!

Healthy Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup diced celery, approximately 2 stalks
• 3 (uncooked) chicken breast fillets (1.5 lbs) cut into bite size pieces 
• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeño peppers or 2 fresh jalapeño peppers seeded and diced
• 4 cups chicken broth or stock, low-sodium, fat-free
• Kosher or sea salt to taste
• 2 teaspoons taco seasoning (see below)
• 1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro
• 6 white corn tortillas, cut into 1/4" wide strips, then cut strips in half

Directions

Add all ingredients to the slow cooker, except tortillas. Cook on low 7 - 8 hours, or until carrots are tender.

The last 20 minutes of cooking time, cut the tortillas in half, then cut into 1/2" strips, add to slow cooker. Cook an additional 20 to 25 minutes. Or if you would like them crispy, bake in oven until browned. Add to soup when served. 

If desired, add a dollop of fat-free Greek yogurt or sour cream and reduced-fat grated cheddar cheese (or veggie cheese). 

No Sodium Taco Seasoning

1 T. chili powder

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. onion powder

1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 t. dried oregano

1/2 t. paprika

1.5 t. ground cumin

1 t. black pepper

* we add a few shakes of cinnamon. Puts an interesting twist on it!

Foodie Tuesday: Butternut Squash Soup

This is a new recipe we tried and I absolutely fell in love with it. There is nothing better than a good bowl of warm, healthy soup on a chilly fall day! I plan on making more within the next few today to have a freezer stash for later!

I found this recipe after searching in Google for a healthy butternut squash soup recipe (pregnancy craving). We decided to give this one a whirl. I liked the ingredients the best and it seemed simple and fast-- and it was!

Stolen from wellnessmama.com

We used coconut oil (I HATE using butter)  and the freshest ingredients. We also only pulsed the soup in the blender so it stayed a little bit chunky. SO GOOD!

Butternut Squash Soup

 

Print

A creamy and rich butternut squash soup with savory hints of nutmeg and garlic!

Author: Wellness Mama

Recipe type: Soup

Cuisine: American

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup (plus more to thin) homemade chicken broth or stock
• 1 sweet onion
• 2 tablespoons of butter or coconut oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ tsp nutmeg (or to taste)
• ½ tsp garlic (or to taste)
• sprinkle of thyme (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut top and bottom off of butternut squash and use knife to carefully cut remaining skin off.
2. Cut in half and scoop out seeds (they are great roasted!)
3. Chop squash into small cubes and dice onion.
4. In a large stock pot, melt the butter and add diced onion.
5. Saute 3 minutes until starting to soften and add squash.
6. Saute an additional 5 minutes until squash starts to brown.
7. Add coconut milk, stock, and spices and bring to simmer.
8. Simmer about 20 minutes until soft.
9. Use a blender or hand blender to puree until smooth.
10. Serve warm or make ahead to reheat for a fast meal addition.

Foodie Tuesday: Spinach Stuffed Shells

Introducing "Foodie Tuesday!" Every Tuesday I am going to blog about a recipe we recently tried or one of our favorites. I am lucky to have a husband who likes to cook and try new things. We are always testing out new recipes, tweaking them to fit our "needs", and creating our own (so much fun). 

Keep in mind that all the recipes I post are going to be in the healthiest form I could possibly get them into. Unhealthy meals in our house is almost non-existent. We try to cook with as many organic ingredients that we could get our hands onto, especially fresh produce (SO important). We stay away from GMO's, a lot sodium, butter, and pretty much anything artificial. If you were to go grocery shopping with us, you wouldn't see much packaged food. Buying food in the whole most form possible is so important to me. This way, I know what we are putting into our bodies, and most importantly, what our sweet little baby is eating :)

A recipe we tried last night was kind of out of the ordinary. We NEVER eat pasta, or cook with dairy. But we did both last night (we will call it a treat). Whenever making pasta, try to buy whole wheat or even pasta made completely from vegetables. 

The website I got the recipe from: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/01/spinach-stuffed-shells-with-meat-sauce.html?m=1

Spinach Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce 
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 9 • Serving size: 3 stuffed shells • OldPoints: 7 pts • Points+: 9 pts
Calories: 360.9 • Fat: 12.8 g • Protein: 28.4 g • Carb: 34.3 g • Fiber: 3.3 g 

Ingredients: 

• 27 (9 oz) Barilla Jumbo Shells
• 1 cup onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
  
• 1 lb 99% lean ground turkey
• 32 oz crushed tomatoes (I used Tuttorosso)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
  
• 8 oz reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
  
• 1 egg
• 16 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed well
• 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions: 

Boil water and cook shells according to package directions, make sure to make them al dente.

Meanwhile, saute onions and garlic in oil. Add turkey and salt and brown until cooked, breaking up in small pieces. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil, then simmer on low, covered, about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a large bowl, mix together ricotta, egg, spinach, mozzarella, and parmesan.

Once shells are cooked and cool, fill each shell with (about 2 heaping tbsp) cheese mixture and place on a large baking dish, or two smaller dishes, covering the bottom of the dish with a little sauce. 

Top shells with half of the sauce, cover with foil and bake 40 minutes; uncover foil and bake 5 more minutes.

Serve with additional sauce on top. 

This recipe was absolutely delicious! We did, however, cut down the salt and used Veggie Shredz for the mozzarella. This is something we would definitely make again, but would add more veggies (mushrooms, more spinach and less cheese mixture, and red peppers). I wouldn't even mind cutting out the turkey burger and making it a vegetarian dish! This also makes a ton. We could have fed a family of 8, no problem.

Not as pretty of a picture as the website... I need to work on taking pictures of my food :)