Split Pea Soup (C2)

Simmie Sinow

This is good for lunch in C2 or for any meal in C3.

1 lb dried green split peas, rinsed
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1/2 med yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 bay leaf
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
Kosher Salt
Italian seasoning or other seasonings of your choice

Arrange the split peas in the slow cooker in an even layer.

Arrange the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, and bay leaf over the peas in one even layer.

Pour the chicken broth and water into the slow cooker and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the peas are very soft, ~ 8 to 10 hours.

With a large spoon mix all ingredients thoroughly and use a potato masher or immersion blender to blend until this is at the consistency you desire.

Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed.


OPTIONAL IDEAS
I also like putting some mushrooms in this for a bit of a different added flavor; not everyone enjoys that.

Crispy Bacon Chili (C3)

Modified from recipe on The Chew website

1 lb turkey bacon (chopped)
2 lbs ground beef
2 garlic cloves (chopped)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 large red onion (diced)
1 jalapeno (diced; optional)
2 tsp dried oregano
56 ounces canned fire roasted tomatoes
Garnish
Scallions
Diced Red Onions
Hot Sauce

In a large dutch oven or heavy-bottom pot, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy (about 5-7 minutes). Remove bacon and reserve for garnish.

With the bacon drippings in the pot, add the beef and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until dark brown and crispy (about 10 minutes). Push the meat to the side and toss in the onions, jalapeno, and garlic.

Sprinkle in the seasonings and stir to coat. Cook for 2 minutes until softened then stir into the meat. Pour in the fire roasted tomatoes and adjust seasoning to taste.

Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until mostly thickened.

Serve with your choice of garnish and reserved crispy bacon.

Taco Soup (C3)

Recipe Author: Marsha Cassara Hoffman

1 pound ground beef or Turkey
1 envelope taco seasoning (check ingredients for sugar and high sodium)
1 can (11oz) whole kernel white corn,undrained
1 can (15 oz) pinto beans
1 can (15 oz) black beans
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes,undrained

Crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, whole wheat tortillas, warmed (all optional depending on cycle).  Watch the ingredients in the tortilla chips or make your own!

In cast iron skillet, cook meat over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasoning, corn, beans and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or heated through, stirring occasionally.

Place tortilla chips in soup bowls; ladle soup over top. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve with tortillas. Yield 8 servings.

Simmie's Super Stewy Chicken Vegetable Soup (C1)

Recipe Author: Simmie Sinow

This is yet another modification for my thick Chicken Vegetable Soup (the first recipe on this blog is called Simmie's Stewy Chicken Vegetable Soup).  This is a family recipe passed down from my great grandmother to my grandmother, to my mother--and finally to me.  Each time I make it, I change something else!!! Great Gram used to make it in a soup pot on the stovetop, but mom and I have always liked making this in a crockpot.

Combine the following in a large crockpot:

28 oz can crushed tomatoes
4 cups chopped (small) cabbage (I got the shredded and diced the heck out of it)
1/2 of a 12 oz pkg broccoli slaw, chopped
4  7-oz cans of mushrooms, liquid included
4 carrots, cut up
1 large sweet onion, diced, then run through your food processor (I have a Ninja)
2 large bell peppers, diced (I use orange)
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

I use the oregano/basil crushed tomatoes, so taste the broth before adding too many other spices! I use an all-purpose spice like Cavender's Greek Seasoning or some other italian seasonings.

Cook on high in your crockpot for about 2 hours before adding the chicken -- the carrots need that amount of time to soften up.

Then add:
3 chicken breasts, diced (I do not cook them before putting them in the soup--no need to)

Once the carrots have started to soften, add the chopped/diced chicken and cook on medium or low for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

This soup is REALLY thick, so for those of you that enjoy stewy soups, this one's for you!!!

I was going to add diced celery and some eggplant, but well, I ran out of room.  This would be a good vegetable soup without the chicken, for snacks and such as well.

The recipe I've used for a long time calls for 14 oz of broth and 2 cups of water, but with vegetable stock, it's not as strong, so I just used 4 cups of vegetable broth and no water.

For Vegetarians: Just omit the chicken and make sure to use vegetable stock. You can also put some cubed tofu into it for some protein.

This soup freezes really well and this recipe makes a lot.  It makes approximately 16 to 20 1-cup servings.

Butternut Squash-Lentil Soup (C2)

Recipe Author: Simmie Sinow

This is probably the best soup I have had in a long time, if not ever! It's real easy to make and has a sweet flavor to it from both the butternut squash, the carrots, and the sweet onions.  It's a definite repeat recipe for me!

5-6 cups vegetable broth or stock, divided
3 cups cubed butternut squash (I just buy the packages, I don't like fighting with hard-shelled squash!)
1 cup lentils (pick out the "stones" and toss!) - I used red/orange lentils, but any will do
1 cup diced small celery
1 cup chopped or sliced thin carrots (no need to peel)
1 Tbsp Cavender's Greek seasoning -- or seasoning of your choice
1/2 Tbsp granulated garlic (or 2 crushed garlic cloves)

If you enjoy more garlic than "just a little," increase the amount of garlic. I put the garlic in after the stock has been added and put a layer of it so that it covers the mixture in the crockpot (a lot more than 1/2 Tbsp!!).

Combine all ingredients except the broth in your crockpot, then pour 4 of the 4-6 cups of stock over it, mix together well, then cover and "let 'er rip!"

After about 2 1/2 hours in the crockpot on the high setting, I check it and use a potato masher to mash the ingredients down (or use your immersion blender!) and add more stock if needed.

Then turn the heat down to low for another 3-4 hours.  Total time should be 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

Check periodically (as the mood strikes for me!) and continue to mash the ingredients with your potato masher or immersion blender (this probably isn't necessary, but the wonderful smell throughout the house gets me back into the kitchen to check on it!).

If you like your soup a little thinner than I do (I like mine pretty thick), just add more vegetable stock to it.

If you'd like it a bit creamier, you can add some fat free cream cheese or sour cream to it -- about 1/4 cup should be plenty!

ENJOY!!!

This soup is a great soup to freeze in portions.  This can also be done using yams or sweet potatoes.

Tomato Soup Florentine (C1)

Recipe Adapted by Simmie Sinow

Serves 8

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cans (28 oz each) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 cup sliced green onions
4 cups frozen chopped spinach
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup cauliflower florets
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 bay leaf

In a large soup pot, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 30-45 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

Discard bay leaf.

Tomato & Corn Chowder (C2)

Adapted from Recipe by Lean Body Cookbook

Serves 4

5 cups chopped tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups corn kernels
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp dried summer savory
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp black pepper (optional)
1 Tbsp parsley for garnish

In a medium saucepan, combine tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, then cover.

Cook until the tomatoes are very tender.

In a large saucepan, combine corn, water, italian seasoning, summer savory, basil, bay leaf, and black pepper.

Simmer 8-10 minutes until corn is almost tender.

Put cooked tomatoes through a sieve and discard the skins and seeds.

Add tomato liquid to the corn mixture and cover.  Simmer 10-15 minutes to blend the flavors.

Discard the bay leaf and serve garnished with parsley if desired.

Alton Brown's Lentil Soup (C3)

Serves 6 to 8

Anything by Alton Brown is great, in my opinion!! This sounds and looks great, doesn't it?

If you are unfamiliar with Grains of Paradise, try the following substitutions:

• Fresh ground pepper
• Sansho powder
• Cardamom

Food Network's recipe by Alton Brown for:     Lentil Soup

Crockpot Chili (C3)

Recipe Author: Erica Schlisky Herbert

1 package ground turkey
1 onion chopped
1 red pepper chopped
1-2 carrots chopped
1-2 teaspoons chipotle sauce
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 small can pinto beans drained
1 small can black beans drained
1 can red kidney beans drained
1 1/2 cup water
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients in your crockpot and stir well.  Cook on low for 8 hours.

You can sauté the vegetables before and brown the meat before putting into the crockpot, but it is not necessary.

Brittany's Taco Soup (C2)

Recipe Author: Brittany Simpson

This is perfect for freezing portions ahead of time for 

those of you out there that are too busy to cook every day!

1 can of black beans
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of pinto beans (sometimes I use other kinds of beans as well)
3 cans of crushed tomatoes (See Note 1 below for C3)
1 can of corn
1 pound of ground turkey
half diced onion
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 packet of ranch seasoning
Any additional vegetables you like such as diced bell peppers, etc.

Sauté onion with the ground turkey and season your meat the way you enjoy it.

When cooked all the way, transfer it to a large pot with the other ingredients!

Do not drain any of the cans. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat to low and simmer covered for at least an hour and a half (the longer it simmers, the tastier it gets!).

You can top it with fat free sour cream (1-2 Tbsp per serving), fat free cheddar cheese (1-2 Tbsp per serving) and avocado (if this is not your first time through C2).

This is one of those recipes that tastes better the next day!


C3 note:
In C3, you can use Rotel canned tomatoes (which have chiles in them)

In C2, this is not a dinner recipe due to the starches.  In C3, it's your choice whether to eat this later in the day.

The ENTIRE recipe contains:
12 starch servings (assuming three 1/2 cup servings per can on the beans and corn)

Mexican Hat Dance Soup (C3) AKA Taco Soup

ChocolateCoveredKatie

This soup is fabulous!

The recipe is on CCK's website for Mexican Hat Dance Soup.

Mexican Chicken Lentil Soup (C3)

Recipe Author: Janet Reutter

4 cans reduced sodium chicken broth
2 cans reduced sodium diced tomatoes
1 large can chunk chicken (rinsed and drained)
2 cups water

1 can diced chilis (4 oz)
1 lb lentils
1/2 envelope dry onion soup mix
¾ cup taco sauce
12 oz salsa
No salt seasoning to taste

Note: Using fresh cooked chicken would be preferable to canned chicken.

Combine the first 4 ingredients and mix well.  Add the remaining ingredients and cook until the lentils are done.

African Peanut Soup (C3)

Source: Weight Watchers

Serves 4

1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
3 Tbsp compliant peanut butter (ingredients should show Peanuts as the only ingredient)
2 onions, chopped
1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 tsp curry powder
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Combine chickpeas, 1/2 cup of the broth, and peanut butter in a blender or food processor and puree.

Spray large nonstick saucepan with olive oil nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Add onions and ginger; cook, stirring until onions are softened (about 5 minutes).  Stir in curry powder and cook about 1 minute.  Stir in remaining 2 1/2 cups of broth, the tomatoes with their juice, tomato paste, cayenne, and chickpea puree; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes, to allow flavors to blend.

Ladle soup evenly into four bowls and sprinkle with cilantro and scallions.

Curried Carrot Soup (C1)

For the full recipe, click HERE to go to AllRecipes for the details!

This is a great soup!  Omit the vegetable oil and use olive oil instead and this will be a good C1 recipe!

This can also be made in C2 using butternut squash.

Brittany's Roasted Tomato Soup (C1)

Recipe Author: Brittany Simpson

10 plum tomatoes
2 thick slices of yellow onion
4 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp parmesean cheese
1 Tbsp chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350.

Cut the tomatoes lengthwise and throw them in a pan with peeled garlic cloves and the slices of onion, seasoning it all with salt, pepper, and olive oil. I had the skins of the tomatoes facing up.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Take the skin off the tomatoes and throw them away. It is super easy, they slide right off--just use your tongs to pull them off!

Then put everything (including the liquid in the pan) into a blender with the chicken broth and blend.

You do not need to blend until everything is smooth if you want bits and chunks in it.

After blending, put it in a saucepan with the parmesan and parsley and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Chicken Vegetable Soup a la Mary (C1)

Recipe Author: Mary Kay Sachs Kane

Number of Servings 6

5 cups of chicken broth
1 can of chopped or crushed tomatoes
Frozen green beans
Frozen carrots
Cooked chicken
1 ½ tsp Italian seasoning
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
¼ tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Cook until vegetables are done.

This can also be made with chopped cabbage!

Chicken Tortilla Soup (C3)

Recipe Author: Carla DeLong

This is a great crockpot soup for those who don't always have a lot of time for food preparation!

1 onion, chopped
4 frozen chicken breasts
1  15-oz can diced tomatoes, with juice
2 4-oz cans mild chopped green chile peppers [C3 item]
1 15-oz can mild red enchilada sauce
2 minced garlic cloves
1 14.5-oz can fat free chicken broth
1 tsp each: cumin, chili powder, salt
1/4 tp black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 10-oz package frozen corn [C2 item]
1 bunch chopped cilantro [C3 item]

Place onion in bottom of crock pot, then layer chicken breasts on top.

Add diced tomatoes with juice, mild chopped green chile peppers, mild red enchilada sauce, garlic cloves, chicken broth and cumin/chili powder/salt, black pepper and bay leaf.

At the end, add the frozen corn and chopped cilantro (remember cilantro is a C3 item).

Ideas for serving: 
lime wedges
fat free parmesan cheese
our cream/plain greek yogurt
Avocado slices and tortilla chips (depending on cycle allowances)

Cook on low 6-8 hours and remove bay leaf.

Remove chicken and shred, return to slow cooker add corn heat until hot top with cliantro - Enjoy

Creamless Cream of Mushroom Soup (C2)

Recipe Author/Submitted By: Simmie Sinow

This makes 12  1-cup servings

I've been making this soup since around 2003 and just recently "converted" it to a 17 day diet friendly recipe. Tonight was the test run and it came out wonderful! I have enough to leave several servings at home to be eaten and enough to take to work with me for all week!

This is a C2 recipe due to the flour.

2 lbs mushrooms (I use two different kinds, for the sake of variety)
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice (I don't use fresh, it is a bit too strong for me)
1 small Onion, diced
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
3 ½ Cups Water
1 vegetable or chicken bouillon cube
1 tsp Salt
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt (warning: using Greek plain nonfat results in soup that's a bit tangy)
1/2 cup Kefir (or nonfat, non-greek yogurt with some dill in it)
To taste Garlic powder or minced garlic

Remove stems from ends of mushrooms and set aside.

Slice mushroom caps thinly.

In large dutch oven or soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add sliced mushroom caps and lemon juice. Cook until mushrooms are tender, then reduce heat to low.

With a slotted spoon, transfer mushrooms to a small plate, and add onion and stems to the dutch oven/soup pot.

Cook until onion is tender/translucent (5 minutes or less).

Stir in flour until blended and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in water and bouillon, stirring constantly, until thickened.

Puree the mixture of the stems/onions and half of the mushroom caps that you set aside on a plate with a blender.

Return to the dutch oven/soup pot and add salt, pepper, yogurt, kefir, mushroom caps and mushrooms and reheat until warm.

Creamy Curry Cauliflower Soup (C1)

Recipe from FitDay website

While this recipe uses cauliflower for the soup, a myriad of other vegetables could be used instead for this yummy recipe -- broccoli comes to mind, as do potatoes for C2!

Click HERE for the complete recipe and instructions on making this.

Hearty Chili (C3)

Sherri Lojewski

2 lbs. lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 small onion, diced
1 Tbsp beef bouillon granules or 3 cubes
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 cups tomato sauce
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 cup water
2 packets of stevia (equivalent to 4 tsp sugar)
pinch of baking soda
1 cup diced zucchini (optional: leave this out and this recipe is C1)

Brown meat, rinse and drain; return to dutch oven.

Add diced onion, diced zucchini and sprinkle beef bouillon granules over meat and saute until tender.

In blender: (I dont like "chunky" chili)
Pour stewed and diced tomatoes, chili powder and cumin. Pulse until smooth or to your liking and add to the meat mixture.

Then add water and tomato sauce, baking soda and stevia and simmer for 20-30 minutes until zucchini is tender.

TO MAKE THIS RECIPE CYCLE 1:
Omit the zucchini and use ground turkey.

Makes (8) 1 cup servings.