Jacked Up Soup...
Jacked up soup…
No, I’m not referring to a pot of soup that I’ve thrown out or forced myself to eat because it sucked although that might have actually happened! (More than once, to be honest.)
I’m talking about a quick way to make a delicious soup that’s more than just dumping unflavored whey into something to boost the numbers and works a lot better when it comes to macronutrient content.
As you know, we’re big on eating tasty food but also making it work. We have some homemade soup recipes – like our famous Chicken Tortilla Soup – that are delicious and work very well with the calorie targets and macronutrient ratios we use but there are also times we want something hot, need the numbers to work for us but didn’t have the foresight to spend the time making something like Hearty Beef Stew over the weekend.
Yes, it’s ridiculously simple and amounts to nothing more than adding some protein and, if you like, some fresh vegetables or extra seasonings to a plain old canned soup but every time I mention it to a client they seem amazed. (I’m amazed because most of them are a lot smarter than I am and I can’t believe they’ve never heard or thought of it.) I like to chew my food so I’m not a huge fan of dumping unflavored protein powder into anything and this is a very tasty way to get around it.
You can use beef, chicken, ham, shrimp or anything you like. We’ve used the pre-cooked frozen chicken strips or breasts and dumped them in straight from the freezer. They’ll thaw quickly and it’s another time-saving tip. Frozen pre-cooked shrimp works the same way.
On the veggie front, add celery, carrots, asparagus or any high fiber vegetable because they keep you feeling full longer. Of course, potatoes would be a natural but you need to be careful with the carb content as far as your targets go. I’ve added gnocchi as well and it’s delicious.
Protein is, by far, the most expensive of the macronutrients. It’s also, after calories, the thing we target first. We’ve had conversations with our coaching clients about the lack of protein in the everyday American diet and certainly most restaurant fare. The rest of the food industry is no different. The fastest way to cut into revenue and profits is to serve large portions of the most expensive item. There’s a reason the prices at steak and chop houses are so lavish. Granted, it’s usually a high-quality protein but it’s a protein nonetheless and it’s costly. As a result, the protein content of most food, especially food that’s pre-made, is just too low for our purposes.
So, we’re going to help it along. Besides, the protein we use will be cheaper and leaner if we do it ourselves. The goal is to use the pre-made soup as a base and jazz it up with some protein, vegetables and spices so it helps us hit our targets while being quick, easy and delicious.
This is a quick and simple way to do it. We usually have several cans of soup in our pantry as a “just in case” measure. Anything will work as long as you like the brand and flavor you’re using. We really like the Progresso Light and Low-Sodium varieties. I don’t think we eat enough processed or canned foods to the point that sodium is an issue for us but I’d always prefer to add salt. As far as calories, we’re going to make additions to the soup so starting with a low-calorie version works best. Of course, there are a bunch of other brands like Amy’s, Healthy Choice and the venerable Campbell’s classic and Chunky varieties. Whatever floats your boat.
You’ll end up with a delicious meal that’s quick and easy and still allows you to hit all your targets. (Make sure you look at the How-To for a few tips.)
Check it out…
Jacked Up Soup and a Ham Sammich:
1-18.5 ounce can of Progresso™ Light Beef Pot Roast Soup
2.5 ounces 96/4 ground beef
Penzeys Spices Chicago Steak Seasoning
2 slices (60 grams) Whole Foods® Market San Francisco Sourdough
2 ounces Boar’s Head® Tavern Ham
1 slice Tillamook® Farmstyle Swiss Cheese
French’s® Classic Yellow Mustard, to taste
1 snack size bag of Tostitos® Baked Scoops!®
The beef is available from Wal-Mart. The Chicago Steak Seasoning is Penzeys only while the lunch meat and cheese come from Publix. The bread is $6 for a baguette which is a great deal. (They don’t call it Whole Paycheck Foods, for nothing.) As always, feel free to change ingredients and amounts in order to fit your targets and the level of exactness you want to have eating to those targets. The amount of beef listed above is what I needed in order to hit my protein target for the day.
The Numbers:
621 calories with 48 g P, 40 grams C, 13 grams F.
The How-To:
Heat up the skillet and brown the beef. I use the Penzeys Chicago to give it some steakhouse flavor since the base soup is a pot roast flavor. Choose spices and seasonings appropriate to the soup and protein you’re using. Dump the can of soup into the pan and stir in the beef. If you’re adding any extra veggies or seasonings, now’s the time to do it. Make your sandwich while it’s heating up and, when you’re done, plate up the sammich, bowl up the soup, grab your bag of chips and you’re ready to go!
Since I work from home, I’ll often brown the beef while I’m making my lunch and then dump it along with any vegetables or other seasonings into the soup and let it simmer all day at a very low heat. The flavors in the seasoned beef, the soup and any vegetables I’ve added will meld together. The more time it has the better. It’s also one less thing I have to do when it’s time for dinner. I just have to make my sandwich and I’m ready to eat. You can always use the time you’ve saved to go extra special and fix the sammich like we did here.
It’s quick, tasty and cleanup is pretty fast as well. You have a skillet or two and a pan to wash plus the sandwich plate, soup bowl and spoon to toss in the dishwasher and that’s it. A quick wiping of the cooktop and counters and you’re ready to enjoy dessert or the rest of your evening.
And that’s the way it should be…
Regards,
Henry
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