Soup's On!

It seems that winter is perfect weather for a bowl of nice, warm soup. Sounds good, doesn't it? Here are six diabetic soups to warm you up. Enjoy!

MINESTRONE SOUP

Yield: 4 servings (about 1 cup each)

Source: "Cooking with The Diabetic Chef"

Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/23.shtml

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 medium onion, finely diced

1/4 medium carrot, finely diced

1/4 stalk celery, finely diced

2/3 teaspoon garlic, minced

2 tablespoons leeks, finely diced

3 ounces (about 1/3 cup) canned tomatoes, chopped

1/2 medium zucchini, diced

1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme

3/4 teaspoon fresh oregano, minced

3 cups chicken stock

3 ounces (about 1/2 cup) frozen spinach, chopped

3/4 cup white beans, cooked

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese, grated

Heat olive oil in medium pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, & celery. Cook until the vegetables are slightly tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic & leek and cook for 1 minute. Add tomato, zucchini, thyme, oregano, & chicken stock. Bring liquid to simmer for 20 minutes. Add spinach & white beans. Return liquid to simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt & white pepper. Serve immediately & garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (about 1 cup): Calories: 110, Fat: 3 g, Cholesterol: 3 mg, Sodium: 283 mg, Carbohydrate: 15 g, Dietary Fiber: 5 g, Sugars: 3 g, Protein: 7 g, Diabetic Exchanges: 1 Starch, 1/2 Lean Meat, 1 Vegetable, 1/2 Fat

CREAM OF POTATO SOUP

Yield: 6 servings

Source: "Cooking with the Diabetic Chef" by Chris Smith

Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/23.shtml

Ingredients

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 quart chicken stock

1 pound potatoes, peeled and quartered

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1 cup low-fat (1%) milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

4 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add the chicken stock, potatoes, marjoram, and thyme. Bring to a simmer and cover to cook for 25-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Place the mixture in a food processor and blend until smooth. Whisk in the milk until the mixture is then enough. Add the salt and pepper and mix well. Serve with 1 tablespoon of parsley overtop of each bowl.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (About 1 cup): Calories: 121, Fat: 3 g, Cholesterol: 6 mg, Sodium: 296 mg, Carbohydrate: 19 g, Protein: 5 g, Diabetic Exchanges: 1 Starch, 1/2 Fat

MEXICAN CHICKEN SOUP

Yield: 10 servings.

Serving Size: 1-1/2 cups.

Print Friendly: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/bin/print.cgi?ID=1206

View recipe with photo: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/1206.shtml

Ingredients

1 Tbsp canola oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, sliced

4 celery stalks, sliced

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp red pepper flakes

8 cups low-sodium chicken stock

2/3 cup lentils

1 can (19 oz) tomatoes, chopped

3 medium carrots, thinly sliced

2 lbs cooked chicken, cubed

1 small zucchini, thinly sliced

1 cup frozen peas

1 small avocado, peeled and sliced

Directions

In Dutch oven, heat canola oil. Add garlic, onion and celery. Saute until vegetables are tender. Season with black pepper, cumin and red pepper flakes.

Add chicken stock, lentils, tomatoes and carrots. Simmer, covered, 30 minutes, or until carrots are tender.

Add chicken, zucchini and peas.

Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until vegetables are tender. Garnish with avocado slices.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 250; Protein: 33 g; Fat: 6 g; Sodium: 280 mg; Cholesterol: 75 mg; Saturated Fat: 1.5 g; Dietary Fiber: 5 g; Carbohydrates: 14 g

VEGETARIAN HOT AND SOUR SOUP

Yield: 8 servings

Serving size: 1 cup

Source: Stella Fong

Print Friendly: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/bin/print.cgi?ID=1202

View recipe with photo: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/1202.shtml

Ingredients

4 dried Chinese black (shiitake) mushrooms

hot water

2 tsp canola oil

1 carrot, peeled and julienned

5 cups vegetable broth

1/4 cup canned bamboo shoots, drained, julienned

3 Tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water

3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup rice vinegar

3/4 tsp ground white pepper

6 oz savory baked or firm tofu, julienned

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 stalks green onion, thinly sliced

Directions

In small bowl, soak dried mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes or until softened. Cut off stems and any hard areas and discard. Cut caps into thin slices. Set aside.

In stock pot, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and carrots and cook 2 minutes or until carrots are just soft. Add vegetable broth and bamboo shoots and bring to a boil.

Add cornstarch mixture and stir until soup thickens, about 2 minutes. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar and white pepper. Stir.

Add tofu and bring soup back to a boil. While stirring soup in circular motion in one direction, pour eggs in thin stream into soup.

Remove soup from heat. Stir in green onions. Taste and adjust flavor with rice vinegar and white pepper. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 80; Protein: 4 g; Fat: 3.5 g; Sodium: 450 mg; Cholesterol: 55 mg; Saturated Fat: 0 g; Dietary Fiber: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 8 g

CHICKEN VEGETABLE SOUP WITH KALE

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup fresh onion, chopped

1/2 cup carrots, chopped

1 teaspoon ground thyme

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

2 cups water (or chicken broth)

3/4 cup tomatoes, red, fresh, year round average, chopped or sliced

1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced

1/2 cup brown rice, medium grain, cooked (or substitute white rice)

1 cup kale, chopped (about one large leaf)

Directions

Heat oil in a medium sauce pan. Add onion and carrot. Sauté until vegetables are tender, about 5-8 minutes. Add thyme and garlic. Saute for one more minute.

Add water or broth, tomatoes, cooked rice, chicken, and kale. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Nutritional Facts: Servings 3; Calories 184.4; Total Carbs 17.1g; Dietary Fiber 2.8g; Sugars 3.3g; Total Fat 6g; Saturated Fat 1.1g; Unsaturated Fat 4.9g; Potassium 0mg; Protein 15.1g; Sodium 58.3mg; Dietary Exchanges: 1 Fat; 1/2 Meat; 1/2 Starch; 2 Vegetable; 2 Very Lean Meat

CHICKEN SOUP WITH LIME AND CILANTRO

Yield: 5 cups

Serving size: 1 cup

Source: The New Family Cookbook for People with Diabetes

View recipe: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/687.shtml

Ingredients

1 quart Homemade Chicken Broth or canned reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 whole chicken breast, skinned, boned, and split, or 2 skinless, boneless breast halves (about 3/4 pound)

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/4 cup coarsely cilantro leaves

Directions

Bring the broth to a simmer in a large saucepan.

Add the chicken; cover and simmer over low heat until it is just cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove and shred the chicken. Return it to the broth; add the lime juice and bring the soup to a boil.

Ladle into soup bowls; sprinkle with cilantro.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 102; Protein: 18 g; Fat: 4 g; Sodium: 126 mg; Cholesterol: 41 mg; Dietary Fiber: 0 g; Sugars: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 2 g; Exchanges: 2 Lean Meat