Tortilla soup is a Mexican-style soup that usually has chicken in it, plus all the bells and whistles which are normally found in this quick and easy dinner – avocado, cilantro, and corn tortilla chips. Not mine. I decided to feature those amazing antioxidant rich black beans instead of the chicken. It still has that unique tortilla soup flavour, but it’s a heart healthier version.
3 cups (750 mL) lower sodium chicken or vegetable broth
One – 19 fl oz (540 mL) can diced tomatoes
One -19 fl oz. (540 mL) can black beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup (60 mL) deli fresh salsa, mild, medium, or hot
1 tbsp (15 mL) hot sauce, less if desired
1 cup (250 mL) fresh or frozen corn, no need to thaw
1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced thinly
1 cup (250 mL) thinly sliced green onions, approx. 5 green onions
1 cup (250 mL) chopped cilantro
1 lime, scrubbed well and cut into quarters
40 unsalted whole corn tortilla chips
- Heat chicken or vegetable broth in a large pot over medium/high heat. When it comes to the boil add tomatoes, black beans, salsa, hot sauce, and corn. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir and remove from heat.
- Ladle soup into 4 deep soup bowls. Equally divide the avocado, green onion and cilantro and sprinkle on top of each soup bowl. Squeeze on some fresh lime juice.
- Put 10 tortilla chips in your hands and slightly crush them into each bowl. Mix gently and serve.
Makes 8 cups (2 L)
Each serving is equal to 2 cups (500 mL)
One serving contains: 420 Calories, 13.4 g Total Fat, 1.9 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 556 mg Sodium, 64.5 g Carbs, 13 g Fibre, 11.8 g Sugar, 15 g Protein
Diabetes Food Choice Values Per Serving: Each serving contains: 3 ½ Carbohydrates, 1 Meat and Alternative, 2 Fats
This recipe is from Healthy Starts Here!
Saw you on cityline today – hurray. I actually just ordered your book yesterday after flipping through it at Indigo. Very attractive book! 🙂
I like this soup recipe, but wonder about the amount of carbohydrate in the soup (lots in the beans…); why do you choose beans instead of say, chicken breast? Also, what do you think about fresh vs. cans/jars of stuff – is this more about convience?
Thanks,
H
Hi Hazel,
Thanks for the comment! So glad you saw the show and that you like the book! Yay!
In answer to your questions: the carbs are complex carbs from the heart healthy beans -. you can use chicken if you want but, and there’s always a but! – we need to be eating beans more often – and this is my way of encouraging that!
Fresh vs canned – fresh wins – but, another but! – in this recipe I wanted quick and easy, so yes, it’s all about convenience!
Peace, love and fibre,
Mairlyn
Hi again!
I actually saw you on cityline once before, which is how i learned about the book – i wasn’t actually able to find it then.
Yes, I fully understand why the beans are there and I like them, but I’m trying to follow the Zone meal plans! They certainly don’t approve of more than 40% (the rest being good fat and protein) of your mean being carbohydrate, even if they’re low density complex ones…). Maybe I’ll use chicken AND beans!
I am looking for more fibre options outside of my usual fruits and veggies… and it turns out most of them are grains, which the Zone frowns upon. In any event, I’m probably going to have to widen my scope if I ever want to enjoy the meals I cook – hopefully your book arrived today!
What sorts of fibre options are low in carbohydrate? I guess I can just google that – I think I have before, and I didn’t like the answer!
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