Tender pork, spicy broth – the flavor is just fantastic ! If you don’t enjoy spice, just remove the jalapeno and you will still end up with a great tasting pork soup.

Southwest Pork Soup

4 servings
325 calories per serving

Pam
1 c onion, chopped
2/3 c green bell pepper, chopped
1 c chopped mushrooms
1 T minced garlic
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1 lb. pork tenderloin in bite sized pieces
2 c chicken broth
2 c beef broth
1 c water
2 t chili powder
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
15 oz. kidney beans, rinsed and drained
14 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 T cilantro, chopped
1 c avocado, diced

Heat a non stick soup pot then spray with Pam. Add onion and cook 5-6 minutes adding a bit of hot water if necessary to keep onions moist. Add pepper, mushrooms, garlic and jalapenos and cook another 3 minutes then add pork and cook another 10 minutes. Add broth, water, spices, beans and tomatoes and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro just before serving. Spoon into bowls and top with avocado pieces.

What a splendid soup ! Subtle fish flavor, remarkably good broth, and just the perfect lunch on a cold, blustery day. Fish chowders made with delicate white fish are such a nice change from clam chowders. They are definitely milder and the consistency is just right.

Fish and Potato Chowder

4 servings
307 calories

2 slices bacon
3 c red potato, diced (or I used canned diced potatoes)
1 c chopped onion
3 T flour
16 oz. clam juice
2 c skim milk
1 T chopped thyme (or 1 t thyme flakes)
½ t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 t onion powder
12 oz. skinless halibut fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces (or other firm white fish)
2 T chopped parsley

Cook bacon in soup pot until crisp them remove, cool and crumble. Reserve 1 T of the drippings in the pan and add potato and onion and cook 5 minutes. Then add flour and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add clam juice and bring to a boil then cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender (less time is needed if you use canned potatoes). Add milk and simmer (do not boil). Add spices and fish and cook 3 minutes or until fish is done. Stir in parsley at the very end and garnish bowls with crumbled bacon.

Simple does not always mean plain. This is a simple soup of just a few ingredients, but it turns out a restaurant class meal – classic flavor and perfectly mild spicing.

Celery Root Soup

4 servings
180 calories per serving

2 T butter
1 c thinly sliced leek
1/2 c carrot, finely chopped
2 T white wine
3 c peeled and cubed celery root (about 3/4 pound)
3 c chicken broth
1 c water
1/2 t coarse salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 3/4 c cooked wild rice
2 T fresh chives, chopped finely

Melt butter in soup pot. Add leek and carrot then cover and cook 5 minutes. Uncover and cook another 5 minutes or until tender. Add wine, celery root, broth, 1 c water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then cover and cook 10 minutes. Place 1 c soup mix in a blender and blend until smooth then add back to soup pan and add rice. Cook 15 minutes. Garnish with chives just before serving.

I just love meatball soup and when you use the frozen prepared meatballs, it takes all the hard work out of it. Just heat up some broth, add meatballs and some veggies and you have a great complete meal. Here is one of my favorite ways to serve.

Meatball and Escarole Soup

4 servings
315 calories per serving

24 frozen cocktail meatballs
8 c chicken broth
1 6.5 oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained
4 c cleaned and torn escarole leaves
1 c shredded or julienned carrot
Salt and pepper to taste
1 t garlic powder
1 T dry minced onion
½ t oregano flakes
½ t parsley flakes

Mix all together and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes.

I love making wontons – you fill them with just about anything and drop in broth and they make a great meal. But this one goes far beyond – the flavors of the ginger, lemon and vegetables mingle so beautifully ! You’ll want to make this one again and again.

Chicken Wontons in Broth

6 servings
395 calories per serving

7 cups fat free broth (chicken, beef or a mixture of both)
4 c water
3 T soy sauce
1 T lemon juice
24 wonton wrappers
1 large shallot, finely chopped
½ pound ground chicken
¾ c bok choy, finely chopped
½ c finely chopped mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste
1 T soy sauce
1 t garlic powder
2 t minced fresh ginger
2 t grated lemon rind
1 t dark sesame oil
Dash of hot sauce

Prepare wontons (see below). Bring broth to a boil. Add 3 T soy, salt and pepper. Add wontons and cook 3 minutes or until done. Add lemon juice right at the end.

Wonton preparation:
Spray pan with Pam and cook shallot 3 minutes. Add water if it starts to get dry. Add ground meat and cook until done. Make sure you break it up into little pieces as it cooks. Let cool. Add in bok choy, mushrooms, soy sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder, ginger, lemon zest, sesame oil, and hot sauce. Fill wontons (click below for a short video tutorial if you are not familiar with wonton preparation).

Another super quick soup that tastes like it’s been simmering for hours, but it’s just a ½ hour meal. Try using Perdue Shortcuts turkey strips if you don’t have any leftover turkey on hand.

Turkey Noodle Soup

2 servings
156 calories per serving

2 c water
¾ c cooked cubed turkey breast
1 rib celery, sliced
Leaves from top of celery
2 cloves garlic minced
Salt to taste
1/8 t marjoram flakes
1/8 t pepper
1 bay leaf
½ t onion powder
½ c canned diced potatoes
¼ c frozen peas and carrots mix
¼ c yolk free egg noodles
Dash Kitchen Bouquet

Mix water, turkey, celery, onion, garlic, salt, onion powder, marjoram, pepper and bay leaf and bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Then mix in the potatoes, peas and noodles. Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove bay leaf before serving.

We all know how hard it can be to find prepared foods and snacks that are good for us. Well, Lifestyle Foods has some awesome products that solve that problem – all are healthy options, and all are prepared and ready to grab out of the fridge making them just as convenient as grabbing those cookies or that full of fat hot pocket from the freezer – - healthy eating just got a lot easier ! With so many options (and all of them tasting GREAT), you could live off these little meals and snacks. And that is precisely what I’ve done for a few days as I’ve been taste testing and reviewing all the different options. My goodness, there are so many things to choose from and one tastes better than the next. They definitely get a thumbs up rating from me !

The food is available online (http://www.lifestylefoods.com) where you can mix and match and create your own personalized pack of snacks. Or if you are in the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania area, you can find the products in 7-11, Sheetz, and Royal Farms locations throughout New Jersey, in a few Hudson News locations including JFK Airport, and most Giant locations across Pennsylvania. There are soups, salads, snack packs, breakfasts, stand along snacks – more than enough choices to keep the pickiest of eaters happy.

I would love to see this product line on shelves in every food store, in every convenience store, and in all colleges across the nation – how great it would be if college students all had easy access to prepared foods that they can eat on the run or place in their dorm refrigerators for easy access to healthy snacks.

The quality is stupendous, the taste is great, the combinations are well thought out, the packaging is minimal (which is an added bonus in my mind!) and the calorie count is way low. Add a piece of fruit and some nuts as a dessert to one of the salads and you have a complete meal. Or instead of 2 slices of pizza next meal, have one slice and one of these quick salads next to it. Eating healthier is so much easier when great options are a few steps away and READY TO EAT.

Below you’ll see a list of all the products I’ve tried and some misc. comments – even if you don’t have time to read the info, please do yourself and your family a favor and grab some of these items. When they are there in the fridge ready to eat, you will find that you grab them. I have, my husband has, my teenage daughter has – and we all feel better because of it !

SOUP + SALAD

The soups are fresh and tasty and if they were packaged separately, I would be buying them up ! They do not taste like Campbells’s canned soup – they are fresh and scrumptious. The salad dressings appear to be low fat options and more than enough is provided, even for dressing hogs like me.

My favorite here is the Tomato Basil soup – oh my goodness ! Just a little chunky; actually the perfect texture. Super taste.

The only thing here is I would recommend NOT using the cardboard as the microwave stand – if it opens up after you grab the soup, you could end up with hot soup all over the place And you certainly don’t want to waste even a spoonful of the yummy soup !

Chicken Noodle+ Caesar – 120 calories

Vegetable and Garden – 90 calories

Tomato Basil and Garden – 120 calories

SALADS

The salad dressings appear to be low fat options and more than enough is provided, even for dressing hogs like me. The dressings are very flavorful.

The chicken salad is white meat only and for only 190 calories you are FULL when you are done – the portioning is fantastic. The tuna salad is equally as fresh and quality tuna is definitely used. The chicken in the cobb salad has a nice little kick to it – this could actually use a little more lettuce for all the add ins and dressing you get.

Taco Salad – 160 calories

Caesar with Chicken – 220 calories

Garden with Italian – 80 calories

Garden with Ranch – 120 calories

BLT with Ranch – 200 calories

Tuna Salad and Romaine – 210 calories

Chicken Salad and Romaine – 190 calories

Cobb with Ranch – 220 calories

SNACKS

All the apple wedges are crisp and fresh without any flavor of the agent used to keep them from browning (ascorbic acid).

Veggies are sweet, cheese is mild and fresh, dips are zesty – great snack attack packs.

Apple Wedges – 30 calories

Shred Snack – Chicken strips and cheddar cheese cubes – 175 calories

Essential Snack – Mini bagel with cream cheese, hard boiled egg, apple wedges – 200 calories

Manhattan Snack – Hummus, pita bread, carrots, cheddar cheese – 240 calories

Hollywood Snack – Honey wheat pretzels, apple wedges, grapes, cheddar cheese – 200 calories

Glam Snack – Apple wedges, grapes, almonds – 150 calories

Mac Snack – Mac and cheese cubes, grapes – 110 calories

Obsessed Snack – Greek yogurt and honey graham sticks – 150 calories

BREAKFASTS

The oatmeal was so hearty and such a grand portion ! I might add a little honey or nuts to make it even better. But this is a great little package even as is.

Awake Snack – Granola, apples, grapes, trail mix – 170 calories

Oatmeal and Apple – Whole apple, steel cut oatmeal (with turbinado sugar and raisins to add in)- 230 calories

Lifestyle Foods (http://www.lifestylefoods.com) have snacks and mini meals to satisfy your sweet tooth or your craving for savory food – they have it all. They provide nutritious, ready to eat, delicious snacks that compliment a healthy lifestyle.

This is a superb soup – the broth is so rich and full bodied it could almost be used as a tomato sauce if you thickened it up some. The ravioli are a great addition as the cheesiness mixes so well with the tomato based broth. Any cheese pasta would do well here, but the ravioli makes it just a little different and oh so yummy !

Ravioli Soup

4 servings
274 calories per serving

1 T olive oil
2 c frozen bell pepper and onion mix, thawed and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t crushed red pepper
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
32 oz. vegetable broth
1 c hot water
1 t basil flakes
1 t oregano flakes
9 oz. frozen cheese ravioli
2 c diced zucchini
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large soup pot and add peppers, onions, garlic and red pepper. Saute for 4 minutes then add tomatoes, broth, water and spice. Bring to a boil and add ravioli and cook 3 minutes less than the package instructions. Add zucchini, return to boil and cook another 3 minutes. Garnish with some parmesan cheese if you would like (not included in calorie count).

By adding pesto to the broth, you end up with a soup that is so tasty and delicious ! It really makes an ordinary chicken broth something very special.

Chicken and Pesto Soup

5 servings
235 calories per serving

2 teaspoons oil
1/2 cup carrot , julienned or shredded
8 oz. leftover cooked chicken
1 large clove garlic, minced
5 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 t oregano flakes
4 oz. baby spinach, coarsely chopped
15 oz. can chick peas, rinsed and drained
Salt and pepper to taste
2 T prepared pesto (available in the refrigerator section of your market)

Heat oil in soup pan and add carrot and chicken and heat for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add broth, oregano, salt and pepper and heat 2 minutes. Add spinach and chick peas and cook 3 minutes. Add the pesto sauce and cook 5 minutes so all flavors blend.

So different from the ordinary soup or the ordinary meatball. And so very tasty ! I don’t know which is better – the lemony broth or the big cheese balls !

Ricotta Ball Soup

6 servings
268 calories per serving

1 lb. ground chicken
2 c part skim ricotta
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 c egg beaters
1 1/2 t kosher salt
8 cup no fat chicken broth
Zest of one lemon
6 oz. baby spinach

Mix chicken, ricotta, parmesan, Egg Beaters and salt. Refrigerate 15 minutes. In a soup pot combine broth and zest and bring to a boil. Make 18 meatballs with the chicken mix. They will barely hold together, but just keep as ‘ball-like’ as possible and drop into the broth. They will immediately sink. Simmer until they float and are completely done, about 15 minutes. Add spinach and let wilt for 2 minutes. Serve immediately.