Soup’s on

Move that body: Nearly 3-mile walk with Denali

This morning, I did something I haven’t done in weeks – OK, months. I packed a lunch that was planned for and and made by moi! No frozen meal or scavenging at the hospital cafeteria for me :)

Isn’t it lovely? The lunch, I mean – not the mess of bananas and monkey cookie jar in the background. The little paper sack with the contents brimming reminds me of packing when I was in school. Except I never had to take that much food to get me through and there was always a Little Debbie. Mmm … Little Debbies.

Anyway … you wanna know what’s inside?

From left, we have a diet root beer, taco soup, cheese for said soup, tropical fruit salad, carrot sticks, an apple with a 90-calorie almond butter packet and banana-chocolate pudding. I also have a package of freebie whole-grain tortilla chips in my desk at work that I’ll have along with the soup.

There may be a lot there (and yes, I will eat all of it) the star of the show the taco soup. It’s an old Weight Watchers recipe that is super tasty and super easy. I threw a bunch of stuff in the slow cooker last night before bed and then, like magic, I woke up this morning with lunches for the week. Let me tell you, there’s nothing like waking up to a big crock of soup when it’s supposed to be 70 degrees. Maybe I should have made it last week as planned …

Anyway, I’m sure you want to know what I threw in the slow cooker.

Weight Watchers Taco Soup

1 can kidney beans*, drained and rinsed

1 can pinto beans*, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, undrained

1 can diced tomatoes in juice

1 can Rotel tomatoes with mild chiles

1/2 packet low-sodium taco seasoning (or 2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning)

1/2 packet ranch dressing mix (optional)

1/2 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey, cooked and drained (optional)

2 cups water or vegetable/chicken broth**

Put every thing in the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours. Serve with cheese, whole-grain tortilla chips and, if you’re feeling sassy, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream.

This recipe makes 4 good portions. Most of the recipes you’ll find call for double the ingredients but Mark doesn’t eat this so I either have to freeze it, give some to my mother-in-law or eat it for every meal for, like, ever.

*You can use any combo of beans you like – black, pinto, kidney, white – just use two cans and rinse them.

**Other recipes don’t call for the water/broth but it’s super chunky without it. More like a nacho topping. Wait a minute … that doesn’t sound so bad.