My quest for figure-friendly recipes continues (even though I just ate a handful of chocolate-covered blueberries, some granola, a mini candy bar and a Coke). It seems like whenever I decide to eat less, all I do is think about food … so I end up eating more. Argh! Also, it’s ridiculously cold here in Minnesota right now, and that makes my body say, “Hey – why not have a snack and curl up for a cozy nap?.”
So today, I decided to combine healthy, hearty and hibernation – and nothing says comfort like a steaming bowl of soup. A full belly and a napping blanket … that’s all I need!
I took a box of Homestyle Beef & Noodle Soup and loaded it up with veggies. It was both delicious and easy, two of my favorite things. Plus, a big bowlful has only 263 calories and 6 grams of fat (when you use top sirloin). Enjoy!
j*a*N*e
*I used an online tool to calculate the calories & fat for these recipes. If extreme accuracy is important to you, double check the numbers! I can’t guarantee the accuracy of the tool I used, but I’m sure it’s pretty close.
Vegified Homestyle Beef & Noodle Soup
1 pkg Homestyle Beef & Noodle Soup Mix
1 pound top sirloin (sliced thin) or lean ground beef
4 cups water
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, or 2 cups fresh or frozen
1 cup green beans
1 cup peas & carrots
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced onion
1 tsp fennel seed (optional)
2 TBSP (1 capful) Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto
Sauté beef in a Dutch oven (or big pot) with the onion, celery, fennel and Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto, until the beef is no longer pink. Drain the fat (if necessary), then add the water. Bring to a boil and add the remaining vegetables. Bring back to a boil and add the soup mix; reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer soup for 20 minutes or until noodles are tender. Stir often. Makes 6 hearty servings.
Testing Notes
- I used lean ground beef instead of topped sirloin … this took the fat per serving from 6 grams to 16 grams! Wow – I didn’t think there would be that much difference! However, I only used half a pound, so that brought the fat down to 8 grams per serving. We didn’t miss the extra meat; It was still very hearty.
- I browned the hamburger with the celery, onion, fennel, and Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto. It looked like a lot … which was why I decided to use just half of it. I froze the other half and will either use it the next time I make this soup, or in spaghetti sauce. Bonus!!
- I used frozen veggies, so I brought the water to a boil, added just the veggies then returned the water to a boil before I added the soup mix. If I had used canned veggies, I would have added everything at the same time.
- We loved the addition of the Dried Tomato and Garlic Pesto and the fennel. Lots of flavor — no added fat!
- I served this with a bowl of fruit that I sprinkled with just a little Warm Up!™ Mulling Spice. Yum!
Vegified Homestyle Beef & Noodle Soup
- Yield: 6 Servings
A box of Homestyle Beef & Noodle Soup loaded with veggies
Ingredients
- 1 pkg. Homestyle Beef & Noodle Soup Mix
- 1 lb. top sirloin (sliced thin) or lean ground beef
- 4 cups water
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes or 2 cups fresh or frozen
- 1 cup green beans
- 1 cup peas & carrots
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1 tsp fennel seed (optional)
- 2 Tbsp. Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto Mix
Instructions
- Sauté beef in a Dutch oven (or big pot) with the onion, celery, fennel and Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto, until the beef is no longer pink. Drain the fat (if necessary), then add the water. Bring to a boil and add the remaining vegetables. Bring back to a boil and add the soup mix; reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer soup for 20 minutes or until noodles are tender. Stir often. Makes 6 hearty servings.
- Cooking Method: Sauté
I made this soup last night for dinner, as directed on the package, and have to say I did NOT like it at all. This is the first product of TS that I have ever bought and not loved. The broth was very strong tasting and there weren’t enough noodles. I know I wont buy that again.
I used the Beef and Noodle mix to make the Italian Sausage recipe. After adding the sausage, the pesto, the tomatoes, and the soup mix…..then tasting, the only option was to dispose of the soup. The only ingredient I could taste was the SALT (33% of daily intake). A package of noodles, a bullion cube, and salt water would have yielded the same result. I’m finding this to be the end result of several of the TS soup mixes.
Please make these either salt free or low salt I’d prefer the taste of the ingredients w/o the salt!!