Ever since my mother-in-law encouraged me to think of November-February as the “cozy months” it’s helped me to think about all the things I enjoy about winter. After our CSA ended I was lamenting the end of fresh lettuce, herbs and all the other weekly goodies we recieved. However, after freezing everything we gleaned recently I am excited about ways to work in 5 fruits/veggies a day through SOUP! Check out our haul. We pretty much froze all of this stuff to throw into soups later this winter.
Tonight I made one of my favorite healthy/cheap/quick soups that I saw on The Biggest Loser a year ago- Tiny Turkey Meatball soup. This has been one of my quick go-to soups when I need something easy to make & it freezes well too. Which brings me to the title of my post- I don’t know about you but when winter hits my motivation to eat well mostly revolves around the amount of protein I get in a piece of pecan pie. It’s dark and cold & way too easy to hunker down with some take-out instead making cheaper and healthier options. So here is a recipe that you can make, eat, freeze half and thaw when the craving for pizza hits for the third night in a row. For single people- you can freeze this in clean, recycled yogurt containers, it’s about 2 portions.
Here is the recipe with my less bougie mods below.
Yield: Serves 4, 289 calories/serving
Tiny Turkey Meatball Soup
Ingredients:
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups low-fat salt-free marinara
- One 15 ounce can low-sodium chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
- 1-1/3 pound package ground lean turkey
- Nu-Salt
- ½ pound broccoli rabe, cut into bite size pieces
- 2 tablespoons grated pecorino romano
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over high heat with chicken broth, marinara sauce, beans and crushed red pepper flakes until mixture comes to a simmer
- While mixture comes to a simmer, season ground turkey with Nu-Salt and pepper flakes
- Roll turkey into about 40 meatballs
- Next, stir broccoli rabe into the broth and bring to a simmer
- Add meatballs to the broth, cover pan with lid and lightly poach the meatballs until just cooked through, stirring occasionally for about 6 minutes
- The broth should barely simmer
- Check soup for seasoning
- Ladle into 4 large bowls and top with pecorino
- Although no actual salt is called for in this recipe, please add it as you see fit
My modifications:
I use regular marinara sauce, and normal chicken broth. Instead of broccoli rabe, I throw in whatever greens I have- spinach or kale usually. I like the chickpeas in the soup, but tonight I used kidney beans because I didn’t have any in my cupboard. The chickpeas do add a nicer flavor but the kidney beans did in a pinch! I typically use parmesan instead of pecorino. Enjoy cozying up with some yummy soup in the next couple weeks! What are some of your favorite/healthy recipes for winter! Post the links & share them to keep the strive for five going!
My brother gave me a pair of sling-back maryjanes for Christmas when I was in 10th grade- still probably one of my favorite gifts, along with the pair of boots pictured above 
