Finding healthy recipes can be a challenge. A lot of healthy recipes are boring, or just don't taste that good. We've got a great bean and macaroni soup here that's both delicious and healthy. You don't have to worry about grabbing a second helping of this soup! Let's take a look at what this recipe entails.
Ingredients:
2 cans (16 oz each) great northern beans
1 Tablespoon olive oil
½ lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup onion, coarsely chopped
2 cups carrots, sliced
1 cup celery, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups tomatoes, fresh, peeled, cut up (or 1 ½ lb canned, whole, cut up)*
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried oregano
black pepper, freshly ground (to taste)
1 bay leaf, crumbled
4 cups elbow macaroni, cooked
*If using canned tomatoes, sodium content will be higher. Try no-salt-added canned tomatoes to keep sodium lower.
Directions:
1. Drain beans and reserve liquid. Rinse beans.
2. Heat oil in 6-quart kettle. Add mushrooms, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, sage, thyme, oregano, pepper, and bay leaf. Cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
4. Cook macaroni according to directions on package, using unsalted water. Drain when cooked. Do not overcook.
5. Combine reserved bean liquid with water to make 4 cups.
6. Add liquid, beans, and cooked macaroni to vegetable mixture.
7. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer until soup is thoroughly heated. Stir occasionally.
Yield: 16 servings
Serving size: 1 cup
Each serving provides:
Calories: 158
Total fat: 1 g
Saturated fat: less than 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 154 mg
Total fiber: 5 mg
Protein: 8 mg
Carbohydrates: 29 g
Potassium: 524 mg
How to Continue Eating Your Favorite Foods While Dieting
This bean and macaroni soup is delicious; it isn't the only tasty dish you can eat while dieting! If you're under the impression that you have to give up your favorite foods to lose weight, we're here to tell you that you're wrong. You can still eat pizza and macaroni and cheese while dieting, or any other food that you find yourself craving. You just need to make some adjustments.
In order to continue eating foods that are typically seen as unhealthy, you'll need to make them healthy. How do you do this? Typically, you'll do this by adjusting the calorie and fat content. For example, if you want to make mac and cheese diet-friendly, you should use lowfat cheese. This simple change will drastically reduce the calories and fat content in your mac and cheese. You can also use Barilla's Protein+ pasta instead of normal pasta to make it even more diet-friendly.
This is just one example of how you can adjust your favorite foods to fit your dieting needs. It's important that you keep up with exercise, and that you keep track of your calories. If you want to lose weight, you'll need to put yourself in a calorie deficit. That means you'll be burning more calories than you consume. By doing this, you'll force your body to use existing fat stores. By exercising, watching your calories, and making the right adjustments, you'll be able to enjoy all of the foods you love while losing weight!
Hopefully, this advice gets you to think differently about dieting and losing weight. We've got tons of other great healthy recipes, including some that make adjustments to foods we all love to make them healthier. After trying this bean and macaroni soup, check out some of our other great recipes.