Southwest Chicken Salsa Soup – Healthy Living

I realized last week that my freezer was almost out of soup. My husband does not eat soup as he states it’s “water with goop”, so when I make a pot I always have lots left over.  I will freeze the leftover soup  in 2 bowl servings for my lunches.  One of the dietary changes I made in the past few years was to watch my salt intake.  If you have a look at the packaged soups in the grocery store , you will soon see that they are loaded with sodium. In fact, even the low sodium ones are pretty high and trust me — they are not that tasty.

One of my favorite soups that freezes well is “Southwest Chicken Salsa Soup”.  It is full of flavor and a bit on the spicy side.  You can control the salt by not adding extra and using a lower sodium salsa.  The spice can also be controlled by the heat level you purchase. You can even add some sriracha if you are one of the brave ones 😀.  This is also an easy recipe — which is my way of cooking.

SOUTHWEST CHICKEN SALSA SOUP

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite sized chunks
• 4 cups water
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 tsp chili powder
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup corn (I use frozen)
• 1 cup sweet pepper, chopped
• 1 cup green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup cooking onion, chopped
• 1-2 red potatoes, cubed (approx 1 cup)
• 1 can kidney beans
• 3 1/2 cups salsa (I use medium)

*** you can use some grated cheddar cheese as a garnish if desired

Directions:

Cut up the chicken breasts and set aside. In a large soup pot, combine water, chicken  broth, and chili powder. Add the cut up chicken and bring to a boil.

Once it is boiling for a couple minutes, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the chopped up veggies and the beans (you will notice that I used white kidney beans as that is what I had – you can also use red).

Bring this back to a boil for 2-3 minutes.

Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until chicken is no longer pink and corn is tender. Add the salsa and heat through.  You can garnish with a wee bit of grated cheddar cheese if you desire.

As I stated earlier, this soup freezes very well and is great for a healthy lunch. If you want it to have more of a spice kick you can add sriracha to taste. You can also lower the carb count by omitting the potatoes. I have another spicy recipe for oven fajitas — here.

This recipe makes 7 bowls.

Nutritional value per bowl:

With potatoes — 225 calories, 2 g fat, 26.2 g carbs, 9.1 g fiber, 15.7 g protein

Without potatoes — 209 calories, 2 g fat, 22.8 g carbs, 8.6 g fiber, 15.3 G protein

If you make it, I would like to know your thoughts.  Drop me a note in the comments.

Be blessed 💞💞💞

Nutritional Disclaimer:

Please note that I am not a nutritional or medical professional. I am sharing my own experiences and not advising. Nothing that I express should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with a medical professional before starting any diet or exercise plan. The reason that I am providing some of the nutritional information is as a courtesy.

I use MyFitnessPal to calculate and I usually will remove sugar substitutes (erythritol, Splenda, swerve etc..) from the final carb count and net carb count, as it doesn’t affect my own blood glucose levels. It is my goal to do my best to be as accurate as possible, but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.