Oh my gosh, it's the first post of the New Year and we are starting off with a light, savory recipe. Just a taste of some of the changes coming to the blog. (don't worry I'll always be primarily a dessert and baking blogger, but my waistline is begging me to share some of these healthy savory recipes with you!) Truthfully though, a soup recipe on this blog really isn't that foreign if you look at the savory recipes already on this blog. You want to know why? Because soup is my favorite.
It's just so easy to whip up a nice, big pot of soup and eat it over a few days. When Vlad and I were still living together in London, we spent a lot of time living off different types of soup. In fact, a very large, almost overflowing pot of soup was the very first meal I ever made for him. Before that, I would always order food and he thought I didn't even know how to cook. The look on his face when he came home from work to find soup waiting for him was priceless.
Our favorite thing to do was set aside some of our grocery money and go to each of the product stores on our high street. We were lucky because there were three different produce shops and two produce kiosks on our street, so we always had great variety and great prices.
Vlad is very athletic and really into health (the complete opposite of me at the time), so he taught me how to lighten up my favorite foods without compromising on taste. I was obsessed with Mexican food and he made this lightened chicken taco soup for me and I completely fell in love with it!!
Super cheesy, very taco-y and oh my gosh, just thinking about it is making me drool. It's got tons of good-for-you additions because tacos, behind all that cheese and grease, is actually full of really healthy add-ons like tomato, black beans, corn, and protein.
We keep things light here by using reduced-fat milk (side note: everyone should stay away from skim milk - that's just sugary water with a milky tint). and fat-free, low-sodium broth. With a very sharp cheese, you can also cut down on the amount you need to get a good cheesy flavor, so grab the good stuff. I also bake the chicken to amp up the flavor. After that, you can really pick and choose what you add into the soup, but in this recipe, I've shared my favorites. If you want to make it a little indulgent, feel free to add a tablespoon or shredded cheese on top and maybe a couple of crunchy tortilla strips.
Lightened Chicken Taco Soup
Ingredients
Instructions