I have to say that I much prefer the South Beach diet over Atkins, it allows you to eat complex carbohydrates, like kidney beans, and no taco soup is complete to me without them!

South Beach Taco Soup

  • 12 ounces cooked shredded chicken
  • 1 tsp. olive oil
  • 2 tsp. minced garlic
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 1 28 ounce canned tomatoes (I used Muir Glen)
  • 1 can (15 oz.) red beans (with liquid)
  • 1 can (15 oz.) light kidney beans
  • 2 tablespoons oregano
  • 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons chile powder
  • 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeno juice

Heat olive oil and add garlic and saute for about 2 minutes.  I added everything but the beans and chicken at this point – since my tomatoes were whole, I used my stick blender to puree this, then added the beans and chicken and simmered for 30 minutes.

This pot made 13 cups, each one cup serving comes in at:

  • 130 calories
  • 2.4 fat
  • 15 carbs
  • 4.2 fiber
  • 12 protein

This is such a flavorfully hot soup – I decided to garnish mine with 1 ounce shredded cheddar cheese, and if I had an avocado, I would have garnished with that too!

This is the first time I tried TJs beef broth - very flavorful!
This is the first time I tried TJs beef broth – very flavorful!
I love Muir Glen brand - they are more expensive but worth it!
I love Muir Glen brand – they are more expensive but worth it!

I poached my chicken breast skin on, then put it on the fridge.  Once cooled, the skin and fat is easily removed and easy to shred:

this was one chicken breast! It came in at 12 ounces cooked
this was one chicken breast! It came in at 12 ounces cooked
2 cups of soup with 1 ounce shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups of soup with 1 ounce shredded cheddar cheese
the perfect cheezy chickeny bite!
the perfect cheezy chickeny bite!

On the side I had a baby spinach salad with 1/2 ounce goat cheese, 2 ounce chopped cucumber, 1 tablespoon edamame (sp?) and 1 tablespoon light jalapeno ranch dressing:

a very GREEN salad :)
a very GREEN salad šŸ™‚

Lunch comes in at 403 calories, 12.4 fat, 31 protein, 45 carbs, 13.5 fiber – while this is a higher carb lunch than I’ve add recently, they are complex carbohydrates and end up being a net of 32 carbs because of the fiber.

I have to share this great blog with you, its called Tastestopping and it shows pictures rejected by either Tastespotting or Foodgawker and what their comments were – its hilarious!  Um, turns out I have quite a few rejections from both of those sites! šŸ˜€

Afternoon break is over – come back for dinner: Biz and Tony’s take on Surf & Turf: Grilled Porterhouse Steak with Seared Scallops with Saffron Sauce over Low-Carb Fettucine!