Healthy Eats – Food Network Healthy Living Blog: Food Network's Healthy Eats: Healthy Recipes, Weight Loss Tips & Nutrition Information

Fall weather is here, and nothing makes me happier on a cold day (or any day, for that matter) than a bowl of soup. Soup can be the perfect healthy cool-weather meal: it’s low-maintenance, chock-full of vegetables and can be low-calorie if you limit fatty ingredients and garnishes.

In Latin culture, soup is a staple, like my flavorful version of caldo callego made with kale, chorizo and white beans. We like to serve our soup with a lime wedge and a little hot sauce — believe me, it makes the flavors pop!

Herb’s Caldo Callego  (Kale and White Bean Soup)
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
4 packets  powdered chicken bouillon or bouillon cubes
8 cups water
1 4-ounce link Spanish chorizo, sliced
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 turnips, peeled and sliced
1/4 pound smoked ham, diced
1/2 pound fresh kale, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1 can (15.5 oz.) Cannellini beans, undrained
1/2 tsp.  adobo all-purpose seasoning with pepper
1 packet sazon without annato (available in the Latin section of most grocery stores)

Directions:
In a large pot on medium high, combine bouillon, water, chorizo, potatoes, turnips, ham, greens and onion. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 50 minutes. Stir in beans, adobo and sazon. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Nutrition Information Per Serving ( 1 1/3 cups each) :
Calories: 317
Total Fat: 7 grams
Saturated Fat: 2.5 grams
Total Carbohydrate: 46 grams
Protein: 16 grams
Sodium: 1348 milligrams
Cholesterol: 23 milligrams
Fiber: 8 grams

Next Food Network Star season 6 finalist Herb Mesa is a restaurant-trained chef, a self-taught healthy cuisine chef and a certified personal trainer. Herb teaches “balance through food and fitness,” and works as a personal chef and trainer in Atlanta.

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