Hearty soups don't have to be heavy on calories

When the snow swirls outside and the frigid wind rattles the windows, we want something hot and hearty to warm our bellies, something like a steamy bowl of cream of mushroom soup or a chunky potato chowder.

Yet, a little voice inside warns us against fat-laden, calorie-dense soups as we strive to keep our resolve to eat healthy.

You can silence that voice and have that hearty bowl of soup if you choose ingredients and cook wisely.

"Soup is the perfect choice for January," says Camilla V. Saulsbury, author of "Enlightened Soups" (2009 Cumberland House). "We want to get over the malaise of sugar and fat from the holidays and buckle down with healthier foods and get cozy and warm."

Saulsbury maintains that "hearty" does not equal "unhealthy," and her book overflows with examples.

She says her favorite this time of year is Harira, a spicy Moroccan chicken soup brimming with tomatoes, chickpeas and rice that boasts 258 calories in a generous bowl.

That dish uses bold spices - cumin, ginger, saffron, cilantro - not fat, for flavor.

Like many other soups, she says, "The flavor gets better and better with each passing day."

Saulsbury has other techniques for trimming fat and calories from your favorite homemade soup without trimming away flavor.

"Cut the amount of fat in the step of sauteing the vegetables and aromatics," she suggests. Instead of cooking onions and herbs in 4 tablespoons of oil, use 1 tablespoon. The change will encourage deeper caramelization; adding broth will deglaze the pan and keep the flavorful browned bits in the soup, she says.

She also keeps evaporated milk at the ready to sub in for cream in creamy soups.

"It's an inexpensive ingredient and its adds richness, a velvety feel," Saulsbury says.

In "Light and Healthy 2010" the editors at America's Test Kitchen use evaporated milk for their Broccoli-Cheddar Soup, but say switching to half-and-half or even whole milk can maintain creamy texture without overwhelming milder flavors in a soup.

A blender, stand or immersion, turns chunky soup to creamy soup without any cream.

"Use your blender to purée the soup, or part of the soup, to give it the richer feeling of a heavy soup," Saulsbury said.

Adding extra vegetables or beans (rinsed, if canned) and cutting back the amount of meat or switching to leaner cuts are all techniques for trimming soups.

Her Italian Tortellini-Sausage Soup relies on turkey sausage; her Mexican meatball and Stuffed Green Pepper Soup uses extra-lean ground beef.

If you've made those changes to your favorite soup and feel it's still lacking a little oomph, Saulsbury suggests acid.

"To pull out the flavor add a little bit of vinegar, lime juice or lemon juice," she says, defining a "little bit" as 1/2 to 1 teaspoon. "You're adding flavor without calories or fat."

Experiment with that fancy bottle of champagne or tarragon-infused vinegar in the back of the pantry or a squeeze of fresh tangerine.

"Soup is such a forgiving thing to make, it's easy for any cooking (skill) level," she adds.

And lest people think they need all day to make a pot of healthy soup, Saulsbury says "give yourself permission to use ready-made ingredients. It's better to make a soup with frozen chopped onion than to go through the drive-through."

Cookbook author and Associated Press food contributor Jim Romanoff says adding herbs and fresh or frozen vegetables to a can of store-bought broth, reduced sodium, of course, is a quick way to a nutrient-rich meal.

If adding pasta to the pot, select whole-grain varieties, which add nutrients and a pleasantly nutty flavor.

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<h1>Recipes</h1>

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