Lifestyle Changes

When you get a scare and the doctor tells you, you need to lower your cholesterol or go on medication, you bet I'm listening. I already take heart burn and thyroid meds, so the thought of taking more did not appeal to me. After my doctor's appointment the other day, I immediately started changing my way of eating. The first night we had stir fry chicken just made healthier, with a lot more veges and brown rice. So since I had leftover stir fry I thought about making Tortilla Soup the next night for supper.

Here's the recipe for a healthier version. I can promise you before it would have been fried fried and more fried, but not this time.

Tortilla Soup Recipe:

Cut corn tortillas into strips and put on a baking dish (or you can deep fry them). Bake tortilla strips until they are crisp, about 20-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Ovens will vary so watch them so they don't burn. Once crisp, sprinkle with sea salt.

1 whole onion, chopped into small pieces1 rib celery (or more if you like, cut into small chunks)
1 large can or carton of chicken broth1 large can of Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce (only use this brand because the other ones can be bitter)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
spices (garlic powder, pepper flakes*, salt, pepper, onion powder) *You can omit the pepper flakes if don't want it too spicy. I never measure anything I just add to taste.
olive oil
cooked chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
Avocado
Low fat cheese
Small Key Limes, cut into quarters

Saute the onion and celery until soft in a large pot in olive oil (about 2 teaspoons.) Add garlic and cook for a few minutes (at this point you add a bag of frozen veges or beans if you want it more vegetarian). Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the enchilada sauce and broth and fill both cans of water and pour into pot. Cook until bubbly.

Serve in a dish with chunks of avocado and "low fat" cheese and tortilla strips. Sprinkle lime juice over the tortilla strips.

Enjoy, it was so good I didn't even miss the fried tortilla chips.