Skinny Tex-Mex Chicken Soup

Last week, on the first day of my Total Transformation fitness challenge, I came down with a nasty cold/sinus/bug thing. I was all excited and ready to begin my 6 weeks of clean eating and working out, but my body was wiped out. I had to stay home from work all day on Tuesday. And I don't know about you, but when I'm sick I really want a hot, broth-y soup. All of the sudden, my lunch of cooked chicken breast, nuts and grapes just wasn't exciting.  I checked all of my canned soups for anything pre-made, but the sodium was off the charts! So, I opted to make something from scratch. I'm so glad I did, because it was fantastic and served as a great meal for the next couple of days.

This recipe is based on one from Cooking Light, but I made a few adjustments based on what I had and did a few things to reduce the sodium. It's really quick and easy to make! Trust me, I made it while I was loaded up on several medications and dragging myself around the kitchen.

Skinny Tex-Mex Chicken Soup

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 cup chopped onion 
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn
• 4 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained (I used Kroger's Simple Truth Tri-Bean Medley)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 ounces part-skim mozzarella
• 8 lime wedges

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil, onion, garlic and bell pepper; sauté 3 minutes. Add chili powder and next 3 ingredients; sauté 30 seconds. Add chicken and next 4 ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 6 minutes. Top evenly with cilantro and cheese. Serve with lime.

Later in the week when I was down to the last of my soup leftovers, I combined a little bit of the soup with some cooked rice and it was a very tasty Tex-Mex-style rice bowl. With a sliced avocado and part-skim mozzarella stick, it was a very satisfying light lunch!