Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 07:25 AM
Welcome to Cooking With Catherine Katz, a frequent feature here at A Better Bag of Groceries.
Just about every month, I road test one of Catherine’s recipes in my own kitchen. Catherine, for those of you who are new here, is married to NuVal visionary, Dr. David Katz. All of her recipes are nutritious and amazingly delicious too. Everything I’ve made has been dinner-party-worthy.
This time, I wanted to choose a great Thanksgiving recipe. And I wanted to continue with recipes featuring Autumn Vegetables. I found the perfect recipe in The Flavor Full Diet, Dr. Katz’s cookbook that he wrote with Catherine.
This Apple-Butternut Squash Soup can be served as a first course for the big meal. Last Thanksgiving, I actually served Catherine’s Pumpkin Soup on Thanksgiving Day. I love that soup recipe too!
I know that so many of you have plans for a pre-Thanksgiving-dinner workout. There are Turkey Trots and road races galore on Thanksgiving morning. So you might be looking for a light lunch to fill the void post-workout. But nothing so heavy as to ruin your appetite for the big meal later on. This soup is for you.
Ingredients
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil (NuVal score of 11)
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped (NuVal score of 93)
2 teaspoons mild curry powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 pounds butternut squash, chopped (NuVal score of 100!!)
2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and cut into large chunks (NuVal score of 96)
3 cups fat-free chicken broth (College Inn Light and Fat Free Chicken Broth, NuVal score of 2)
3/4 cup apple cider (Most apple ciders score under a 10)
1 1/2 cups fat-free buttermilk (I could only find a lowfat buttermilk at my grocery store. Garelick Farms Lowfat Buttermilk, NuVal score of 44)
Directions
- Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, add the onion and curry, and saute for 8 to 10 minutes, or until tender.
- When the onion is tender, add the salt, squash, apples, and broth and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat, add the apple cider, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the squash and apples aver very tender. Remove from the heat and let stand for a few minutes.
- Pour the soup in batches into a blender or food processer and puree until smooth. Return to the pot, add the buttermilk, and simmer briefly to heat through.
Note: I used my Stickblender for this step. I added the buttermilk.
And blended everything together.
I ♥ my StickBlender. It’s one of those items I would want to have with me if stranded on a desert island. Even if there was no power.
Ahhhhh! Delicious!
As Catherine noted, this soup is so creamy, even though it’s very low in fat. She also recommends refrigerating before pureeing – to really intensify the sweet flavor of the apples. I found it to be a great make-ahead. I love to bring soup to work for lunch.
Thanks to Catherine for another amazingly easy, nutritious and delicious recipe!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Cooking with Catherine Katz, Soup
Tags: butternut squash soup, Catherine Katz, David Katz
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 07:31 AM
For those of you who are new to A Better Bag of Groceries, “Score Lowdown” is when I just give you a score dump in a certain category. I know that many of you come to this blog because you don’t have NuVal in a grocery store near you (although we are working hard every day to get NuVal into more and more grocery stores around the country). So, I know how hungry (pun intended) you are for scores. And you know what? I am too! Even though I have access to the scores in my job, when I stand in the aisle of a grocery store that does not have NuVal scores on the shelf, I’m overwhelmed – and I can’t always remember the highest scoring breads, crackers – or soups!
Case in point – my tomato soup story. As many of you may have heard (or experienced for yourself), we got an early winter blast here in Massachusetts this past week. A Nor’easter that downed trees and knocked out power, snow on the Halloween festivities, and a bitter cold that no one was ready for. I still haven’t brought all out all of our winter clothes yet! So, I was looking for a quick and warm lunch. I rummaged through my cupboard and found one. Ahhhh! Tomato soup! My favorite kind of canned soup! I must have purchased this can sometime last winter. It was still good. And it looked to me like it was definitely going to be a super-high-scoring can of soup.
Well, this soup was very tasty. It was very different from “traditional” canned tomato soups – probably because there was no salt added. It had a great, natural tomato taste. If you like fresh tomatoes, you’ll like this soup. But interestingly, it only scores slightly higher than traditional varieties.
Check out these scores:
- Health Valley Organic Tomato Soup No Salt Added: NuVal Score of 29
- Campbell’s Tomato Soup: NuVal Score of 28
- Campbell’s Soup At Hand Classic Tomato: NuVal score of 27
I was interested to see if there were some higher-scoring tomato soups, so I did some research in the NuVal database. There are! Check out these scores:
- Imagine Creamy Garden Tomato Soup Light in Sodium: NuVal score of 36 (it’s in a box, not a can)
- Dei Fratelli All Natural Condensed Tomato Soup Zesty: NuVal score of 38
- Heinz Cream of Tomato (Heat & Serve): NuVal score of 42
- Frontera Gourmet Roasted Tomato Soup: NuVal score of 50
Interesting, isn’t it? Well, now I’m going to be on the lookout for some of these higher-scoring brands when I shop. And I guess I better get busy. We have a long winter ahead!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Score Lowdown, Soup
Tags: tomato soup
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 08:13 AM
Hello Blog Friends! Here’s a little taste test blog post for you today. I love soup for lunch in the winter, but I don’t always have time to make something homemade on the weekend. So, I like to try different canned varieties (usually from the health food section of my grocery store) and warm them up on the stove or bring them to microwave if I’m at work. This week, at my local store, Muir Glen soups were on sale, so I grabbed three and brought them home.
First I checked out the scores:
Muir Glen Savory Lentil Soup scores a 37 on the NuVal scale
Muir Glen Southwest Black Bean scores a 42 on the NuVal scale
Muir Glen Minestrone scores a 46 on the NuVal scale
That’s the one I taste-tested so far – the Minestrone. And it is delicious!!! I loved the kidney beans in it and the tomato-based broth. Yummmmmm!!
How do those scores stack up when it comes to soup? Very well! Soup scores range from 1 – 99 on the NuVal scale but the average score is only a 25, so soups in the 30s and 40s are well above average. Plus, you may remember from my earlier post on Amy’s Soups (which I liked very much), that once you get into some of the very high-scoring soups, there is almost no salt in some of them and you may be tempted to add salt (which sort of defeats the point, right?)
So, these Muir Glen Soups get 2 thumbs up from A Better Bag of Groceries. They will definitely become a regular inhabitant of my shopping cart. I’m glad I tried them!
Yesterday’s Winner
Congratulations to Commenter #18 Arlene. You’ve won the Thomas’ Bagel giveaway! Please send me an email at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com so that I mail your prize to you. Thanks to everyone who entered. I love reading all your comments about your Christmas Day splurges.
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Soup
Tags: Soup
Monday, December 6, 2010 at 07:08 AM
In the winter, I love a hot lunch. So, on the weekend, I try to make a soup that I can take to work to reheat for warm lunches. But, there’s not always time for that – especially at this time of the year! We spent the weekend putting up the tree, decorating, and shuttling the kids to basketball, karate, dance, church school and a birthday party. And we went to a cookie swap. No soup for us! So, I like to have some cans of higher-scoring soups in my cupboard for times like these.
So, I recently tried out some of Amy’s Soups. They get two thumbs up!
The Lentil Soup, while not as tasty as the homemade version that I make often, is still very, very close and it scores a 48 on the NuVal scale.
So, let’s put that 48 into perspective, shall we? Soup scores range from 1 – 99 and the average score is a 25. So a 48 is well above average.
Here’s how some of my other favorite Amy’s Soups score:
- Amy’s Organic Lentil Vegetable 50% Less Sodium: 65
- Amy’s Organic Chili Low Fat Black Bean Medium: 62
- Amy’s Pasta and 3 Bean Organic Soup: 48
- Amy’s Butternut Squash 50% Less Sodium: 44
- Amy’s Low Fat Minestrone: 44
Not too shabby! In case you’re wondering which soup scores a 99 – it’s not an Amy’s brand – it’s Bob’s Red Mill. It does get an amazing score, but it’s a lot more work. It’s really more like a bag of beans.
I have this NuVal Score Curiosity (and I think that many of my faithful readers do as well) that just doesn’t go away. If Bob’s Red Mill Soup gets a 99 (but it’s really more like beans in a bag), and Amy’s Soups top out at a 65, what canned soups score say between 65 and 99? Can you guess?
I will fill you in. Health ValleySoups with No Salt Added. For example, the Health Valley Organic Lentil Soup No Salt Added Scores an 87.
Wow, much higher than the Amy’s. But here is the burning question: Will you add salt? I saved myself the trouble of actually taste testing and read this review of Amy’s vs. Health Valley on MissyMaintains.com. And Missy says that Health Valley is pretty bland. I have tried them all and I can tell you that Amy’s is not bland at all. So, I think sometimes, it’s worth taking a little hit in the score for the sake of better taste!
Question of the Day
What’s your favorite canned “healthy” soup?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Soup
Tags: Amy's, Health Valley, Soup
Monday, November 15, 2010 at 07:12 AM
Kaitlyn Hebert, the newest member of the NuVal team, has already earned her own little recipe corner here on A Better Bag of Groceries!
Kaitlyn (3rd from left) with Dad, Mom and Sis at Cashel Castle in Ireland
That is pretty impressive, considering that she is in the company of Catherine Katz and Rachel Rodek, both gurus when it comes to nutritious cuisine. Kaitlyn is just out of college and she is working hard in her first job, but on the weekends, she unwinds in her kitchen by working up new, creative recipes. Kaitlyn and I talk food in the office and believe me, this girl has a passion for all things culinary.
So, without further ado, I bring you Kaitlyn!
My recent trip to Ireland inspired my next recipe for all you Nuval lovers! I was a bit weary trying some of the foods in Ireland since the reviews from my sister who is currently studying there has been sub par. I quickly put all those reviews behind me and realized I enjoyed all Ireland had to offer, well besides the blood sausage that is! One dish I constantly ordered was the soup, not only because it was made from local and fresh produce, but it was a quick was to take the chill off from the wet and dreary weather there.
Once I came back to reality and back to the US I knew that I was in need for a satisfying and fresh soup recipe. I decided to make a roasted root vegetable soup with my own twist on things! Many of the soups I had over there were quite heavy from the butter and cream they had incorporated into the vegetables. However, with my newfound knowledge of NuVal, I came up with a hearty soup without the naughty thickening agents. Here is a list of items you will need…
4 large carrots (NuVal Score 99)
4 large parsnips (NuVal Score 94)
1 medium yellow onion (NuVal Score 93)
½ peeled and cleaned butternut squash (NuVal Score 100)
1 large fennel (TIP: Save the tops of the fennel to garnish your soup with!) (NuVal Score 91)
3 large cloves of garlic (NuVal Score 91)
4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme (NuVal Score 91)
2lb container of Low Sodium Vegetable or Chicken Stock (TIP: By using low sodium broths you can control that amount of salt that is in your foods!)
¼ cup of Parmesan cheese (Look for a part skim Parmesan at your local grocery store)
½ tablespoon crushed red pepper
4 tablespoons of Olive Oil (NuVal score 11)
Preheat your oven to 425 while you prep your vegetables. I cut all the vegetables into similar sized chunks. Place on a large baking sheet and cover vegetables with four to five tablespoons of olive oil. This will help caramelized the vegetables and enhance the flavors. Next, sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper. Be aware of how much salt you add, even though I recommend sodium free stock there is still a salty bite from the cheese that will be incorporated later in the recipe. This is the time to add the thyme to your veggie before they enter the oven for 25-30 minutes. Halfway between the roasting time I like to toss the vegetables so all corners get nice and crispy.
Once the vegetables have come out of the oven and cooled it is time for them to head to the blender. I added about a cup of vegetables at a time and added enough stock to get the puree going. The blender was on high level on a pulse mode.
After you have pureed the vegetables add the mixture to a large pot that is on simmer. Continue the process until you have gone through all your vegetables. The outcome will be a beautiful orange color soup that is thick and creamy. No need for all that cream and butter! I have a few more ingredients that will enhance the flavors of the yummy veggies. Add a half a tablespoon of crushed red pepper that will give your mouth a little kick while eating a big bowl of this soup. Also, add ¼ a cup of parmesan cheese to the mixture which adds a nutty and salty flavor to the soup. Give the pot a few stirs and let it simmer for a half hour.
I like a bit of texture to my foods which is why I made some delicious homemade whole grain croutons to top off my soup. Here is how I did it…
I kept the oven on 425 after taking my veggies out from roasting. I took a small cookie sheet and cut up four or five slices of five grain whole grain bread. I sprayed the cubes with Pam cooking spray, a dash of salt, pepper, and Parmesan if I have some handy. Bake for about 5 minutes then give the croutons a good toss. Turn the oven onto broil and put the croutons back in the oven for another 2 minutes or so. Be sure to keep your eye on the croutons so they do not burn!
Now it is time to grab yourself a big bowl and a spoon! I like to garnish my soup with a handful of the croutons, a dollop of non-fat plain Greek yogurt (I prefer Chobani Non-Fat Plain NuVal Score 94), crack pepper, and a few sprigs of fennel tops. Your bowl will look gourmet but it will be hard for you not to dig in right away! The smell and taste of that bowl will bring you back to fall in New England, but for me, it will remind me of my wonderful travels in Ireland.
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Kaitlyn's Kitchen, NuVal Staff, Soup
Tags: Guest Posts, Kaitlyn's Kitchen, NuVal Staff, Roasted Vegetables
