This is made traditionally with goat but here is an even easier tasty version with free-range thighs-chicken thighs or use chicken breast or make it vegetarian and use a plethora of beans. This hearty soup is great over rice or tortilla strips, or in a burrito, if left thicker without the stock.
This original recipe is adapted from my 5th cookbook; Creative Mexican Cookery written in 1995 from my travels to Mexico and multiple clients of Mexican products and restaurant chains. I most recently showcased it at the Royal Show 2003 for Margaret River Dairy Products topped with their wonderful Greek-Style Yoghurt-vegetarian style!
1 kilo Free-range chicken thighs; trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
5-10 ml Good Oil Farm Avocado Oil
1 bunch (150 grams) green onions, sliced or large red onion diced
8-10 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 Ea. Carrots and medium Zucchini, diced and cubed
1 large red, green or yellow capsicum, cubed
2 cans mixed beans (kidney, Great White Northern, black or pinto beans)
1 can re-fried beans (to help thicken)
60 ml (1/4 cup) lime juice
1 box chicken stock or vegetable broth
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (coriander)
1Tbsp. freshly minced oregano
1 tsp. Cumin
Jalapenos, habanera’s (Scotch Bonnets), red chillies roasted and sliced and dropped in as desired
GARNISHES:
Whole meal Greek Pita Bread or Green or Red Soft Wraps or Corn Tortillas,
Cut in 1-cm wide strips oven-baked or deep-fried
Margaret River Greek-Style Yoghurt, dollop
Sliced radishes, 3 per serving Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded
Viva Australian Chilli and Spice Black Olivesas needed
Green chilli salsa, dollop Mozzarella cheese, shredded as needed
Coriander sprigs, 1 Each Guacamole, spoonful
Cover meat with cold water, bring to a boil, cover and reduce to simmer, cooking 5 minutes. Cool meat in its own broth. Brown meat in oil. Sauté onions, garlic and vegetables until softened. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer 20-30 minutes.
Garnish at will or serve in side condiment jars. See photo if you have purchased Susanne’s cookbook. Guests can add colourful condiments to their own preference. Of course, yoghurt or sour cream will “cool” the heat of the salsa.
By Christine Luff, About.com About.com Health’s Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board
You’ve probably heard it a million times: Portion control is the key to weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight. It makes complete sense: Eat smaller portions, and you’ll consume fewer calories. But it’s easy to overindulge when we’re surrounded by oversized restaurant portions, bulk sizes at the supermarket, and all-you-can eat buffets. Try some of these tips to get your portion sizes under control.
Don’t Worry About Cleaning Your Plate
When dining out, some people will clear their plate no matter how big the portions. If you’re one of them, try to eat a healthy portion, then stop. Ask your server to wrap up the leftovers immediately, so you’re not tempted to keep nibbling. You’ll save on calories and have another meal for the next day!
Buy Individual-Sized Snacks
You may save money buying bulk foods at Costco or the other warehouse stores, but it’s not helping you cut back on calories. Once that enormous bag of potato chips is opened, it’s very tempting to continue snacking. Try buying individual-sized snacks and limit yourself to eating just one. Or, if you really don’t want to spend the extra money, divide your bulk-sized snacks into small baggies when you get home from the store.
Read the Labels Carefully
Many packaged foods and drinks look as if they provide one serving, but they’re actually two or more. Yet the calories and other nutritional information on the label are for just one serving, so unless you read carefully, you may be consuming more calories than you think. Make sure you check the number of servings per container first and then eat or drink just one serving.
Order from the Kid’s Menu
Request an appetizer-size or child-size portion of your favorite dish, especially if you find it tough to stop after eating half a regular portion. You’ll save money and calories!
Use Smaller Dishes
Downsizing your dinnerware may help you consume fewer calories. Food psychologist Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating invited 85 food experts to an ice cream social for and gave them a small or large bowl and a small or large scoop. Even the experts, who should know better, served 31% more ice cream (127 more calories) in the large bowl and 15% more (60 calories) from the big spoon. Try using smaller plates, bowls, and glasses for your meals. Use small serving spoons to serve fattening topping like gravy, and large ones for low-calorie items like veggies.
Substitute Veggies
If you’re trying to change your oversized portion habits, you may find yourself craving more food with your meal. Round out your plate with low-calories veggies such as celery, carrots, or peppers. They’ll help you feel fuller without adding too much to your total calories.
Wait Before You Reach for Seconds
If you’re hungry for more, try waiting 10 minutes. Your stomach needs about that long to signal the brain that it’s full. Instead of going for that second plate of pasta, distract yourself by talking to
someone or reading, if you’re dining alone. If you’re truly hungry after 10 minutes, help yourself to more of a low-cal food.
By Christine Luff, About.com About.com Health’s Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board
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You body produces energy in the form of heat. That power of metabolism.
A calorie is a measure of the amount of energy it takes to raise the temperature of 1kg of water by 1 degree Celsius at sea level.
For example, a sandwich of 200 calories produces 200 calories of heat that your body can work with.
Hence your body needs to use this energy. That’s why you often hear people referring to “burning off calories”. It means utilizing the energy. You basic body functioning uses a certain amount of calories and then your movement will use some more. Hence, if you exercise, your energy requirements also increases.
So – bear in mind – it’s important to match your activity levels with your caloric intake.
What are empty calories?
Alcohol.. alcohol… alcohol….
I learnt this early on as I love my glass of wine!
This means your body is provided with calories, but not with any nutritional value.
For example if you eat brazil nuts for 100 calories, you get 100 calories of heat as well as Zinc.
However, if you drink 100 calories of alcohol all you get is 100 calories of heat. Nothing else.
The danger of consuming only empty calories (alcohol and sugar) is obviously malnourishment.
This may be motivation to monitor our diets should we wish to have the odd, relaxing glass of chardonnay!
I lived the good life of eating, drinking and working around the clock.
My husband had passed a few subtle, diplomatic comments.
My back had developed rolls under my bra straps. Yuk.
I’d started wearing loose clothing in heavy material to hide them. Obviously the loose clothing needed to be in larger and larger sizes!
The comments from my husband landed like seeds on the dry soil of my subconscious.
It’s easier to live in a state of denial and “cover up”.
One day I went to a “flea market” (an outdoor craft market) with a good friend of mine. She is a dietician.
We browsed our way through the numerous stalls, picking and choosing things we liked. I gleefully grabbed a summer dress from one of the racks and asked her what she thought. Mistake! (or not)
She (looking me directly in the eyes) said, “Why don’t you treat yourself to that dress when you’ve lost 5kg?”
Wow. But even more surprisingly, I didn’t react with the expected defensive mechanisms I usually have so finely honed, but instead replied, “Good idea. How will I do that?”
I think those dry seeds had drifted down into more prepared, fertile soil.
My friend sat me down and explained what she calls a lifestyle eating plan – not a diet per se. It was simple. I say that because even I understood it!
No technicalities, no calorie counting, no weighing of food!
I still follow this outline today as it makes so much sense and has become a way of life. Some of the changes I had to make included:
I started taking my own lunch to work (I used to live on pies and subs!)
We stopped eating take-aways
I realised that alcohol and fruit juices were calorie-full and should be planned into the total calorie-intake.
Meals became simple : Salad & vegetables, one protein and one starch
I’d cook two proteins and keep the one for lunch the next day.
I used no oil in cooking; but rather a non-stick cooking spray
I had a lsquo;cheat day” on a Sunday – where I could break routine.
It worked wonders!
I lost 1kg a week on average. A bit more sometimes, as I started race walking as well.
I lost 15kg in total. Yeah – I said I was fat!
The biggest way to implement this was to change our lifestyle. My husband and I started thinking about what we ate and planned our meals in advance (especially lunches at work).
But very soon it all becomes habit and we didn’t notice it anymore!
Actually I saw for the first time how many other people carried little cooler packs around with them to work!
I’m clearly a slow learner. But am now a true believer.
What tips or experiences do you have? Email us or put them on the forum...
One of the most popular errors or beliefs we like to embrace is that we can start to eat anything (and everything) once we start exercising. But as with everything in life – we have to be balanced!
Weight gain comes from consuming more calories than we expend. This is actually quite simple – and therefore we need to make sure we burn off all excess calories!
You may hear a lot about the fact that a nutritional, well-balanced diet is necessary for weight loss; but don’t forget it’s actually equally important for energy levels, overall health and weight management.
I eliminated the word “diet” from my vocabulary and rather learnt to include the concept of a healthy eating plan into my everyday life. I’ve found it more manageable, more motivational and more sustainable.
You probably know this already, but make sure your diet includes all of the following food groups:
Carbohydrates
Too many women consider carbohydrates as the enemy. But actually, especially in our kind of run-around lifestyle – they’re the most important source of energy. Take the time rather to understand the different kinds of carbohydrates:
Not all carbohydrates are equally nutritious
Simple carbohydrates have been processed and broken down before being put back together again in an unnatural way such as to produce something like chocolate. They don’t provide sustained energy – these merely cause and increase in the blood sugar level, which then sinks rapidly due to the increased levels of insulin generated to deal with this.
This merely makes you hungry again!
Complex carbohydrates take longer to be metabolised by the system.
This causes less radical rises and falls in blood sugar levels.
These include pasta; whole-grains; fruits and vegetables.
This keeps you fuller for longer. And Yay – this is what you want!
Proteins:
Protein is required for muscle development
You’ll be surprised to know that your average diet will usually fulfil your daily protein requirements (naturally)
This may however change if you decide to become a seriously competitive athlete.
Be careful to ensure that your proteins come from a low-fat source
Eg fish and chicken
Protein makes you feel full, quickest – so it helps to include a little bit of protein with each meal of snack.
Fat
You cannot abstain from fats totally – your body cannot produce the necessary fats required by itself.
But control the intake and try to get your fat from good sources. Make wise choices.
Fatty acids are required to keep your metabolism, hormones and digestion functioning.
Unsaturated fats are the better choice.
These are found in nuts, fish and vegetable oils.
(Personally, I’m addicted to almonds as a snack!)
The “bad” fats, namely saturated fats are found in cakes, meat, sweets and milk.
