I dunno why, but the minute I think on embarking on my dieting journey, Soup comes to my mind. I can still recall the days before marriage when I used to go on dieting on whims and fancies. I used to ask my mother not to cook for me, and then after coming home from work, used to cook myself some soup, which had, in Racheal Ray's fashion,everything except the fridge in it. Oats,ragi,soya chunks,pasta,all kinds of veggies in it to make a one huge one pot meal.
I remeber this funny incident.Once I had made myself this one pot invention of mine and was slowly spooning it into my mouth while watching TV. My sister, i guess had observed me for quite a while and then not being able to resist further, asked me "why i was taking so long to drink the soup..was it so tasty?..I want to have a sip and see". Before I could say anything, she had taken a sip and that was last time she ever asked me for a sip! yup, it was not good.
Little did i know that good healthy food need not be so bad in taste.I had always associated healthy with bland, recipe for starvation and not fit to eat.Now i know better and cook healthy most of the days! ( who can hold out on fried stuff!!! ) Oh well coming back to my recipe. Although I dont do dieting after marriage ( thanks to hubby of mine, whose dictionary does not consist that word ), I take good care for making a balanced meal. I still go for soups - and no - not those ones (yuck!), This one is adapted from Tarla dalal's - Creamy and delicious but minus fat/unwanted calories which is my entry for Hima's - WYF - Diet Food . Now to the recipe.
Method
1. Cook tomatoes and moong dal in 3-4 cups of water till the dal is cooked.
2. Saute the onions in little butter. To avoid it you can use 1 tbsp plain Olive oil or can use PAM spray like I have done here.
I sometimes skip this step completely and put the chopped onions along with the tomato and dal in the last 5-10 min of cooking.
3. Now add the onions along with the cooked tomato dal mixture, cool it for a while and blend till smooth. Strain it with a strainer.
4. The result is creamier soup. Boil it again and add milk ( i used little more milk ), sugar, if using, salt and pepper as per taste.
If you want more thicker consistancy add cornflour to some water, make a paste and add it to the soup.
Serve it hot with Croutons.
Health Benefits : Not only is this soup practically 0 fat, it is rich in Protein thanks to Moong dal along with added benefits of milk and cornflour. If you like Soya Chunks , then you can use that instead of croutons making this soup Protein Rich. Simple, Time Savings and Healthy!
Health tips I Like to Share
--> Home made croutons are good to be first choice. They are easy to make and less fat than shop bought ones. I made whole wheat bread croutons which are more healthier than white. Just cut the ends of the bread, cut them into small squares, take some Olive oil and toss the bread in it. Bake them for 15-20 min and croutons are ready! How simple is that!
--> For thickening any gravy, try to substitute all purpose flour ( maida) with cornflour. Healthy and reduced fat
--> Cooking in Olive oil is healthy thanks to it being rich in monosaturated fat and anti oxidants. The quick check on google would show how useful to our health these two alone can be.
-->Fried food is fine once in a while - shallow fry, little better, but jus using little PAM spray whenever/wherever possible will go a long way in getting us towards "being Healthy' goal.
--> Steaming is a better way to cook and for consumption- Thanks to it retaining most of the nutrients.
-->Making protein rich food has one advantage which I like and can relate to. It fills you faster,thereby making you eat less! works fine for me.
--> Baking,although takes a little longer than frying, is the most healthy way to retain nutrients without the additional fat.
