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January’s over and with it probably go the resolutions of many people looking to make changes in 2016. Not me, though! So far, I’ve still been keeping to my goal of a healthier, more balanced lifestyle.
Sure, like a lot of people I’m looking to lose weight and get more active. But instead of dieting, I’m looking at it more as a balanced lifestyle. Cutting down on certain foods is fine, but I’m not really into cutting them out completely. I really just need to eat more proteins and vegetables for starters.
The hard part? Yeah, the time. When you’re working full time and juggling that with a night-time job of blogging, time becomes a hot commodity. Especially when you’re exhausted to begin with. One great way around that is to be much more proactive in meal planning!
STOUFFER’S® FIT KITCHEN™ meals are not just a fabulous way to keep the balance in your life, but seriously, they taste amazing! When I’m crunched for time (lately, I’ve been racing home early for work to wolf down dinner and bolt to one of the kids’ school for some concert or another!), it’s a joy to be able to pop one of these meals in the microwave and be eating a well-balanced, satisfying meal in minutes.
The Monterey Chicken is so good. Sliced up white meat chicken is mixed with diced potatoes, a BBQ-type sauce and the all-important monterey cheese. A side of green beans (one of my fav veggies!) accompanies the meal nicely. Just 400 calories and packed with 26 grams of protein, this STOUFFER’S® FIT KITCHEN™ meal is all about balance in terms of Protein, Fat and Carbs.
To help round out this meal, Allie and I love starting things off with some homemade soup. There’s just something about a hot hearty soup in the winter to warm your soul. (And your insides!).
When I was in college, Allie used to make me her famous Kale Potato Soup and bring it up with her on her visits, so I’d actually have something healthy to eat, rather than always ordering out for pizza. It’s a real protein packed soup that’s sure to fill you up. It’s also relatively easy to make and something we try to do on the weekends, so we’ll have it throughout the following week!
Yep, there’s just 5 ingredients in this bad boy. And it’s real simple to put it all together too!
First, dice up the onions and saute in a little bit of oil or cooking spray. Keep stirring until they start turning translucent, then add in some sliced garlic.
While the onions are cooking, peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Add them to the pot, along with 2 cups of vegetable stock. Cover and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. When the potatoes are getting very soft, they’re done.
Meanwhile, it’s time to prepare the kale. Wash it and remove all stems. Then chop into bite-size pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl. Add a little bit of water and microwave for roughly 3 minutes to steam.
Now for the fun part! When the potatoes are nice and soft, add another 3 cups of vegetable stock and then puree half the mixture. You can either pour half into a blender to mix, or just use the tiny hand mixer like we do and give a rough puree to the entire soup.
Simply add the steamed kale and heat gently for a few more minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Like most soups, it’s even better the next day after it’s had time to sit. Pairing the Kale Potato Soup with my STOUFFER’S® FIT KITCHEN™ Monterey Chicken, though, is incredibly filling and satisfying.
You can grab any one of STOUFFER’S® FIT KITCHEN™ meals in the frozen foods section of your local Walmart to help add some satisfying, balanced meal-planning to your life.
Besides Monterey Chicken, STOUFFER’S® FIT KITCHEN™ includes a variety of great-tasting, balanced meals like Bourbon Steak, Oven Roasted Chicken and Cilantro Lime Chicken. Go ahead and check out the Flavorful Moments Pinterest Board to get loads more inspiration for balanced meal planning!
How do you balance your meals?
It all looks really good. I think I would accidently drop the kale though….shhhhhh dont tell anyone but I never use it. I know I know, its ‘good for you’. I flunked the good for you course years ago. I do like the rest though and we love chicken prepared like that.
This soup looks soo good I’d love to give it a try! I haven’t had kale in a while, and I love potato soup, this is a better way to have it.
I try to balance our meals by adding a salad to the protein if I do have vegetables. I also have fruit and yogurt available as a dessert or baked apples. It does take time some days, but it is well worth while.
I try to balance meals by eating a fruit or vegetable every time. I like kale! I tried kale chips which I disliked. I like kale and apple smoothies though. Yum! kristiedonelson(at)gmail(dot)com Thank you.
OMG…that soup looks amazing!! My little guy doesn’t eat anything but he seems to like soups! I’m definitely going to try this!! Thanks for the great recipe!! Xo
Hah. And my little guys refuse to even try soup!
When I saw the name of the soup, I thought it would be a fussy recipe. It looks really easy.
It’s super easy. Even a kitchen klutz like me can do it!
Looks yummy!!
I would love to try this. It looks so good and tasty. 🙂
I have been looking at different ways to add kale to our diet and meals since it is so good for us.
I will have to make this for my husband one night. It looks good! I think he would like the Monterey Chicken meal, too. [client]