This comforting chicken soup is filled with vegetables and uses nonfat buttermilk and fat-free chicken broth instead of a heavier cream base. It’s as satisfying as chicken and dumplings, with none of the guilt!

Country Chicken & Buttermilk Soup

Prep time: 35 min.

Total time: 1 hour, 5 min.

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 skinned and boned chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 lbs.)

5 cups reduced-sodium fat-free chicken broth

1 tbsp. butter

2 medium-size red potatoes, cut into wedges

1 celery rib, chopped

1/4 large white onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 carrot, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup fresh or frozen green peas

1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

2 cups nonfat buttermilk

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. table salt

1/2 to 1 tsp. dried crushed red pepper

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Bring chicken and broth to a boil in a large saucepan, and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until done. Drain, reserving 4 cups broth. Let chicken cool, and chop.

Melt butter in a Dutch oven; add potato wedges and next 3 ingredients, and sauté 3 to 4 minutes or until onion is tender. Add reserved broth, and simmer 30 minutes or until potato is tender. Add chicken, peas, corn, and parsley.

Stir together buttermilk and flour until smooth; add to potato mixture and cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes. Stir in salt, red pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Serve immediately.

Serving size 1 1/2 cups CALORIES 267; FAT 4.7g (sat 2.1g, mom 1.1g, poly 0.6g); PROTEIN 26.7g; CARB 30.1g; FIBER 2.8g; CHOL 56mg; IRON 1.7mg; SODIUM 543mg; CALC 124mg

Source: Southern Living The Slim Down South Cookbook

Reprinted with permission.

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In fact, certain food production processes actually boost nutritional content, such as adding calcium to orange juice or whole grains to pasta. Freezing vegetables helps to perserve vitamin content at the time of harvest. Compared to fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes have a higher concentration of disease-fighting nutrients, like lycopene and beta-carotene.

“The term ‘processed foods’ evokes a wide range of asssumptions and beliefs about what is a healthy food,” says Connie Weaver, professor of nutrition science at Purdue University, in a statement published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. She concludes that making food selections based on nutrient composition and not extent of processing is a better way to determine nutrition adequacy.

The History of Processing

“Maybe processed food isn’t such a bad thing after all,” says historian Rachel Laudan, author of Cuisine & Empire: Cooking in World History. Laudan writes about the merits of processing foods in the journal Gastronimica.

“So to make food tasty, safe, digestible, and healthy, our forebears bred, ground, soaked, leached, curdled, fermented, and cooked naturally occurring plants and animals until they were literally beaten into submission. They built granaries, dried their meat and their fruit, salted and smoked their fish, curdled and fermented their dairy products, and cheerfully used additives and preservatives – sugar, salt, oil, vinegar, lye – to make edible foodstuffs.”

Clean Eating

“Clean” is another term meant to imply that a “healthier” food product has very few ingredients. But, Julie Miller Jones, professor of foods and nutrition at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, points out that additional ingredients can improve a food’s health profile. “If we add more of an oat fiber called beta-glucans to oatmeal and other foods, we can double the cholesterol-lowering power,” she said. Talk about cleaning things up!

But, when it comes to frozen vegetables, for instance, I say go for the ‘plain Janes’ and not the ones with the added butter and cheese sauces.

If you’re looking for foods higher in fiber or lower in sodium, the Nutrition Facts label on packages is still the best tool for seeing what’s inside.

Label-Reading Tip: Ingredients are listed in order of prevalence.

Nutrition education, it seems, is a process, too.

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Noted nutrition expert, award winning food journalist and television personality, and Best Food Facts advisor Carolyn O’Neil, MS, RD, LD, is a registered dietitian. Carolyn’s refreshing food philosophy and recommendations are captured in this video to help you, Eat Better for Life!

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Gluten Standards

By Carolyn O’Neil, MS, RD

“It’s cross contamination,” says Stewart Singleton, who trains food service professionals on allergy awareness including how to properly prepare gluten-free menu options. “Some restaurants, such as Mellow Mushroom, toss their pizzas with cornmeal, so that’s OK.”

An estimated 3 million Americans have celiac disease and must avoid gluten-containing grains such as wheat, barley and rye. Gluten triggers the production of antibodies that damage the lining of the small intestine.

“If I consume a food that contains even the tiniest amount of gluten, such as a burger that was touched by a hamburger bun, I can miss a whole day of work,” says Singleton, who was diagnosed with celiac disease 10 years ago.

Finally, a definition for gluten-free

The detective work to identify sources of the offending gluten will soon be a lot easier, even if the product is labeled gluten-free.

New federal standards have been set for gluten-free claims with a limit of 20 parts per million in products. “A standard is important,” Singleton says. He points out that food service ingredients will improve, too. “For instance, there’s a commercial salad dressing company that used Worcestershire powder in their dressings, but that contains barley malt, which is not gluten-free, so they had to change the recipe.”

Who wants gluten-free?

From bread to beer, the nationwide demand for gluten-free products is robust, representing more than $4 billion in annual sales. Those with Celiacs benefit from the improved quality and quantity of gluten-free products, but market demand was led by a greater number of consumers identified as gluten intolerant.

“From day one, we knew that gluten-free was going to be a big part of our agenda,” says Doug Turbush, chef and owner of Seed Kitchen & Bar in Marietta. “Gluten-free demand has been overwhelming.” Turbush knows now that the gluten-free soy sauce he purchases for the restaurant has to meet federal standards.

The downside of the demand is the temptation for some restaurants to offer gluten-free options without doing it right. Travel journalist Laura Powell suffers from migraines when she consumes gluten. “I’ve even seen menus where gluten-free is asterisked,” she says. “If you read the fine print, you find ‘almost gluten-free,’ which is like being a little bit pregnant.”

Beyond the gluten-free grocery list, Singleton says restaurants need to do more. “They need designated staff, preparation areas and equipment,” he says. “At Yeah Burger, they use separate toasters for the gluten-free buns.”

Powell adds, “Just because it’s gluten-free doesn’t mean it’s worthy of being on your menu. Don’t feel the need to add a dish if the quality is not up to the rest of your standards.”

Even with the new standards, you can’t be shy …

 Find out more information about celiac disease.

Noted nutrition expert, award winning food journalist and television personality, and Best Food Facts advisor, Carolyn O’Neil, MS, RD, LD, is a registered dietitian. Carolyn’s refreshing food philosophy and recommendations are captured in this column to help you, Eat Better for Life!

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