Just what the doctor ordered: potato-leek soup

So, I’ve been sick since New Years Day though I finally seem to be on the mend. The problem is that when I’m sick, we tend to eat horribly and rely on takeout a lot. This probably isn’t helpful to the recovery process as takeout isn’t exactly the most nutritious food out there

So I mustered up some strength and tore apart the fridge, taking my cutting board and veggies into the living room to chop and prepare while sitting down as much as I could. (Standing for long periods of time just won’t do when you are lightheaded.)

Luckily, there were lots of veggies to choose from including leeks, which is something new to this household. I’ve wanted to try them out for a while and just thought to pick them up with the last grocery run. And when you’re ill, what’s the first thing you generally want to eat other than toast or crackers? Soup!

Now, I haven’t had any stomach problems with this illness, so I didn’t need it to be broth-based, so here’s what I did…

Lower sodium tuna croquettes

I think I’ve already said this but I’ll say it again: I do not like fish or seafood as a general rule. It’s true. I wasn’t even much of a frozen fish stick fan when I was a kid. Some of it upsets my stomach. A lot of it throws my texture issues for a loop. And mostly, I can’t stand the smell.

However, one thing I do eat because we had it a lot as a kid and I got a taste for it is canned tuna. Specifically, I enjoy Clover Leaf’s white tuna packed in water. I’m not a fan of all the fancy ones they have out now, like the dill-flavoured ones, jalapeno, lemon and herb and all that jazz. I guess with canned tuna, I’m a bit of a purist.

As I mentioned recently, I found out that Clover Leaf produces a low sodium version of this tuna, so I was pretty pleased with the prospect of looking for it in the grocery store. The difference is 100mg less sodium per half can. Considering half a can is a good-sized sandwich, this is awesome. Instead of 340mg in a whole can, it’s only 140mg for the whole can. And honestly, I can’t taste much of a difference.

Just beware: the flaked can has more sodium than the solid can. Do what I do and read every label.

With that said, I found myself with the prospect of baked potatoes and steamed corn on the cob last night but had no planned protein. Checking the cupboards, I grabbed three of the cans of tuna and thought to myself, “Tuna croquettes!” If you are asking what a croquette is (as I was, when I first heard it), just think (in this case): fried tuna cake. Kind of like a crab cake.

REVIEW & REJIG: Hungarian mushroom soup recipe

I was off sick from work today and slept most of the day away. When I awoke, I was feeling much better, but was absolutely famished. I considered calling and ordering some take-out chicken soup from Swiss Chalet until I looked up the nutritional value. For one bowl of chicken and vegetable noodle soup was over 1000mg of sodium!! No thank you!

My husband suggested that I make my own. The problem with that was that I had no chicken in the fridge! I had veggies and broth and whole wheat egg noodles (no yolk) but no chicken. Can’t have chicken soup without chicken, can we?

But by this point, I knew I wanted soup. So I went scouring around the web, looking for ideas. I knew I had about a pound of mushrooms that needed to be used up soon, so I based my searching on that ingredient. What I found was an intriguing recipe over on AllRecipes.com called Hungarian Mushroom Soup. I was surprised to find out that with the exception of the fresh parsley (I just had dried), I had all of the ingredients.

Homemade salsa

I’m going to give a disclaimer on this one: this does not taste anything like the pre-packaged jars of salsa that you buy in the store. I think I know why, too; I omitted the scads of salt they use.

This is fresh-tasting with a bigger spice-kick than I expected (I generally reach for the mild salsa, so this is probably on the upper limit of mild for most people). You can taste the ingredients, not the salt. I think I prefer it, to be honest.

YMMV, however. Spruce this one up how you like it. Add more or less than what you see and don’t be afraid to experiment. Here’s what  I did:

Curried tomato pepper soup

Despite the summer heat, I’ve been craving tomato soup lately. So I picked up some ‘no salt added’ canned tomatoes and thought, “Why the heck not?” Who says you can’t have soup in the summer? I’ve been hiding in air conditioned spaces, anyway, so it’s not so strange.

I didn’t have a recipe. I didn’t even look. I just went into the fridge and cupboard and started pulling ingredients out that I thought might taste good together. Here’s what I did…

Homemade roast rub

I like throwing an eye of round roast into the crockpot on weekends for hubby and I to eat throughout the week. Some people use steak seasoning to season roasts. Others make their own. I like to make my own. Since I make a roast every week or two, I tend to make up extra rub seasoning and put it into mini Mason jars. Here’s what I’ve been using as of late:

Satisfying Sides: Roasted garlic herb potatoes

Although I’ve cut right back on how many potatoes I eat these days, I still allow myself to have them from time to time — just in smaller portions. I’ve also been craving fries. So what a great way to get my potatoes and my fries craving taken care of than to roast some mini potatoes up in the  oven and have them as a side dish?

Here’s what I did: