Hi all! This is Dr. Hall. I’d like to share a recipe that my
roommate passed onto me during graduate school. I love this recipe because it
is so cheap (about $5 to feed 4-6 people) and easy (takes about 10 minutes to
prepare). It tastes pretty good too!
Taste: Excellent! This tastes like a great taco soup. You’d
think you’d need to put a lot more time into a dish to make it taste this good,
but this is so easy.
Ease of preparation: Excellent. Just open up five cans and a
packet of taco seasoning, dump them into a pot and turn on the heat, wait for
it to heat through and you’re done! Takes about 10 minutes.
Specific nutritional value: This meal is low fat and high fiber and contains protein and
vegetables. I calculated the value for one serving (one bowl) based on the
nutrition labels, serving sizes, and number of people served. See below.
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| These are all the ingredients you need! |
Estimated Recommended Daily Allowance in One Bowl
Total Fat: 35%
Saturated Fat: 0%
Cholesterol: 0%
Sodium: 40.2%
Potassium: 18.9%
Carbs: 20.1%
Dietary Fiber: 53.9%
Sugar: 3 grams
Vitamin A: 11.8%
Vitamin C: 22.4%
Calcium: 5.6%
Iron: 16.8%
Folic Acid: 0%
Fats and Sugars
While this meal contains 35% of the RDA of fat in one bowl, this meal is very low in saturated fats (0%) and cholesterol (0%) according to the nutrition labels when I added all the ingredients together. This is great since as Americans we generally get way too much saturated fat, which increases bad cholesterol and risk of heart disease.
Sometimes I like to add cheese to the meal. Warning: Even with the reduced fat cheese I bought that said it has 33% less fat than normal cheese, when I added a quarter cup of cheese the saturated fat content in my meal jumped from 0% to 17%!
While sugars should be avoided, there are 3 grams in this recipe. The American Heart Association has set a maximum level of sugar consumption of 30 grams per day. This recipe contains well below that.
Vitamins and Minerals
As shown above, this dinner is a good source of dietary fiber and carbohydrates which perform a number of beneficial functions in the body. High fiber foods result in lower blood glucose levels than high-starch foods, reduces absorption of cholesterol, likely controls weight, and reduces risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease. The type of fiber found in the beans (the majority of the fiber in this meal) is soluble fiber, which lowers bad cholesterol, regulates blood sugar, and reduces risk of Type 2 diabetes. The type found in the tomatoes is insoluble, and this helps prevent constipation.
This recipe is also a good source of Vitamin C, especially in the tomatoes but also between the two cans of corn. Vitamin C helps form connective tissue and is important for wound healing. Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant, increases iron absorption (which is good since a serving of this recipe also contains about 17% of the RDA of iron). Benefits of vitamin C may include protection against immune deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, and eye disease. It has also been claimed to lower stress, help prevent more serious symptoms of colds and flu, reduce risk of stroke, and prevent skin from wrinkling. Vitamin C can boil out of food, so I would recommend just heating the soup through to warm it and not bringing it to a boil.
A downside of this recipe is the high sodium content. One bowl contains about 40% of the RDA of sodium and this is mostly from the taco seasoning. Most Americans eat too much sodium. Sodium can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. If eating this meal, I would recommend making sure you do not eat foods with lots of salt earlier in the day.
What Else to Eat
This meal contains proteins and vegetables. For a good mix of food groups, pair with some healthful whole grain bread. For desert, you could have some fruit and yogurt. This should cover all important food groups.
Fats and Sugars
While this meal contains 35% of the RDA of fat in one bowl, this meal is very low in saturated fats (0%) and cholesterol (0%) according to the nutrition labels when I added all the ingredients together. This is great since as Americans we generally get way too much saturated fat, which increases bad cholesterol and risk of heart disease.
Sometimes I like to add cheese to the meal. Warning: Even with the reduced fat cheese I bought that said it has 33% less fat than normal cheese, when I added a quarter cup of cheese the saturated fat content in my meal jumped from 0% to 17%!
While sugars should be avoided, there are 3 grams in this recipe. The American Heart Association has set a maximum level of sugar consumption of 30 grams per day. This recipe contains well below that.
Vitamins and Minerals
As shown above, this dinner is a good source of dietary fiber and carbohydrates which perform a number of beneficial functions in the body. High fiber foods result in lower blood glucose levels than high-starch foods, reduces absorption of cholesterol, likely controls weight, and reduces risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease. The type of fiber found in the beans (the majority of the fiber in this meal) is soluble fiber, which lowers bad cholesterol, regulates blood sugar, and reduces risk of Type 2 diabetes. The type found in the tomatoes is insoluble, and this helps prevent constipation.
This recipe is also a good source of Vitamin C, especially in the tomatoes but also between the two cans of corn. Vitamin C helps form connective tissue and is important for wound healing. Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant, increases iron absorption (which is good since a serving of this recipe also contains about 17% of the RDA of iron). Benefits of vitamin C may include protection against immune deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, and eye disease. It has also been claimed to lower stress, help prevent more serious symptoms of colds and flu, reduce risk of stroke, and prevent skin from wrinkling. Vitamin C can boil out of food, so I would recommend just heating the soup through to warm it and not bringing it to a boil.
A downside of this recipe is the high sodium content. One bowl contains about 40% of the RDA of sodium and this is mostly from the taco seasoning. Most Americans eat too much sodium. Sodium can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. If eating this meal, I would recommend making sure you do not eat foods with lots of salt earlier in the day.
What Else to Eat
This meal contains proteins and vegetables. For a good mix of food groups, pair with some healthful whole grain bread. For desert, you could have some fruit and yogurt. This should cover all important food groups.
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| Here's the finished product! PS - I'm your professor. :-) |
2. I decided to make this recipe based off of my nutritional analysis. I need to eat more fiber in my diet to maintain a healthy digestive system. This recipe also contains a lot of Vitamin C, which I desperately need with cold season around.
ReplyDelete3. I loved this recipe!! It is so easy to prepare. It only takes about ten minutes to throw all together. I have tried it several times since seeing it on the blog, and my husband and I can’t get enough. I have added cheese and ground turkey to it a couple times and it is amazing. I am also very impressed with how inexpensive this soup is! I believe it is every college student’s best friend.