Taco Soup and new directions

Many of you know that I’ve been making a big effort to lose weight and get healthy and the biggest thing that I’ve been doing to work on that is watching what I eat.  I’ve been doing really well at it and I’ve actually learned to enjoy being more conscious about what I’m putting into my mouth and my body.  So while I’m sure I’ll still post delicious and bad for you food, the norm will be healthier food that still is delicious!

One of my favorite healthier meals is, of course, from Our Best Bites.  They don’t go out of their way to make super health meals, but always do sweets/naughty stuffs in moderation and  try and keep their meals on the healthier side, which is exactly how I want to be.  Their Taco Soup is one of their healthier meals and man is it good.  You really can’t go wrong with ground beef, onion, garlic, tomato, beans, corn and cilantro. Which is basically what this is.  Honest. 

My pictures aren’t so great and I got a little excited while making this and didn’t take pictures of some…Well, a lot of the steps, but you can always go to their post, which I’ll link to later on.

Start by sautéing some onion and garlic. Yummmmm…

Throw in your ground beef (as lean as you can get it!) and cook til it’s done.

Then throw in some taco seasoning, a couple cans of tomatoes and tomato sauce, corn, and beans – or fresh beans if your boyfriend’s mom is awesome and almost always has homemade beans on hand. 

Let it simmer for a bit, then dish it up and garnish with whatever your little heart desires! Be aware though…garnishes can take a healthy meal and make it super unhealthy in just  few bites.  Cheese and sour cream, I’m looking at you guys!!

Yes, I succumbed to the cheese.  It’s just so tasty!!

Taco Soup
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 tb Olive Oil
1 lb. extra lean ground beef (The leaner the better!)
1 onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced (I always at least triple garlic.)
1 1.25-oz. packet taco seasoning (about 1/4 c.)
3 c. water, divided
2 28-oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
2 15-oz. cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained

Heat olive oil in a deep pot.  Sauté onion and garlic until fragrant, then add ground beef.  When it’s all browned add the taco seasoning and 1 cup of water.  Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Top with cilantro, pico de gallo, cheese, sour cream, whatever you would like!