http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/1820/Greek-Chicken-And-Lemon-Soup-W102906.shtml
Ingredients:
8 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup orzo pasta
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick pieces
3 eggs
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (I doubled this I prefer more lemon flavor)
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
salt and white pepper to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
DIRECTIONS:
In a large saucepan, bring stock to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and add orzo. Cook uncovered until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Five minutes before pasta is done, add chicken.
Place eggs in mixing bowl. Whisk eggs while adding lemon juice. Stir in zest. Whisking constantly, slowly pour a ladle of the hot stock into the egg mixture to temper. (This step is very important so you don't wind up with strands of cooked egg in your soup.)
Reduce heat to very low. Then, while whisking the soup in pan, slowly pour in the egg mixture. Soup should thicken slightly. Add salt and pepper and garnish with parsley.
NUTRITION:
4 servings(values per serving)
285 calories
5 grams fat
28 grams carbohydrates
24 grams protein
So when I buy the ingredients for any recipe, I always look at labels. Three things I look for are, high fructose corn syrup, MSG and sodium content. Sodium recommendations are no more than 2300 mg/ day or 1500 mg/day for those who are salt sensitive. Watching your sodium intake is important as increased sodium intake is related to increased risk for cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and hypertension. Sodium labeling can be tricky if you're just going by the disclaimer on the front of the packaging and not reading the nutrition fact label. Here are the guidelines for sodium labeling (straight from the lecture notes of my medical nutrition therapy professor, Dr. Heather Brady)
"Sodium free"- less than 5mg/ serving
"very low sodium"- 35 mg or less/serv
"low sodium"- 140 mg or less/serv
"reduced sodium"- 25% less sodium
"light in sodium"- 50% less sodium
"lightly salted"- 50% less added sodium
Keeping these terms and intake guidelines in mind when buying food for your family can help ensure your healthy meals are heart healthy too :)
