Curried Squash & Chicken Soup

From EatingWell: EatingWell Serves Two — Subscribe Now!

Red Thai curry paste adds heat and depth of flavor to this simple soup. If you like, omit the chicken and spinach to make an even simpler first-course soup.

READER'S COMMENT:

"I LOVE this soup. It is absolutely delicious. Don't be afraid of the spinach, it shrivels up quite a bit so I always add a LOT of spinach and it turns out really good. Excellent, easy recipe. "

2 servings, 1 3/4 cups each

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Nutrition Profile

Ingredients

1 10-ounce package frozen pureed winter squash
1/2 cup lite coconut milk, (see Tips for Two)
1/2 cup water
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 6-ounce bag baby spinach
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2-1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste, (see Note)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Heat squash, coconut milk and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash defrosts, about 10 minutes. Add chicken, reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Stir in spinach, lime juice, sugar, curry paste to taste and salt and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes longer.

Tips & Notes

Tips for Two: Refrigerate coconut milk for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Drizzle on sliced fresh fruit; use as some of the liquid for cooking rice.
Note: Red curry paste is a blend of chile peppers, garlic, lemongrass and galangal (a root with a flavor similar to ginger). Look for it in jars or cans in the Asian section of the supermarket or specialty stores.

Nutrition

Per serving: 274 calories; 7 g fat (4 g sat, 1 g mono); 63 mg cholesterol; 22 g carbohydrates; 28 g protein; 6 g fiber; 453 mg sodium; 1288 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (310% daily value), Vitamin C (70% dv), Folate (49% dv), Potassium (37% dv).

Exchanges: 1 starch, 2 vegetable, 3 very lean meat, 1 fat