A very easy soup made with enchilada sauce.

On my budgeting post last week something was brought to my attention that I hadn’t really thought about before. It was how many budget-friendly foods – white rice, pasta, sandwiches, and the non-organic, store brand of any product – happen to be fear foods for some with disordered eating. This fear may keep you from living according to your values (i.e. if you’d rather do something different with your money, but a high portion of your income is going to particular foods, this may be problematic for your life).

There are many reasons one may be fearful of these foods, one being magical thinking with food, that is, overestimating the effect food can have on our health and therefore feeling like you always have to buy the fewer ingredient or organic version of products. Since on this topic, one person I’ve enjoyed following on Insta lately is @FoodScienceBabe for non-fear mongering, evidenced-based information about the foods we eat. I think she could especially be useful for someone struggling with orthorexia.

As Andrew and I have been more aware of our spending, I’ve been gravitating towards the most affordable options on some products. For those of you who struggle with orthorexia, I thought this recipe could serve as encouragement to add some healthy variety into your life. If buying the non-organic, store brand enchilada sauce would be something that is difficult for you, making this soup could be a great challenge! Below is the store brand I bought which was the cheapest option our grocery store sold at $1/can…

Onto the soup! Making soup with enchilada sauce may be the greatest shortcut of all time. It’s a simple recipe idea to have on your radar for a super easy meal option. If you want to take it to the next level you can make homemade tortilla strips like I did.

Enchilada Sauce Soup

Yield: a pot full (servings depends on how many add-ins you add in)

Ingredients:

enchilada sauce soup
2, 12.5oz cans enchilada sauce
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked meat (I used pulled pork we had in our freezer, chicken could also work - if using raw meat, just boil the soup until meat is cooked through)
add-ins (optional): chopped onions, chopped zucchini, 2 cans beans, 2 cans corn, 1 can chopped tomatoes with chilis 

homemade tortilla strips
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
5 tortillas (I used a corn-flour blend tortilla, but if you don’t live as close to the Mexico border as I do you may not have the same tortilla variety as us!)

Directions:

Add a glug of olive oil to a heavy-bottomed pot. Add in onion and any vegetables you’re using. Sauté over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Add in all other soup ingredients and simmer covered for at least 30 minutes. Serve with any toppings your heart desires. We topped ours with homemade tortilla strips, avocado, cheese and cilantro.

For the tortilla strips, heat oil over medium heat. Once hot, add in tortilla strips and use tongs to flip. Once the tortilla strips are golden brown, remove them from the oil and allow to drain on a paper towel.