This quick recipe for Classic Tortilla Soup is a great combination of nutrition and hearty flavor.

When you use whole vegetables and herbs with a robust taste, you get zest that adds more nutrients, not preservatives.

It is easy to control the amount of sodium and additives when making soup from scratch,  instead of from a can.

When you buy canned foods, it is important to look for products that only contain fruits or vegetables and water, not sugar or syrups.

This recipe uses canned beans for brevity, but you may also soak beans overnight, rinse them and add instead of the can.

The soup takes about 30 minutes to prepare from start to finish.

To make the soup thicker you can add ripped pieces of tortillas at the same time as cumin and cilantro. This is also a good way to use stale tortillas you may not eat.

The best thing about soup is that you can make a large pot at the begining of the week and store the pot in the refrigerator for days.

After refrigerating, stir the whole pot and continue to dish out servings to heat in the microwave at home. You can also pack in  a reusable container to eat when you’re out.  Bringing food from also saves you money!

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 32 oz low-sodium broth, chicken or vegetable

• ½ cup of water

• 28 oz diced tomatoes, canned

• 14 oz corn, frozen

• 14 oz black beans, canned

• 2 tsp. cumin

• cilantro to taste

• Bag of tortilla chips

• 1 avocado

Instructions

1. Saute onion pieces in oil until they become transparent.

2. Pour low-sodium broth, water, tomatoes, corn and black beans into pot. Cook on high heat until soup boils.

3. Immediately turn heat down to medium, add cumin and cilantro. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.

4. Serve hot and garnish with crushed tortilla chips and a slice of avocado.

tgleason@chroniclemail.com