This post brought to you by The Frozen Food Foundation. The content and opinions expressed below are that of this mama loves.

We like to have at least 2 servings of vegetables at dinner in our house.  Often, fruit as well, but we do try to do the vegetables at dinner each night.  My kids, I’m lucky to say, are all really good about eating vegetables, Buying fresh vegetables year round can get very, very expensive- and when things are not in season.

I’ve long gone for frozen veggies- we do both Green Giant and Bird’s Eye, whatever happens to be on sale when I’m at the store, because I know that they are flash frozen and retain so much of their nutrients that way.Freezing fruits and vegetables is nature’s pause button and an easy way to combat things like the cost of fresh produce, the cost of fresh ‘out of season’ produce and issues like fresh fruits and vegetables spoiling before you’re able to prepare and eat them. It’s an affordable way to keep getting those servings of fruits and vegetables in our bellies without worrying about the cost so much!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

**2-3 medium size chicken breasts, baked and shredded (I simply salt and pepper mine, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes and then shred.)

1 14.5 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

½ medium sized onion, diced

1 C. frozen corn

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. garlic salt

2 chicken bouillon cubes

5-6 C. water

**If you’re short on time you can also cook the chicken breasts right IN the crockpot from the get go and then shred after the soup has cooked on high for 5-6 hours to ensure the chicken is cooked through.

Directions

#1. Add all ingredients to the crockpot and add the 5-6 C. of water.

#2. Cook on high 2-3 hours.

#3. Serve with tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

*Makes approximately 6 servings.

You’ll notice frozen corn is one of the ingredients in this soup.  I almost always use frozen veggies, especially when they are out of season. Why? That’s easy. They are a convenient, affordable and easy to serve option that is nutritious. The Frozen Food Foundation partnered with the University of California, Davis, and found that frozen fruits and vegetables are generally as rich in nutrients, and often more so, than their fresh counterparts. 

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