Meal Prep Tip: How to Can Soups

It is a proven fact that you cannot exercise enough to compensate for a bad diet.  Therefore, you should have a plan in place to help you succeed on those days when you are pressed for time.  A great tool in the fitness industry is Meal Prepping.   Some choose do prep for the week while others order their food from a meal prepping service.  Either way you choose to do it is great, but if you are looking for a great way to do it yourself, while on a budget, then canning may be for you. Generally, I cook a large batch of soup in the crockpot on Sundays.  This week I chose to do: 5 ingredient Skinny white bean chicken chili. Ingredients: 6 cups of chicken broth,  1 lb of Chicken (uncooked), One 1 lb bag of great white northern beans, 1 can of salsa verde (any variety) and 1 tsp of Cumin.  Combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Canning Supplies Needed. Pressure Cooker, 6 pint “canning” Jars with lids and flats (I use Ball brand, available at Walmart or other grocery retailers), Small pot for heating lids. Heat the flats (flat part of the lid) in some water until just boiling. You will need to fill the 6 jars with the soup while it is still hot and then place heated flat and lids on the Jars and seal tightly.  Add water to the pressure cooker so that the jars are covered at least half of the way up and turn on medium high heat.   Place the jars in the pressure cooker with the water and secure the lid.  Monitor the gauge on the   pressure cooker until it reaches between 10-12 psi.  Once it is at this pressure you will need to watch closely for 20 minutes adjusting heat up and down to stay at this pressure. After the 20 minutes turn the heat off (DO NOT OPEN LID) and allow the pressure to return to zero.  This can take a few hours.  Once the pressure is at zero and the container has cooled you will remove the lid and take out the jars.  (They will still be hot)  Allow the jars to cool and listen for the “popping” sound that ensures your jars are sealed. You now have canned soup to eat anytime you like!