NEW - IMPROVED - EVEN MORE AWESOME -Creamy Tomato Soup - no dairy, vegan

ALL CAPS so it must be true....

This recipe uses canned tomatoes.  The issue with canned tomatoes is that often they are a little acidic.  Well, the typical way of dealing with that is adding a little sugar.  Which kind of makes this a little less low calorie.

So - what to do?

Well, I had a rogue sweet potato on the counter, and I thought, why not?  Sweet potatoes, in addition to be slightly sweet, have a fair bit of fiber and vitamens.  And if it did not work, there was always sugar.

So, the same recipe, plus one sweet potate peeled, diced small.  It makes the soup a little more orange, cures the acidity issue, and makes the recipe all the more healthy.

Cream of Tomato Soup - what a great dish.

 Warm, comforting, and full of fat and not vegetarian. Whats a person a to do when they want one of the worlds great comfort foods but either can't live with the fat or are vegetarian?

For the life of me I cannot remember where I got this idea of a recipe, although clearly it is somewhat based on Tomato Bread Soup - a traditional italian soup that has stale bread in it.

My version pumps up the vegetables, as well as blenderizes the soup to make it creamy without the dairy (fake or real) product.

Ingredients (serves 4)


1 Onion, diced (44 calories
4 Carrots, diced (100 c)
2 Celery stalks, diced (18)
1 Sweet potato, peeled, diced small (114 calories)
4 cloves of garlic, minced (?)
2 cans tomatoes (diced, crushed or whole)with juice, no sugar added(don't drain) (180)
2 cups water or vegetable stock (20)
3 slices whole wheat bread, stale works great, diced (270)
1 tbl spoon olive oil (don't have to use, but some fat is good for you) (120)
Basil (fresh or dried)
Salt and Pepper to taste (if using regular canned stock you won't need additional salt)
Couple of dashes hot sauce (tabasco, sriracha, whatever)

So, call that 850 calories or so, making 8 cups of soup - so about 108 calories per cup of soup.

Now, is this precise calorie counting?  Of course not.  Calories on labels are a sham and inaccurate.  What type of wheat bread?  How thick is one slice versus the other?  However, it is close enough to know that this is a very low calorie soup, and it tastes great.  Personally, I call this a 100 calorie per cup soup.  Prove me wrong!

Plus, really super cheap to make

Possible additions -
1/2 cup dried red lentils (rinsed and drained)
1 can white beans (rinsed and drained)

Cooking Directions
Dice (finely) the onion, carrots, sweet potato, celery and garlic
Heat Le Crueset (type) pot over medium heat
Add 1 tbsp olive oil to hot pot
Add diced vegetables, saute till soft
Add Basil (or italian seasoning)
Add tomatoes, bread and vegetable stock, stir together
Add Hot Sauce
reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes (stir as the bread has a tendency to stick to the bottom)
Pour soup into blender, blenderize (or use a stick blender in pot). Be careful with this - the soup is hot, so pour carefully, make sure you have the top on firmly, and I usually put a dish towel over the top too!  Don't fill the blender more than half way.  I star on the slowest speed, then ramp it up to bassomatic speed.
Pour back into pot
Adjust seasonings
Keep warm till serving.

Interesting adds include red lentils or white beans. Put them in when adding the tomatoes and stock (or water). Red lentils cook very fast, so it does not add to the cooking time (much).