50 Calorie Copycat Campbell's Tomato Soup

Hello my people!

I know how the gazillions of people who read my blog love to read my recipe posts ;) So I thought I'd share another we recently discovered.

This has sour cream mixed in :)

Here's the facts:
COPYCAT: 50 calories per cup
CAMPBELL'S: 180 calories per cup

Um, pretty sure you can't beat that.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED:
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes (low sodium) OR 15 ounces tomato sauce
3 ounces tomato paste (low sodium)
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder (ish)
1 teaspoon garlic powder (ish)
2-3 cups water
(optional) milk
(optional) low fat sour cream

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO:
Use an immersion blender, food processor, or blender to puree the diced tomatoes if you aren't using tomato sauce. I like the tomatoes better because I can control the consistency.

Combine the tomatoes, paste, and seasonings in a medium sauce pan; heat over medium heat. Add the half the sugar and salt. Add the water 1 cup at a time. Taste test as you add the remaining sugar, salt, and water to determine if it's sweet/salty/watery enough for your tastes. You may not want all the sugar, salt, or water. You may want a little bit more. You can also use honey instead of sugar; just do it to taste.

Once this comes to a soft boil, you're good to go! You can adjust the seasonings all you want, or even add something else like parsley, basil, oregano, etc. I topped mine with a tablespoon of low-fat sour cream (Trader Joe's, 15 calories). Or you can quickly mix in 1/4 cup of skim milk. Make sure it's not piping hot when you mix in your dairy, or it will curdle. Mix fast. It's also plenty good without any mix-ins.

140 Calorie Black Bean Soup

I've had a lot of people ask about the recipe for the black bean soup I made, so here we go. It's delicious--like, I can't even tell you how good. I'm incredibly satisfied with how filling it is. And it's super simple. Go, simple!

I've fallen in love with Trader Joe's. A lot of the healthy food we've been eating lately has come from inspiration I find at Trader Joe's. They have a lot of unique and organic food there, so my brain gets thinking differently as soon as I walk in :) Try it, if you haven't. I really like seeing small lists of ingredients.

This soup's base is from there. I'm sure you could make it with a similar homemade base, or from another store, if you can find one. The TJ version is completely pureed, with no chunks, and is already a great soup/stew consistency.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED:

1/2 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 to 1 large jalepeno, minced (adjust to how spicy you like things)
1 tablespoon canola oil/olive oil
1 can low sodium kidney beans (or whatever bean you want)
1 can low sodium corn
1/4-1/2 cup roasted red pepper, diced (from a jar or homemade)
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes (with or without green chiles, your choice)
1 container Trader Joe's Latin Style Black Bean Soup (4 cups)
Salt and pepper to taste
optional toppings: toasted pita, light sour cream, sliced green onion

Makes 9 servings
Serving size: 1 cup
Calories per serving: 140

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO:

Dice the onion and jalepeno. Heat a big pot over medium high heat. Add oil. Saute the onion, jalepeno, garlic, salt, and pepper for 5-10 minutes until it starts to caramelize and get soft.

Reduce heat to medium. Drain and rinse the beans. Drain the corn. Dice the roasted red pepper. Add beans, corn, red pepper, and the entire can of diced tomatoes to the pot, stir, and cook for a couple minutes. Slowly add the black bean soup base to the pot. Stir and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Depending on the brand of ingredients you use, you may want to add a little honey to sweeten, or if you want it spicier, a little chili powder, red pepper flakes/powder, paprika, etc.

I served mine with all the optional toppings and it was surprisingly filling and tasty :) We just cut up and roasted some left over pocket pita bread we had. And I also found some sour cream at Trader Joe's that has 15 calories in 2 tablespoons. Kind of amazing. And really smooth and creamy. You can pretty much mix up this recipe how ever you want. Try different beans or veggies. Or add different peppers or seasonings. TJ's has got a few other creamy soup bases and I think I'll try them all.