Monday, September 19, 2011

Creamy Vegan, Gluten Free, Tomato Soup Thickened with Zucchini And White Beans - More Ways To Use Up Those Garden Tomatoes And Zucchini!

Less than 150 calories per serving, this healthful and delicious soup is perfect for  weight loss!

Follow Foods For Long LIfe on FACEBOOK !

Great Way to Use Up Tomatoes and Zucchini
Last week I showed you an easy way to Make and Freeze Tomato Sauce which used up plenty of my garden tomatoes. But now I'm also looking for things to do with zucchini. Here's a great way to combine these two wonderful foods into a thick and creamy soup. Besides the zucchini, the soup is thickened by fiber and protein rich white beans. You can use cannellini, great northern or white kidney beans - whichever you prefer.


Peel the Zucchini
To achieve the beautiful reddish orange color that you expect tomato soup to be, you'll have to peel the zucchini. If you leave the skins on, your soup will be brown and not nearly as appetizing. Save the peels and toss them with your favorite salad dressing or use them in Raw Zucchini Spaghetti and Walnut Meatballs


Peel zucchini or the skins will turn the soup brown


Save the zucchini peels and toss with fresh blueberries, raw English walnuts and balsamic
vinaigrette
.

Cook soup slowly, partially covered, until flavors meld and veggies are soft enough to blend

Blend until smooth. If it's too thick, a touch of boiling water.


Eat One, Freeze One
And just like my tomato sauce, I ate some for dinner and put up the rest for winter in my new freezer jars.


Freezing a little at a time is effortless 


Creamy Tomato Soup with Zucchini and Cannellini Beans
Vegan, Gluten Free
[makes 6 servings]


1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups diced zucchini
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme plus some for garnish
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
8 cups diced fresh tomatoes
1 large vegan, gluten free bouillon cube dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water
1 bay leaf
1 can cannellini or other white bean, drained
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste


Heat oil to medium heat in a 5 quart Dutch oven and cook onions until soft, about 5 minutes. 
Add garlic and cook an additional minute.
Add zucchini, thyme and turmeric and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is soft.
Stir in tomatoes, bouillon mixture, bay leaf and cannellini beans and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat  and simmer for 1 hour, partially covered.
Blend, in two batches, until soup is smooth. Return to pot , add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. 
Top with additional fresh thyme and serve.
For a heartier meal, stir in brown rice or serve on top of a baked potato.


Per serving (without added salt): 147.3 calories, 2.8 g fat, 0.7 g saturated fat, 65 mg omega-3 and 443 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 0 mg cholesterol, 8.3 g protein, 24 g carbohydrate and 448 mg sodium.





1 comment:

Square Meals said...

Enjoyed this too. Thank you for the lovely recipes.