Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

I want to go everywhere I haven't been, and back to everywhere I have been.

Monday, January 22, 2018

ORGANIC TOMATO BASIL SOUP: PLAYING THE "WEIGHTING" GAME



I was not compensated in any way by Wegman's or Flat Belly Diet for this post. 
There are, however, affiliate links for the Flat Belly Diet cookbook.

Wegman's Organic Tomato Basil Soup is low-fat, low-calorie and easy to make! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


Do you play any "weight" games in order to keep yourself in check?
I'm fairly stable and stay pretty much 
within five pounds of my ideal weight. 
One thing that helps to keep me on top of 
the slow creep of poundage is weighing myself daily.
(My friend AnnMarie at Musings of A Vintage Junkie wrote a hilarious, 
and spot-on blog post about this recently......check it out here). 
 
If I don't do a daily weight check-in, I'm afraid I'll find myself on the Ignorance-Is-Bliss Diet
which would be fun......until I step on the scale and.......surprise!
I've put on 10 (no-wonder-I-can't-zip-my jeans) pounds.


Wegman's Organic Tomato Basil Soup is low-fat, low-calorie and easy to make! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

My digital scale is finicky 
because it sits on an uneven slate bathroom floor.
This means my weight can vary by two or three pounds, 
just by sliding the scale a few inches to the left or right.  
I move it around to half a dozen spots until I get the lowest reading.
Come on, wouldn't you? 😉

I've often wondered about the scale's accuracy,
 so yesterday, I decided to experiment and see what happened 
when I moved the scale to Junior Goo Shoes' smooth bathroom floor.
I was hoping for a more accurate result -- 
and by accurate, I mean lower -- but.......

O. M. G. 
omg-omg-omg
Eight pounds heavier than in my bathroom?????

I told Mr. Goo Shoes that I almost had a heart attack 
when I saw what the scale said, and he replied,
"So put the scale back in our bathroom."
Ba-Dum-Bump. 
I could not stop laughing!
A soup-er solution, if I ever heard one
(I have to tie my story to the main reason for this post, somehow, don't I?). 


Wegman's Organic Tomato Basil Soup is low-fat, low-calorie and easy to make! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Apparently, Mr. Goo Shoes wasn't all that pleased 
with his smooth-floor weight, either. 
He told me was ready to jump on the Flat Belly Diet (affil. link) bandwagon. 
I've always had success with this diet,
and I pull it out of my weighting-game toy chest 
when I need to get serious. 
We started yesterday.
Or, rather, I started yesterday, and Mr. GS started right after breakfast.
After his bagel.
With cream cheese.
That's right, you heard me. 

And even starting with that bagel-disadvantage........my prediction?
He'll lose 20 pounds.......I'll lose 2. 

Why is dieting so much easier for men???


Wegman's Organic Tomato Basil Soup is low-fat, low-calorie and easy to make! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

I was browsing the Wegman's website 
to find some flat-belly friendly recipes,
and came across Organic Tomato Basil Soup
If you know me, I'd rather do anything but cook,
but I do love making soup.
This one caught my eye because it was low fat, creamy without cream, 
and most importantly, easy! 
It took about an hour in total, and about a half-hour hands-on time.
That's a win right there. 


Wegman's Organic Tomato Basil Soup is low-fat, low-calorie and easy to make! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

 The recipe makes a shissel full (that's Yiddish for a huge vat), 
which in this case is about 14 cups.
As much as I can eat the same thing several days in a row,
that's a whole lotta soup for just two people.
I froze some of it, and
it was just as delicious when defrosted and reheated.

I used the organic ingredients sold at Wegman's,
except for the EVOO and dried spices which I already had at home.
If your preference is non-organic, that's cool. 
It's not like it's going to taste any different!

Just a note - the recipe calls for the soup to be pureed with a stick blender,
but I just did it in batches in my regular blender. 

Try it, and let me know if you like it!

Wegman's Organic Tomato Basil Soup is low-fat, low-calorie and easy to make! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


WEGMAN'S ORGANIC TOMATO SOUP
Yield: 14 cups

2 tbsp. organic extra-virgin olive oil
2 organic carrots, peeled, trimmed, 1/2-inch dice (about 1 cup)
2 (about 6 oz. each) organic onions peeled, 1/2-inch dice
2 stalks organic celery, trimmed, 1/2-inch dice (about 1 cup)
3 organic dried bay leaves 
1 can (6 oz.) organic tomato paste
1/3 cup organic brown basmati rice 
1/4 tsp. organic cayenne
1 tbsp. organic dried basil
2  containers (32 oz. each) organic vegetable broth
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes in puree
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in stockpot on medium heat. Add carrots, onions and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, about eight minutes, until softened but not browned. Add bay leaves; cook, stirring, about 3-4 minutes.

Reduce heat to low. Add tomato paste; cook, stirring, 3-5 minutes. Add rice, cook, stirring about 2 minutes. Add cayenne, basil, broth, and crushed tomatoes; stir to combine. Increase heat to medium-high; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low; simmer, 30-40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat; discard bay leaves. 

Puree soup with a stick blender on low until smooth (I pureed the soup in batches in my regular blender).

Wegman's Organic Tomato Basil Soup is low-fat, low-calorie and easy to make! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Playing the "weighting game" has become a necessary fact of life for me.
It's a little more tolerable when 
I can fill up on low-fat foods that I actually enjoy.


Organic Tomato Basil Soup is a recipe "souper-star"  
and it will have a permanent slot in my winter recipe repertoire.
I'm filing it under "YUM!"


 
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9 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, this sounds so good! Wegmans recipes are usually really good so I will be trying this for me. The guys in my house will not be interested! My new kick is Kale. I found a kale power salad recipe filled with power foods. It's pretty good. It makes a ton so I have been eating it every day. Thank you so much for sharing the link to my post! My update on that post is that I am still struggling with all three of those scales to get an accurate reading (although it is not 8 pounds over!) so just today I bought the latest and greatest Weight Watchers scale. It tells you your BMI, fat, and other things I don't care about! I am going to try it tomorrow. Stay tuned....!

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  2. This post had me laughing out loud Amy! You're not alone in your shenanigans with the scale, but wow, 8 lbs difference! That would be a bitter pill to swallow.

    Speaking of swallowing (see how I did that?), I adore tomato soup, and adding basil is a must. I could eat soup every day and be a happy camper (with cannolis for dessert of course).

    xxx

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  3. Tomato soup is the best comfort food! I like the Basmati rice in there. Thanks for linking up with us for Meatless Monday

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  4. Looks very tasty.
    I love soups in the cooler winter months.

    All the best Jan

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  5. I'm laughing because this is so me! I don't move the scale around anymore but I did that for many moons! And yes, I get on daily or nearly daily because it's too easy for me to get way out of control!

    I'm in Michigan and it's a tad nippy here in January so any new soup recipe is welcome. And this one looks delish -- tomato and basil are two of my faves and together (with grilled cheese, please!) fabulous!

    Happy week -- I come from Katie's!
    ~ jeanie from Marmelade Gypsy

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  6. Your scale story is so funny! I avoid scales like the plague. This soup looks so good. We love soup and time of year.

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  7. Hi Amy, oh I too love making soup in the winter. This soup sounds really good with a grilled cheese sandwich or nice bread on the side.
    Thanks for sharing this recipe at Cooking and Crafting with J&J.
    Enjoy the weekend.
    Julie

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  8. This sounds so delish, and I love your scale story. The stuggle is real! ;)

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  9. Yahoo - a recipe post. This looks amazing. I'll be giving it a try.
    I play the same game with my scale.

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