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.

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.

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?). 

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???

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. 

 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 SOUP

Recipe by Wegman's (click here for original recipe and nutritional information).

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).

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!"

 

 You may also like:

Cabbage Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup

Turkey Noodle Soup

LINKING WITH:
Best of the Weekend
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Inspiration Monday
Metamorphosis Monday
Meatless Monday
Cooking and Crafting With J & J
Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party
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