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This weekend was my first one back since my ten-day trip down to Florida. It was a great trip – I got to work on my upcoming novel, The Restoration of Cecilia Fairchild, celebrate the Chairman’s birthday, and spend a few days at Disneyworld with one of my sons, one of my daughters-in-love, and a few grand-darlings.
The fact that we spent Valentine’s Day traveling was more than made up for by the time with family and, of course, day after day of warm, sunny, spirit-lifting days.
Needless to say, I’ve had a week that wasn’t exactly “on-track” in terms of my health goals – but hey! That’s what vacations are for. A little indulgence never hurt anyone, as long as those indulgences are “little” and not a permanent downfall.
Thankfully, I’ve got a recipe up my sleeve that’ll make getting back on track a breeze. And the best part? It’s just one Weightwatchers point per serving.
Introducing My One Weight Watchers Point Tomato Basil Soup!
One of the things that makes this Tomato Basil Soup so good for you is that it’s essentially a salad in a bowl. It’s packed with hearty and healthy veggies, including carrots, tomatoes, onions, and celery, as well as healthy fats from the small portion of olive oil.
This makes it a perfect option for those of you who might be waistline-conscious. Planning on going out for dinner or looking forward to an upcoming family feast? Replace another one of your meals with the one Weightwatchers point tomato basil soup. It’ll go a long way towards helping balance out your food choices for the day.
And, personally, it helps out immensely with curbing some of my Seasonal Affective Disorder induced carb cravings!
When You’re Just Craving Something Delicious
While my tomato basil soup is, of course, just one single Weightwatchers point, it by no means tastes like it.
The medley of vegetables comes together to create a hearty texture that’s almost bisque like, and you’ll find that the sweetness of the carrots and celery beautifully cuts the acidity of the tomatoes (and just a pinch of sugar helps as well!). And the seasonings of onion, garlic, and the balsamic vinegar help ensure that this is not just any old tomato soup.
To literally top it all off, I recommend garnishing with fresh sprigs of basil leaves to add a fresh, bright note to the soup. Also, it just looks prettier that way. More fresh herbs are always a good idea.
Why Limit Yourself?
Since this is such a low-calorie and healthy recipe, you can also add in a few “extras”, should you feel so inclined, without blowing your points budget for the day.
My favorites with this particular recipe include adding in a couple of extra grinds of pepper, shaving some fresh parmesan over top, or even substituting with sharp cheddar cheese. Another tip – toast up a biscuit or muffin to go along with or use some crusty bread for dipping. Or melt the cheese on top of the muffin for a healthier version of those grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup lunches of your childhood. This is a soup that screams for something yummy to dunk into it.
However you choose to serve it up, I hope you’ll give my one Weightwatchers point Tomato Basil Soup a try! Here’s the recipe.
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ONE WW Point Tomato Soup
- Yield: 12 one-cup servings (1 WW points) 1x
Ingredients
- 1.5 T olive oil or butter – 6 WW points
- 1 large onion, peeled and diced – 0 points
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced – 0 points
- 2 ribs celery, sliced – 0 points
- 2 cloves garlic, minced – 0 points
- 1 large can (24 oz) whole tomatoes, no salt – 0 points
- 4 cups fat free vegetable or chicken stock – 0 points
- 1.5 C tomato juice – 3 points
- 2 T tomato paste – 0 points
- 2 t sugar – 2 points
- ½ bunch of fresh basil leaves, chopped – 0 points
- 1 T balsamic vinegar – 1 point
- Salt and Pepper to taste – 0 points
Instructions
- Heat oil or butter in stockpot over medium heat. Add chopped onions, carrots, celery, and garlic and saute until soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, stock, tomato juice, and tomato paste and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium/low and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add sugar, basil, and vinegar. Puree soup until smooth, either in pot using an immersion blender, or in batches using a regular blender. Simmer soup another 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper taste and serve. Makes approximately 12 one cup servings. (Each serving equals one Weight Watchers point)
