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Saturday, December 4, 2010

Spicy Tomato, Corn, and Edamane Wintertime Soup

Yesterday, I went to visit my favorite cooking client. Okay, she's really my only one right now, but I am convinced that she would be my favorite even if there were others. She makes the most beautiful quilts and they just simply make me happy.

Soup was her idea. She always has great ones and I bounce off of her inspiration and build new healthy recipes. This soup was part of that inspiration. I have to admit I was a little wary about how simple it was. I mean we made it in about 20 minutes and then moved on to making Baklava (check my baklava blog for the recipe). When the Baklava was in the oven and we had made some cookie dough, (you'll have to stay tuned to see how I switched up the Almond Flour Cranberry Cookiesand made them lusciously chocolatey!) we sat down to a bowl. 

My instinct was to add a little fat free sour cream or even a little fat free half and half to give it a little pizzaz... a little creaminess even. But nope, my favorite client so brilliantly said, "Why don't we try it as is before we do any changing?" Sounded fair enough so we did.

And let me tell you ladies and gentleman... It was perfect just the way it is. The slight crunch of the edamame and the spicy kick of the red pepper flakes and chilies, along with the sweet burst from the corn were perfect all together. And the warmth of the soup was the perfect meal for a cold winter day when the sun finally decided to make a cameo appearance. She was right and I'm glad we didn't ruin the soup by tampering with it.

Have you noticed a pattern? Yep, I pretty much like to tamper with and change every recipe before I even try it! That's the Hot Mess in me!

Not to mention, this soup is low in calories (only 140 per serving), however still packed with over 7 grams of protein due to the edamame (which is packed with soy protein, especially good for us women who might need a little more estrogen in our systems!)

Give yourself the gift of a super easy and delicious winter time soup. You deserve a little boost and something easy to prepare. I'm sure your family love the flavors as much as I do! 

Here's to your health, wealth, and abundance!

Spicy Tomato, Corn, and Edamame Wintertime Soup
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 white onion; diced
3 tablespoons garlic; minced
2 cups frozen whole corn kernels
2 cups frozen edemame peas; shelled
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (10 ounce) can southwestern style tomatoes with chilies
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine (we used pinot grigio)
1 tbsp. rosemary
1 tbsp. thyme
1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for three minutes. Once the onions begin to blonde add the corn, edemame, and both cans of tomatoes (they really are the star of the show and I thought they deserved their own photo shoot). 
2. Stir to combine and add the broth, wine, rosemary, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Heat over medium until it bubbles.

3. Then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 30 minutes. This soup is so light and delicious. We served with a little bit of Parmesan cheese (I love it on everything!) and it was delicious just as is.
Servings: 6 


Nutritional Skinny:

140 calories / 2.75 g fat / 22 g carbohydrates / 3.8 g fiber / 7.3 g protein

Mental Health Benefit: Edamame is one of the great wonder foods. I guess it's sort of like the wonder woman of the vegetable family. Isn't it lucky? It is a complete protein containing all of the amino acid building blocks... without all of the fat that comes with animal proteins!  This little wonder food also provides antioxidant boosts from plant chemicals called isoflavones which basically means it helps us reduce our risk of heart disease by attacking free radicals (no not those kid of radicals with picket signs on the corner). Plus it's packed with fiber and creates an estrogen like effect on the body helping us protect our bones and teeth. Sounds too good to be true right? Well, think again... and you can add edamame to almost anything; salads, soups, casseroles, and it adds a sweet buttery bite sort of like a small moist lima bean.

 


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