More Recipes From the Riverside Rest

One of the things recommended for me to eat while losing weight was soup. It got so cold over the last few days (dropped as low as the lower 60s here, unusual for Southern New Jersey at this time of year), I decided to finally experiment with a low-fat soup recipe that would also be quick to prepare AND healthy! You can pretty much add whatever veggies you have on hand to this soup (like I did).

To make this soup a vegetarian meal, don't add the ground turkey; to make it vegan, eliminate the turkey and the cheese.

This soup serves four. I found it so filling, it was all I ate for dinner. You can add noodles or corn bread or muffins for a more complete meal.

1 pound 93% lean/7% fat ground turkey
1 can Campbell's Healthy Choice Tomato Soup (or any low-fat and low-sodium tomato soup)
1 cup water (if not using condensed soup, eliminate the water)
1 cup beet greens (or any dense greens on-hand, like spinach)
1 medium celery stalk
1 small tomato or 2 plum tomatoes, diced
2 large mushrooms, diced
2 small zucchini (summer squash), sliced into pieces
1 large radish, cut into thick slices
2 tablespoons yellow onion, minced
1/3 cup cooked asparagus, diced (uncooked can be used, too)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon basil
1 oz low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)
1 bay leaf

Brown the ground turkey in a large frying pan for ten minutes, or until only a little pink is left. While turkey is cooking, add soup and, if using condensed soup, water to a large saucepan; bring to a boil for two minutes, or until soup is heated through, stirring constantly. Add ground turkey, vegetables, garlic powder, and basil, and let simmer for ten minutes uncovered. Add the cheese last if you're using it, as it tends to burn quickly; stir it in, simmering for another five minutes. Let cool and serve.

I imagine it could probably be frozen for later meals; most soups can. It'll probably make a nice lunch, too, especially for people like me who are on the go and need something quick and filling but not too fattening.