Recipe

So probably everyone that reads this blog knows that I have a degree in nutrition, and although I am not currently using it (hopefully I will be in the future), I still really enjoy the topic, especially because it mixes so well with one of my favorite hobbies...cooking.

Ok now you have some background, more to the point:
If you have been reading you know that we have a garden and this summer we have had so many tomatoes I keep having to come up with things to make with them, one of my new favorite things to make is tomato soup.  I never really had an interest in making it, you can buy pretty good stuff already made, or at least I thought.  But WOW it is sooooo good fresh, not even comparable.  Before I share my recipe with you think about this, soup from a can is loaded with sodium (which equals high blood pressure, water retention, etc etc) and home made you can control exactly how much you put into your soup.  Also if you are a calorie counter my soup is ONLY approx 75 calories for an ENTIRE cup! Compare to panera's tomato soup for 290 calories.  And of course if we are going into calories I might as well throw in the stats for a grilled cheese sandwich, because you know you will want one.  I'm really enjoying the new sandwich thins for 100 calories for both slices (a normal slice of bread is usually around 100 calories) and if you use two slices of cheese that's about 150 calories, and just spray a pan with cooking spray rather than coating things with butter and you can have an entire comfort food meal for 325 calories! FYI a Panera grilled cheese (or at least the closer menu items) are around 750 calories!
Now I have nothing against Panera, actually I really love it, its one of my faves, I am just using it as an example because it seems like a healthier choice restaurant. Which could lead into my opinion on the perils of eating out, but I'll save that for later, or never. And now for the recipe

In a large skillet saute 1 white onion and 2-3 garlic cloves in 2 TBSP olive oil (extra virgin)-approx 4 minutes
Add 4-5 diced tomatoes (depending on size)
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 package sun dried tomatoes (Optional)
1/2 -1 cup FRESH basil (Optional)
Let simmer for a/b 20 minutes
Puree in blending until smooth- be careful on this part, don't fill the blender up more than 1/3 of the way and watch out for the steam
Add salt and pepper to taste

Variations:
-Its great if you add extra veggies in the saute step.  Carrots, celery, bell peppers are all good options.  They don't change the flavor much and its a great way to increase nutrients and not calories
- If you like creamy tomato soup you can add cream or 1/2 and 1/2 in the puree step, tastes delish (but it won't be 75 calories per cup anymore)

You can also make a really big batch and freeze it.
Enjoy!