Janice's Potato Carrot Soup

Potatoes are sometimes given a bad rap by people trying to lose weight, but this is mainly because of how we are accustomed to eating them - drenched with butter, fried in heavy oil, or layered with lots of cheese and cream sauces. When prepared with a little more creativity, they can be a low calorie, filling, and very nutritious vegetable. After giving the following recipe a try, get a good potato cookbook like The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Potato for more ideas on how to enjoy potatoes and lose weight.

This is a fast easy to make, low calorie, very tasty soup! Only 186 calories per generous serving! Nutrition facts for this recipe are available on Calorie Count.

Potato Carrot Soup - Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups diced red potatoes
1 cup diced onion
1 cup sliced celery
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
3 t chopped fresh garlic
1 T extra virgin olive oil
4 cups Vegetable Stock
12 oz can Evaporated Milk

1 1/2 t thyme
1 t paprika
2 T fresh chopped parsley (or more!)
cracked black pepper to taste
Tabasco to taste

Directions:

In a large pot over medium heat, saute the onion, celery and carrot in olive oil til veges are softened a bit. Add the garlic and saute for another two minutes.

Add potato, vegetable stock - preferably low sodium, and seasonings.

Simmer covered until veges are cooked, taste and adjust seasonings. Add the evaporated milk. The link to the nutrition facts assumes regular evaporated milk, so remember to reduce the calorie count if you use the fat free version.

Adjust the seasoning to your taste and serve.

Extra Notes:

Mash a few of the potatoes with a fork or potato masher as this gives the soup a nice thickness while keeping its rustic chunky character which makes the soup so satisfying.

I need to watch salt, so I don't add it to most foods. That means that I need to ramp up the other spices - and it's one reason I add Tabasco Sauce to the dish. There's a little salt in the Tabasco, but not as much as there would be if I used regular salted stock. If you don't need to cut salt, then just use regular salted stock if you prefer.

If you like your soup extra thick, either add more potatoes or make a roux to add at the end to thicken the soup. If your day can do the calories, add some cheese, bacon bits, or better still some nice home made croutons before serving. I like this soup served with a toasted sandwich of provolone, thin slices of tomato, basil, and a little olive oil - assemble the sandwich and toast open face in a toaster oven. Yum!