Delicious, Heart Healthy Soup

Getting Ready for Soup Season... 

I just came back from a weeklong yearly vacation with my husband’s extended family in the upper peninsula of Michigan. We were in a little town on Lake Michigan called Manistique. The town also have a big inland lake called Indian Lake which is beautiful, not crowded with people and has exceptionally clear water. So, it is an excellent place to swim. You can also see the most gorgeous sunset on the lake.

The only drawback of the town is the serious lack of culinary options. If you are not cooking at home every day, which no one wanted to do (we did do it for 2 days), then not only the choices are limited but the quality is not great either except for this little café on lake Michigan called “Upper Crust Bakery” which is only open for breakfast and lunch. We literally ate lunch there every day, they are so good. 

Each year I come back with at least one dish from there that I wanted to replicate. This year it was Tomato Florentine soup. Soup season is approaching in Michigan, so this was a good time for me to try making a new soup. I made it the very next day with a healthier twist which turned out really good. I would put less pasta in it next time because when I added them in the soup, they seemed to be perfect but after they were fully cooked, I felt there were too many of them in the soup.

We also had delicious poke bowls. I am planning to make it soon and post the recipe here. So stay tuned!!

My healthy version of the soup has low sodium, added flavor came from use of more herbs and being spicy using black and chili pepper. 

The first picture is the one I ate at the cafe and the second one is the one I made at home.

Tomato Florentine Soup

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (28 oz) no salt diced tomatoes (with juice)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon of dried oregano 
• 1 teaspoon of frozen mixed herbs (thyme and rosemary) that I bought fresh in bulk a while back and froze some of it  
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup fresh or frozen spinach or kale
• ½ cup of shell pasta (this is the reduced amount that I will add next time)

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Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook for 5–6 minutes until softened.
2. Stir in the garlic, basil, oregano, and black pepper. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Pour in the no-salt canned tomatoes (with juice). If you prefer you can add no-salt vegetable broth also. I prefer not to use extra broth.
4. Bring it to a boil, add the pasta and then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until carrots and pasta are tender.
5. Add the spinach or kale and cook for 2–3 minutes. Unfortunately, I did not have either at home so the one I just made did not have that. But next time I am planning to add that.
6. Add more black pepper and/or chili powder for a spicier version that I did.

 If you have any questions/feedback please leave a comment!