Meatless Monday: Tomato Basil Soup

Meatless Mondays is a weekly feature which will showcase some of my hits and probably misses with living a meatless life. Many of you know I stopped eating meat about a year ago for personal reasons. While, I haven’t had any desire to go back to eating meat, it has been a struggle to find healthy foods to eat.

Everywhere you go, meat is the main dish. Since I was new to this lifestyle, it led me to eating unhealthy options. I’m on a path now to cook healthier options at home without meat. While going meatless is a personal choice for me, you can still save money by having one meatless meal a week.

Will you join me on this journey by preparing one meatless dish every week?

Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients

• 4 – Tomatoes (or 1 can of tomatoes)
• 4 cups – Tomato Juice
• 15 Leaves – Fresh Basil
• 8 oz – Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1/2 cup – Butter
• Salt & Pepper

Serves: 4 – 6

Simmer tomatoes and tomato juice for 30-40 minutes in a pot. I used my favorite tool – the Ninja chopper to puree the tomato mix and the basil leaves. Then if you are like me and realize your whipping cream is out of date and stinky you make a trip to the grocery store, run into every family member and several friends, and finally make it back home to finish your dinner.

Two hours later….(not really!)

You will then put the mixture back in the pot and stir in the heavy cream and butter. Don’t use margarine – only the good stuff will do in this recipe. Season to taste with salt and pepper. I like using my pepper grinder. Heat until butter is melted.

Post Dinner Analysis

The soup was a hit. It was just as good as any tomato basil soup I’ve had in a restaurant. The key is the heavy whipping cream and butter.

Freezer Friendly

I think these would freeze well in lunch size portions. Leave room at the top of the container for expansion when it freezes.

Meat it Up

I’d leave the meat out of this one! However, you could use this as a appetizer or side dish instead of the main entree.

Vegan Option

You could substitute vegan products for the butter and heavy whipping cream but I don’t think you would get the same creamy taste.

If you have any questions about the vegetarian lifestyle, you can read more about it at GoVeg.com.