5 Easy, High-Protein Lunches
Maybe it’s just me, but lunch seems to be the hardest thing to plan for sometimes, especially for a busy work week. You need something that is simple, easy to [...]
I had no idea tomatoes and coconut were best friends! No one told me! Actually that’s a bit of a lie because I’ve been making a labor intensive roasted tomato and coconut soup for years. My babe just begs for it year round and when I found myself cranking the oven to 400 in the middle of July this year, I finally said, “ENOUGH!”. No. More. Roasting. Too. Hot.
Plus, I know you guys. And I know you have no time for labor intensive soup making in July.
So I just moved the entire thing to the stove. And I added a couple of carrots for sweetness to make up for the caramelization of tomatoes that wasn’t going to happen. And I added some coconut cream instead of the usual light coconut milk. Because healthy fats.
This soup is far better than the original. It’s super smooth and rich and it kicks Campbell’s in the face. Eat it with a grilled cheese, quesadilla [Rudi’s makes the BEST gluten free tortillas!] or a big green salad topped with grilled salmon and bacon. Comfort at it’s finest.
Get addicted
Tomatoes are rich in the antioxidant lycopene. This nutritional powerhouse is great for the heart, bones and is effective against certain cancers – most notably, prostate cancer.
Other nutrients coming through for the win: Vitamin C & K, biotin, copper and potassium.
Cooked tomatoes are actually way better for you than raw ones. The heat makes the lycopene more bioavailable in the body, meaning it’s absorbed and utilized better. Yes, ketchup has health benefits. No, it’s still not healthy.
If you buy heirloom tomatoes, you can actually use the seeds to grow new heirloom tomatoes. How cool is that?
If you like to put food on your face, tomatoes make a great cleanser because of their acid content. Mash one up with an avocado and you’ve got yourself a toning face mask.
Get to the store
When looking for tomatoes, first look for local. Traveling tomatoes mean less flavor and less nutrients.
Next, look for organic. Tomatoes are fairly dirty and I haven’t met a conventional tomato that tastes…like anything.
Finally, if you’ve got both local and organic taken care of, check for heirloom! Heirloom tomatoes may look ugly, but they are big, fat flavor bombs. [I used local, organic tomatoes here. The heirlooms were from California]
Get in the kitchen
Don’t worry about all the chopping in this recipe. Everything is gonna go into the blender, so it doesn’t have to be perfect. Just get it in the pot.
Keep your coconut milk cans in the fridge so that the coconut cream rises to the top and solidifies. It’ll be easy to scrape out the cream to add it to the dish. But…
Don’t throw away the watery stuff at the bottom of the can! This is [sort of] free coconut milk that is smoothie ready.
Author: Megan Hansen, RDN, LD
Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 30 mins | Total time: 50 mins
Serves: 4-6
Super rich and creamy tomato soup in under an hour. 8 ingredients. Simple.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 large sweet onion or 2 small, roughly chopped
2 carrots, chopped in large chunks
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2.5 lbs tomatoes ,chopped [5 huge heirloom tomatoes or 10 on the vine tomatoes. I used 10!]
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3 cups stock [beef, chicken or veg]
3/4 cup coconut cream
1/2 Tbsp salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
Start by chopping the onion, carrot and garlic.
Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add the coconut oil and let it melt.
Add the chopped onion, carrot and garlic. Let the onions get really soft by sautéing for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, chop the tomatoes.
Add tomatoes, paste and stock to the pot. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, cover and cook on low for at least 30 minutes.
Let the soup cool enough to handle it, then transfer to a blender to blend. A food mill or immersion blender would work too. Add the soup back the pot.
Stir in the coconut cream.
Top with more cream, cilantro, basil or crushed plantain chips.
Serving size: 1 cup
Calories: 200, Fat: 13, Carbohydrates: 19, Fiber: 5, Protein: 4
Notes: Feeling super lazy? Use 40 oz of canned tomatoes instead of fresh! Grass-fed half and half instead of coconut cream would work beautifully. Add protein to make it a balanced meal. A big salad with hard boiled eggs or grilled salmon would be perfect.
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