Creamy Tomato Bisque

One of my favorite treats growing up was a bowl of creamy tomato soup that my Mom would serve with  gooey grilled cheese sandwiches. I have made a number of variations of this soup throughout the years that often included heavy cream, but I decided I wanted to rebuild the soup, creating a healthier version. My requirements were that the soup had to be thick and creamy without actually containing cream, and the soup also had to have a full, rich tomato flavor with lots of depth.

This recipe was adapted from one I found on the Eating Well website, and my family all loved it and were quite surprised it was a healthy version with no cream. I used my Vitamix blender which does an amazing job of blending just about anything creamy and smooth, but any blender or even a hand blender would work. To garnish the soup, I simply thinned a little fat-free Greek yogurt with milk, but a drizzle of basil pesto, or even a grilled slice of bread topped with melted reduced fat cheese would be delicious also.

• Tomatoes are a source of vitamin A, vitamin C, dietary fiber and a great source of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant.
• The soup is thickened with brown rice and silken tofu instead of cream, adding both fiber and protein to the soup.