I created my second soup using some tomato powder I purchased on-line not long ago. I was curious what it would taste like. I don’t know how other brands compare, but the Mother Earth I bought has a very nice taste. Haven’t tried it in anything else yet. I think it would make a nice cream of tomato soup, or additive to season grilled pork, shrimp or salmon. I’m having fun playing with it, at any rate. I am extremely limited on pork intake on my CKD regimen, so I now use chicken Italian sausage exclusively. I also prick mine and soak in water first, then drain (& pat dry), to remove some of the sodium, as that is also limited for me now. Can’t really taste any difference myself, but feel free to use regular pork-based links if you try this soup for your family. Bear in mind you will need to recalculate the recipe with any meat substitution.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

Today’s adventure came out quite tasty and somewhat Mediterranean in flavor, in my opinion. Next time I’ll add a wee bit of kale but didn’t have any on hand yesterday. My husband ate the remainders for supper when he got home from Austin and also liked this soup.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. light olive oil

6 oz. chicken Italian sausage, sliced thin

2 oz. sweet onion 2 oz. red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

32 oz. carton chicken stock (low-sodium)

1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained & rinsed

¼ cup parsley, chopped

1 cup zucchini, coarsely chopped

1 T. tomato powder (or small can of sauce)

2 tsp. smoked paprika (or regular)

¼ tsp. sea salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

DIRECTIONS: Heat olive oil in 4 qt. soup pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage and brown slightly, stirring to get all sides slightly browned. Add onion, red pepper and sauté until they are just tender. Add the chicken stock and all remaining ingredients. Bring to a full boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes and serve with a plan suitable bread.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings (approx. 1½ cups), each containing:

232 Cals, 17g NET CARBS, 20g fat, 52g protein, 263mg phosphorus, 917mg potassium, 484mg sodium