
Once again, we’re nearing sweater-shedding season and those holiday pounds are coming home to roost. But weight-loss doesn’t have to be painful. Starting a meal with a bowl of soup takes the edge off hunger, keeping you from inhaling two helpings of the main course. And, of course, soup can become a main course.
This low-cal CAULIFLOWER SOUP recipe is full of flavor and fills you up enough to leave the table sated. It’s, also, very quick and easy to make.
CAULIFLOWER SOUP – makes about 5½ cups
- 6 T butter, divided
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1 cup onions, chopped
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1 head cauliflower
- 4½ cups water
- 1/2 tsp sherry vinegar
- 3 T chives, chopped
- 1 T lemon juice
In a 4 quart or more sized pot, melt 3 T butter over medium heat. Add in the shallot, onions, and salt. Sauté until onions are soft, but not brown – about 7 minutes.
Cut out stem core from cauliflower. Remove and discard the outside area – you’ll see a difference in color – then slice up the remaining core.
Cut the head into 1/2″ slabs.
Remove 1 cup of cauliflower florets and cut into about 1/2″ pieces – these will become garnish. Set them aside.
Put half of the slabs and all of the core pieces into the pot with the onions. Add in the water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add in the rest of the cauliflower, bring to boil, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and cook another 15 minutes, uncovered.
While the soup is cooking, prepare the garnish: Into a small skillet, melt the remaining 3 T butter. Add in the garnish cauliflower pieces and sauté over medium/high until golden brown – about 7-9 minutes.
With slotted spoon remove cauliflower bits to a small bowl. Stir in the sherry vinegar and a pinch of salt. Save the butter in the skillet – that will be garnish, too.
Once the soup has cooked, pour it into a blender and purée. You may need to do this in batches if you don’t have a large blender. The soup is hot, so don’t overfill the pitcher. Start blending at a very slow speed, working your way up, so it doesn’t splatter. Clean out pot and add the pureed soup. Stir in the lemon juice. Taste for seasoning – I add at least a tsp of salt and some ground pepper.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls, add in some cauliflower pieces, sprinkle on chives, and drizzle with a little butter from the skillet. (If you want to cut down on calories, don’t do the butter drizzle.)
One of my family’s favorite soups is HOT & SOUR. Not only does it have an appealing kick, but I love that you can eat a lot of it with almost no calories. Yay! When I start my meal with a big bowl, it takes the edge off my hunger so I don’t inhale half a dozen eggrolls.
Cut bamboo shoots in half widthwise, then into slivers lengthwise.
Press out excess liquid from tofu, then cut into 1/2″ cubes.
Bring vegetable stock to a boil. Add in mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Simmer for 5 minutes.
In a small bowl stir together 3 T cornstarch and 3 T water.
Stirring stock, pour in slurry (cornstarch/water mix). Add in tofu, white pepper, tomato paste, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, and scallions.
Simmer 5-10 minutes. In a small bowl whisk together the egg, 1/2 tsp cornstarch, and 1 tsp water. Turn off heat. VERY SLOWLY drizzle in the egg in a thin stream, going in all directions.
Turn the heat on again and whisk gently to break up egg strands. Serve.
It’s autumn – that time of year when the days get shorter, the air a little brisker, and the markets display all kinds and colors of winter squash. While, of course, we appreciate them for their beauty – and sometimes cuteness – they’re actually edible, delicious, and filled with nutrients and fiber.
Add in the seeds and fibers. Sauté another 4 minutes on medium.
Add in the water and salt, bringing to a boil.
While liquid is heating, slice the squash (unpeeled) into chunks. Place them cut side down on a steamer basket.
When the liquid has come to a boil, drop in the steamer basket and cover. Decrease flame to maintain a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove basket from liquid, letting squash cool enough to handle.
Once squash is cooled, scrap squash from its peel, discarding peel. Put squash into a blender and add enough of the liquid to purèe squash. (Depending on the size of your blender, you may have to do this in batches.)
Empty purèe into the now-empty stockpot. Add in brown sugar and cream. Heat over medium to just before boiling. Taste for seasoning.

Summer’s here and sometimes I just don’t feel like cooking….but I want a homemade meal. Gazpacho is the answer! It takes only a few minutes to prepare, NO COOKING, extremely low in calories, and it uses ingredients that are fresh from the garden (or farmer’s market).
With the weather heating up and bulky clothes coming off, I’m always looking for ways to appease my hunger but shred the pounds. Soups are generally my go-to diet food since they fill you up without a lot of calories. But hot soup in hot weather doesn’t really appeal to me, so I look to chilled soups.
In my ongoing attempt to post bathing-suit friendly recipes, I decided to turn to RED LENTIL SOUP. Enjoy it either as a meal unto itself, or as a starter to curb your appetite before the higher-caloric main course.


