400 calorie: Panera Bread Fake out! Creamy Tomato Basil Soup & Citrus Greek Salad

I love me some Panera Bread! It's fresh. It's clean. It's healthy...   

Believe it or not, just ordering a soup and a salad can be more sodium and calories than ordering at a McDrive Thru. For example, my favorite combo at Panera is the Thai Chicken Salad and French Onion Soup... that is... until I started paying attention to my gut. Sure, your lunch will stay under 600 calories, which isn't bad, but the sodium was off the charts- and so was my bloating. The following soup and salad recipe is superdeedooper simple to recreate, low in sodium, around 400 calories, and a pretty damn close replica of Panera Bread's tomato basil soup (minus the asiago croutons and baguette). I dare say that this version is even tastier. The salad's all me: Panera WISHES they had a salad this tasty. 

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Serves 4 
15minutes 

1 10oz (big can) crushed tomatos
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup Chicken or Vegetable stock - I really, really love this one: Better than Bouillon organic Vegetable Stock Base: it's a little pricey, but it lasts forever and it is DELICIOUS! Just prepare per package directions.
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2tsp onion powder
1/2 small carton (8oz) of heavy whipping cream
1-2 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp fresh cracked pepper 
5 Fresh basil leaves, chopped or chiffonade 
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese  

In a medium sauce pot, on medium heat, add olive oil and garlic. Saute but do not burn the garlic. BLECH! Add the can of tomatoes, basil, S&P, onion powder and stock. Let that simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cream and the parmesan. Let that simmer for another 3-5 minutes. Do a salt and pepper check before you serve. TASTE TEST! (Please taste your food and alter it to YOUR tastebuds. Not mine) Garnish with extra basil and/or cracked pepper.   

Side Greek Citrus Salad
1 handful Romaine lettuce- washed & chopped 
1 tbsp Feta Cheese
1/4 cup red peppers- chopped
1 Orange, prepared 
1/4 cup Carrots- chopped 
Edamame- 1/4 cup beans
Cracked Pepper
*Peperoncinis and Kalamata Olives are optional- I just didn't have any or I would have TOTALLY included them. Womp!  

Sweet Raspberry Vinaigrette: 

1 tsp Original Mrs. Dash
1 tsp Salt
1 package artificial sweetener 
2 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar
*1 tbsp raspberry preserves- if you don't have this, no big whoop. Omitting this won't ruin a thing. 

Combine everything, toss, add cracked pepper on top. BAM! 

Jarred: Peaches! Chutney and BBQ Sauce

Millions of peaches... 
Peaches for me. 

My friend's father has a small farm in Ohio. This year his peach tree EXPLODED with peaches... among other things. They gave me a bunch! Actually, the pic to the left is my second crate-o-peaches from his tree- 

Not to mention the other LOADS they have harvested for themselves, other friends and family. It came from only ONE tree, too. WHOA! 


I decided to make an s-ton of peach related, jarred happiness. If you are new to jarring, take a quick look at this, first: Jarring 101: On the Cheap before taking on the process. If not, the recipes below can be modified for smaller batches. 




Curried Peach CHUTNEY! 

Yields 4-5 half pint jars. Why so small? Chutney is one of those once-in-a-while condiments. It also packs a sweet and spicy punch with very little effort- hence the small jar. 
Prep time: 20minutes   Cook time: 2hrs.

12-15 small-medium sized FRESH peaches, skinned and pitted (Blanch them for a minute to easily peel skin)

2tbsp olive oil

Orange peel from half and orange 

1 large HOT, RED banana pepper (for color)

1 jalepeño (the level of hot is up to you- seeds or no seeds?)

4 Scallions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, pressed

3-4 Sanaam Indian chiles 

3 Cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 cup Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar

2/3 cup cider vinegar

2tbsp sweet curry

2tsp tumeric

1tsp vanilla 

1 cup brown sugar

Salt and Pepper to taste ( I used at least 1+ tbsp sea salt) 

In a large stock pot, on medium heat, add your oil, scallions, pepper and sauteé. Add your brown sugar, cinnamon, curry, tumeric, vanilla, peel, pods, garlic and peaches. Let those cook together (flavors soaking into the peaches) for a few minutes before adding the vinegars, chiles and the jalepeño. Remove the orange peel! (It will be too orangey if you don't.) Stir it up nice, put it on a med-low setting and let the juices cook down to a thick consistency. Time to start a movie. This process will take 2 hours, at least. Funnel your thick, goupy, chutney into your über clean and sterilized jars and DONE! This will keep in the fridge for a week or so, if you have decided not to jar it. 

Habenero Peach BBQ Sauce:

Believe it or not, it ain't too hot... 

Yields 5 jars  Prep time: 30 minutes 

Cook time: 30-40minutes

12-15 peaches (peeled) Blanch them to peel with ease.

2 tsps butter

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large onion, diced

4 medium poblano peppers- roasted, skins removed, chopped

1 large hot banana pepper, chopped

4 garlic cloves

1 habanero pepper or 2 jalepeño peppers (Seeds in or out. The level of hot is up to you)  

1 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup dark molases

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2tsp marjoram

1 tbsp salt

Black pepper

1/4 tsp hickory flavoring

3/4 cup ketchup 

1 heaping tbsp of Stone Ground Mustard (Any heavy, gritty mustard will do, too) 

In a large pot on medium-high heat, add olive oil, butter, onions, marjoram, salt & pepper and sauté until light brown. Add peppers and sauté. Next add the brown sugar, stir together with the vinegar, garlic and peaches. Turn down the heat. After 20minutes of simmering, the batch of BBQ should start to thicken. Stir in the molases, hickory flavoring, ketchup and mustard. Let that simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Give your BBQ a "salt and pepper check"- add more if desired and prepare to jar up your sauce.    

Dig out your blender and blend the mixture in a few batches. One the mixture is well blended, return it to the pot. Do a final taste check and begin the jarring process, or... 

use it right away!! This sauce is BRILLIANT on ribs, chicken, etc. 

Check out my Peachy Pumpkin Spiced Ice cream