Recipe for heart healthy Tomato Bisque

Below is my recipe for Tomato Bisque that I created for the American Heart Association and was printed in the Suburban Journal. The link takes you to the full article but below are the first two paragraphs. When it comes time to make this recipe, consider your personal health situation and feel free to modify the cream and broth salt levels. A little more of both really makes this baby POP! Remember, everything in moderation.

http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2006/11/28/life_and_style/cooking/heart-y_bites/doc456390d491da5372275535.txt

HEART-Y Bites: Savory tomato connects to summer flavors

By Stanley Crocker Tuesday, November 28, 2006 9:15 PM CST

TOMATO BISQUE

This is the time to look for new sources of warmth, but there is no reason to leave all the perks of summer behind.A tasty and nutritious reminder is canned tomatoes – especially when they are fire-roasted and part of hearty and delicious bisque. Their smoky flavor adds a warm smolder just right for leaf raking or a day on the Katy Trail.Tomatoes are technically a fruit, because they develop from the ovary in the base of a flower. Using them in savory dishes lets them work under cover of a vegetable year-round. Regardless of their alias, tomatoes are a tasty addition to a healthy lifestyle.

In processing, some fruits and vegetables can lose nutrients, but not canned tomatoes. They retain most of them, including lycopene, an antioxidant that may reduce risk of some cancers. Lycopene also gives tomatoes their brilliant red color.The tomato doesn’t stop there. One tomato provides a boost of vitamins A and C and potassium.The tomato is starting to look more like a fruit all the time.Many of the soups enjoyed today, particularly canned ones, are loaded with salt. Moderation of salt is important for those concerned with high blood pressure or kidney disease, but everyone should monitor its intake, because it is so pervasive in purchased food.Current dietary guidelines recommend limiting daily intake of sodium to 2,400 milligrams per day. Most people can achieve this by limiting processed foods and focusing on whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables.One serving of this lower-sodium soup leaves room for some more in other foods throughout the day. Paired with a fresh green salad and crusty bread, it makes a hearty and healthy meal.