Tomato Meatball Soup

(As per usual, this recipe was created from what I had on hand, as with most cooking please don’t despair if your fridge or pantry is missing something in the ingredient list – don’t be afraid to adapt and substitute with something else, go ahead I dare you!)

1-2 Tbsp Coconut oil (or olive oil or butter)

1 small onion - chopped

1-2 large carrots - chopped

1-2 ribs of celery – chopped

1 can (6 cups) tomato juice – or your favorite V8, or tomato type juice

2 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 lb lean ground chicken

2 cloves of garlic – pressed or finely chopped

1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped

black pepper

1 rounded tsp oregano (use fresh if available)

1 large sweet potato peeled and chopped

2-3 bay leaves

• In a large pot melt your oil of choice (preferably one of the ones listed above)
• Add the onion, carrots and celery
• Cook until translucent (approx 10 minutes)
• Add your tomato juice and broth
• Mix with a hand blender or put through a regular blender at this point
• Add back to the pot
• Let simmer on medium/low heat

 To create your meatballs:

• Mix chicken, garlic, ginger, pepper and oregano
• Roll into bite size (small) balls
• Drop one by one into the pot of soup

•  Add sweet potato (if you would prefer you can cook this with the carrots/onions/celery and puree in the blender before adding the meatballs)
• Add bay leaves
•  Let cook 20 minutes
• Remove bay leaves before eating

 As with most soups, this is probably best left to sit (in the fridge) until the next day to let the flavours mingle.

Notes – when using canned or boxed products be sure to scrutinize the label. You may think you are doing yourself a favour by using “broth” however many (including Campbell’s) has added sugar and that is not what you are looking for. I tend to use Pacific Foods Organic Vegetable Broth (I often find it at Vince’s).

Also when using canned tomato juice be sure to read and compare the labels. Watch the sodium content and look for added sugars.

Feel free to season to your taste, I'd prefer it spiced up, however not everyone in my household would agree, therefore I've left this fairly low on the spices. 

The ginger adds a different flavor to the meatballs, I used it here simply because I seem to be on a garlic/ginger kick these days. They would be great spiced with cumin and chili powder, could easily turn this into a "taco" style soup, do with it what you wish!

Happy Cooking!