Low-Calorie and Luscious Pumpkin Soup (All Treat, No Trick!)

Light and Tasty Pumpkin Soup

Many of you who know me know that I have a perpetual craving for pumpkin.  In fact, you could safely say that pumpkin is one of my secret weapons in keeping my weight from blooming to the size of….well, one of those ginormous pumpkins that make the news every Halloween!  If not for pumpkin, in all its versatile, low-calorie divinity, I’m quite sure I’d find myself satisfying my hankering for, say, cookies and cake far more often than even my coal-burning metabolism could keep up.  But with pumpkin in my scope, I can have my treat and eat it too, and know that on top of it, I’m actually giving myself a healthy dose of nutrition!  A winning arrangement all around.  The only challenge for me is to try to at least confine most of my pumpkin-eating to the fall (haven’t totally mastered that one yet).

So needless to say, I have explored just about every possible use for that humble can of pumpkin (and it’s sassy seasonal cousin, pumpkin butter).  The results are surprisingly diverse:  light pumpkin mousse, guilt-free pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin in my oatmeal, peanut butter and pumpkin butter sandwiches (does that make it a “PB&PB”?), harvest stew made with equal parts pumpkin and crushed tomatoes, pumpkin smoothies, low-fat pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin/applesauce, fat-free pumpkin cream cheese, pumpkin yogurt, pumpkin cottage cheese, high-protein pumpkin pancakes….and on and on.

But the world of pumpkin would not be complete if not for that seasonal favorite, creamy, steamy pumpkin soup!  And as with so many other pumpkin recipes, it’s quite easy to keep it on the light and healthy side, just by choosing certain ingredients and adjusting the amounts of others.  And while I have a collection of several pumpkin soup recipes that I enjoy preparing, the following recipe is the one I turn to most often.  And with less than 200 calories in each heaping bowl, you can enjoy a delicious and filling meal and not put a dent in your diet, allowing the option to have a nice hot baguette or hearty whole-grain bread on the side, and not an iota of guilt!

Evamarie’s Low-Calorie, Luscious Pumpkin Soup

1 can pumpkin
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow or sweet onion, finely chopped
2-1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1-1/2 cups 2% milk
1 small yellow squash, grated
1 small carrot, peeled and grated
1-1/2 ounces grated parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp. of grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add the grated yellow squash and carrot and the second tablespoon of the olive oil; stir well and cook for another 5-10 minutes to soften the carrot and yellow squash. Add the canned pumpkin and the broth and mix well. Cook until heated through, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat and add the milk and the nutmeg, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Increase heat and bring to a boil, then simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Serve at once with nutmeg sprinkled on top.

Mmmmmm.

Enjoy!