Taco Soup

I thought I would share my Low-Sodium Taco Soup. When you limit salt, you have to increase the flavor profiles of your other ingredients. This is done easily by adding spice. Taco Soup is a perfect example of trading spice for salt. 

Ingredients:
1 1b. hamburger meat 
1 jar of home-canned no sodium tomatoes (I will show you how to do this in another post)
1 14.5 oz can of stewed tomatoes
1 bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1/2 white onion, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 packets of low-sodium taco seasoning (found in the Mexican aisle)
2 TBSPs of Cumin--more if you like it!
2 TBSPs of tomato paste
pinch of red pepper flakes
pinch of black pepper
About 30 oz of water (just fill up the tomato can twice with water)
3 TBSPs olive oil
Green Chile split down the middle with seeds removed (optional)

Toppings:
sour cream--aim for 1 Tablespoon per person
sharp cheddar cheese--about 1/8 cup per person
Tortilla chips---about 7 per person
Green Onions

**The key to all of this is to make sure you pick the product with the least amount of sodium as possible. For example, I found a can of stewed tomatoes with 270 mg of sodium per 6 servings and one with 370 mg. I obviously went with the 270 mg can. Also, I shopped around to find a tomato paste tube with 65 mg of sodium per Tablespoon. You may find one lower. 

Also, the more you can do at home, the better. I had some tomatoes I canned that had no salt, whatsoever. By doing it myself, I skipped the salt. That helps tremendously, since I use these tomatoes for the base of several soups, spaghetti, and chili. 

Directions:
Pour the home-canned tomatoes and stewed tomatoes into a large stockpot. Once the can of tomatoes is empty, fill it up with water and pour it in to the pot. Repeat this step---you want to add two full cans of the water. Turn to Med-High and let it bubble. Once bubbling, add one and one half packets of taco seasoning, cumin, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. 

***To make it extra spicy, add a green chile to the stock pot when you add the tomatoes. It will simmer in the soup and ooze a great flavor. This is optional of course! It is also good without it. 

In a skillet, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and turn on a Med-High heat. Sauté the bell pepper and onion until they are translucent and soft. Add them to the stock pot. 

Put the skillet back on the burner and add the final tablespoon of olive oil. Then add the hamburger meat and cook until the meat has browned. You can crumble the meat as much as you like during this stage. If you like chunky soups, don't break the meat up as much while you cook it. 

Drain the meat and add it to the pot. Next, drop in the tomato paste. Stir all of the ingredients until they are well combined. Let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes until all of the flavors "marry."

To serve, ladle in bowls and top with Tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, and green onions to taste. To keep this low-sodium you need to monitor your toppings carefully. The above amounts listed in ingredients help keep this low. If you go over this amount, adjust your sodium intake, accordingly. 

Makes 8 1/2 cup servings at just under 500 mg of sodium per serving.