I just made a rustic cheesecake for the Thanksgiving dessert table. But did you see the calories in that thing?

Phew, I’m thankful that calories don’t count on Thanksgiving 😉

It’s so easy to go overboard on the Thanksgiving desserts. There’s a simple way to avoid this situation.

You can begin your meal by eating a broth-based soup!

Broth-based soups contain vegetables or meat that are cooked in stock. Examples include chicken noodle soup, wonton soup, and lentil soup. The liquid in these soups will fill make you feel fuller, without adding too many extra calories. It will seem like you don’t have enough room in your belly to go crazy with the sweets. Just make sure that there’s no cream or cheese in the soup you choose.

This holiday I decided to make a sweet potato and corn soup. It serves as a wonderful starter or appetizer for your Thanksgiving meal, and it takes almost no time to prepare.

You’ll be happy to find that it won’t pack on the pounds, either.

For the soup: 3 sweet potatoes (total of 2.5 to 3 lbs), 24 oz frozen corn, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 8 cups water, 2 tsp fresh thyme, 2 tsp fresh rosemary, 3 garlic cloves, 1 medium onion, 2 tsp black pepper, 1 1/2 tsp salt, more salt and pepper to taste as needed

**I used my slow cooker for this recipe. You can use your oven to achieve the same consistency, but I needed my oven for a cheesecake.

Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Cut them into small pieces. Add them to the slow cooker.

Dice the onions and mince the garlic. Put them in the slow cooker as well.

Add the corn, flour, and spices to the slow cooker.

Finally, pour the water on top of all of the ingredients.

Put your slow cooker on the “low” setting. Cook the soup for 7 hours. Stir the contents every hour or two, just to make sure that nothing sticks together.

The vegetables will be fully cooked once the seven hour timer has run out.

Let the soup cool for about 5 to 10 minutes. Give the soup a little taste, and add salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with parsley if desired.

This easy-to-prepare soup is perfect for Thanksgiving. You get a large portion with little calories, and your oven stays free for other holiday dishes.

Onto part 5…

Nutrition facts of one cup of Sweet Potato and Corn Soup based on the USDA Nutrient Database. Portion sizes are estimated.