Kathy Manweiler: Creamy tomato & cheese, but lighter: Recipes slash fat content up to 81%

TOMATO SOUP and a grilled cheese sandwich make a popular meal, but its calorie count and fat content could surprise you.

OliveGarden.com's recipe for cream of tomato and basil soup contains 482 calories and 34 fat grams per cup, but I slim it down by using a mixture of tomato puree, mashed potato and half-and-half in place of two cups of heavy cream. I also substitute chicken broth for white wine.

My alterations to this soup cut the calories by 74 percent and slash the fat by 80 percent.

The "Taste of Home" cookbook's recipe for three-cheese grilled cheese has at least 703 calories and 59 fat grams per sandwich, but I lighten it up by choosing light wheat bread and reduced-fat cheeses. My version keeps the gooey texture but eliminates the butter. Those changes trim the calories by 66 percent and slice off 81 percent of the fat.

You can have one of my three-cheese grilled cheese sandwiches plus a cup of my cream of tomato and basil soup for 365 calories and 17.7 fat grams.

KATHY'S THREE-CHEESE GRILLED CHEESE

2 slices Sara Lee Delightful wheat bread

2 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese with chives and onion, softened

1/4 cup shredded, reduced-fat

Colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend

With both pieces of bread on a baking sheet, spread the cream cheese on one piece and sprinkle the shredded cheese blend over the cream cheese. Put the baking sheet under the oven's broiler until the cheese is melted and the other slice of bread is browned. Once the cheese is melted, put the sandwich together and flip it over to broil the other side. Serve this straight out of the oven with a cup of the cream of tomato and basil soup. Makes one sandwich.

Per sandwich: 240 calories, 11 fat grams, 515 mg sodium, 21 carb grams, 4 fiber grams, 17 protein grams, 33 mg cholesterol.

Adapted from the "Taste of Home" cookbook.

KATHY'S CREAM

OF TOMATO AND BASIL SOUP

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups chicken broth (low-sodium, if desired)

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 11-ounce can tomato puree

1/2 cup plain mashed potatoes

1 cup half-and-half

3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan. Add chicken broth and tomatoes and simmer until the mixture is reduced by half. Decrease heat and add tomato puree, mashed potatoes and half-and-half. Use an immersion blender or a food processor to puree the mixture until smooth. Stir in the chopped basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes 6 cups. Serves 6.

Per cup: 125 calories, 6.7 fat grams, 25 mg cholesterol, 335 mg sodium, 10 carb grams, 2 fiber grams, 1 protein gram.

Adapted from OliveGarden.com.

Do you have a favorite food or popular recipe that you'd like to see made healthier? Send your ideas and recipes, along with a daytime phone number, to Kathy Manweiler at

kmanweiler@wichitaeagle.com, or mail to: Don't Say Diet, McClatchy Newspapers, P.O. Box 820, Wichita, KS 67201.