San Francisco and Low Fat Clam Chowder

Last weekend we went to San Francisco! Andrew and I had been, but not together, and Hannah had never been. It was a lot of fun to explore the city together.
Other than Alcatraz, redwood trees and Fisherman’s wharf, it was all about eating, Eating and walking. And more walking. I don’t know if you have ever explored San Francisco on foot, but no matter which way you turn, you are walking up a hill. And they are some really steep hills. It was a good thing that we were walking so much to counterbalance the eating we were doing. (Hopefully you can get perspective in this picture- we started walking way back down at the bottom of this hill...)


Many a bread bowl of clam chowder was enjoyed. I normally don’t eat clam chowder often, as the reason it is so creamy and delicious is heavy cream. And eating a bowl of cream is the caloric equivalent of eating a stick of butter. This is all ok if you are going to walk up hills for 7 hours straight, but not so much on a regular day.



So I set out to find a lower fat version of clam chowder. I found something online and altered it a smidge. Andrew and I agree that, although it loses some of the thickness due to not having cream in it, the flavors are really delicious. The starch from the potatoes thickens it and the fat free half and half gives it some creaminess. Let me know what you think.

Low Fat Clam Chowder



Ingredients
• 1 bottle clam juice
• 3 cups water
• 4 large red-skinned potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 slices lean center-cut bacon, chopped
• 2 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup fat-free half-and-half
• 4 cans chopped clams
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Directions
Combine clam juice in water in a medium pot. Add the potatoes, cover and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove half of the potatoes. Continue to cook the remaining potatoes, covered, until soft, about 10 more minutes. Puree in batches in a blender until smooth. Return the soup to the pot.
Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and bay leaves and cook, stirring, about 3 more minutes. Add the bacon mixture and reserved potatoes to the soup. Cover and cook over low heat, about 5 minutes.
Stir the clam meat and half-and-half into the soup; remove from the heat, cover and set aside, 20 to 30 minutes.
Discard the bay leaves. Season the soup with salt and pepper and reheat. Serve topped with parsley.
Makes 6 servings: about 350 calories