{CLOSED} Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes: Delicious, Affordable, Vegetarian-Friendly Buffet {Review & Giveaway}

Once upon a time, in February of 2009, I made the decision to stop eating meat. Since Scott is not a vegetarian, that often means we have to compromise when dining out...myself moreso than him, since many restaurants are not necessarily vegetarian-friendly. Thankfully, Sweet Tomatoes (also called Souplantation in some areas) is one place we don't have to compromise!

I love dining at Sweet Tomatoes because it takes the worry out of choosing veggie-friendly foods. Ever go to a regular restaurant and try to find something vegetarian? A little secret I learned early on in my venture into vegetarianism is that most soups have a beef or chicken base...even soups you'd think are vegetarian, such as broccoli and cheese, french onion, and even straight vegetable soup. At Sweet Tomatoes, vegetarian items are clearly marked as such, so I never have to worry about finding meat in my food.

At $8.49/each (at our location), the price is most definitely affordable!

The abundance of vegetarian options is just amazing, and with their online nutrition guide, you can plan in advance to make smart choices. Here are some items I sampled on our recent visit to Sweet Tomatoes. Each one of these is meat-free and many are low-fat or fat free!

Cherry Balsamic Blue Tossed Salad, Green Chile Ranch Salad, Southern Dill Potato Salad (low-fat), and Aunt Doris' Red Pepper Slaw (fat free and vegan!) - with a side of beets (I <3 beets), vanilla nut coffee (YUM), and strawberry lemonade. Across the table you see Scott's caesar salad. NOT vegetarian -- caesar dressing has anchovies in it.

Santa Fe Black Bean Chili (low-fat - but with just a dab of sour cream, cheese, and chives) with Quattro Formaggio Foccacia

Blueberry muffin, Cherry muffin, and Cherry Nut Butter

My favorite DIY dessert -- chocolate brownie muffin (served warm) with low fat frozen yogurt!

Not pictured above (since the pan was empty when I went to the soup bar): Sweet Tomatoes has one of the best vegetable soups I've ever had! They call it Vegetable Medley. I recently got the recipe from the company and while it takes quite some time to make soup from scratch, it's pretty easy to make....and since it's so good, I want to share it with my wonderful readers!

Vegetable Medley
© Garden Fresh Restaurant Corporation

VEGETABLE STOCK:
11 ½ cups water                                                               In a pot, combine ingredients and bring to a boil.
2 ½ cups V8 juice                                                             Simmer for 90 minutes with a lid. Strain broth
1 cup ½” diced celery stalk                                            through cheesecloth.
½ cup ½” diced brown onion
5 peeled garlic cloves – finely diced
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons vegetarian base               
2 teaspoons table salt
½ teaspoon white pepper

SOUP RECIPE:
11 ½ cups vegetable stock                                           In a pot, combine ingredients and bring to a boil.
1 teaspoon canola oil                                                    Simmer for 10 minutes with a lid.
2 cups 2” long fry cut carrots
2 cups ½” cubed red potatoes
1 ½ cups ¼” sliced brown onions
1 ½ cups 2” long fry cut turnips
1 cup ¼” sliced celery
1 cup 1” sliced green beans
1 ½ cups cauliflower florets                                       Add ingredients to pot and simmer for 5 minutes
1 cup ¼” sliced green cabbage                                  with a lid.
2 cups 2” long fry cut zucchini                                   Add ingredients to pot and simmer for 5 minutes.
1 cup 2” long fry cut yellow squash                          Season to taste with salt and pepper.
1 cup corn
¾ cup peas
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme                                                         

Yields approximately 1 gallon.

And check out these nutrition facts! You get a whole lot of flavor for very few calories:
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 90
Calories Fat: 11%
Fat: 1g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 520mg
Total Carbohydrates: 14g
Fiber: 3g
Sugar: 2g
Protein: 2g

If the items I tried today don't sound appealing to you, here's some more information on Sweet Tomatoes vegetarian options:

Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes Vegetarian Specials
Throughout the year Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation restaurants offer guests more than 45 different vegetarian options, many of which are also vegan, along their 55-foot salad bar and among their soup, pasta, fruit and dessert stations. The all-you-care-to-eat buffet offers something for everyone and is a great opportunity to encourage not only kids, but everyone, to try new things, whether they’re an omnivore, vegetarian or vegan. Vegetarian and vegan offerings are marked throughout the restaurant and also highlighted within the nutritional guide, available inside the restaurant and online, so guests can check out the choices before even stepping foot in the restaurant. And with a featured rotating monthly menu, which always includes a vegetarian offering, there is something new and exciting to try each month. 

The current lineup of meat-free options is as follows (check with your location to find out for sure what's available):

June 17-28 Vegetarian Menu Offerings:

• Cherry Balsamic Blue with Toasted Walnuts Salad
• Southern Dill Potato Salad
• Aunt Doris Slaw (vegan)
• Sweet Tomatoes Onion Soup (vegan)
• Vegetable Medley Soup
• Curried Yellow Split Pea Soup
• Spicy Garlic Alfredo Pasta
• Mac & Cheese

Sweet Tomatoes/Souplantation also offers to-go options from the buffet, as well individual take-home desserts, such as as these delicious lemon sugar cookies (also vegetarian)!

You get 13 of these yummy cookies for just $1.99!

Want to find out if there is a Sweet Tomatoes or Souplantation near you? Check their locations and menus page to find a location near you, and see what good food they're serving!

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GIVEAWAY!

If you have a Sweet Tomatoes or Souplantation near you (you're so lucky!) and would like to go with a friend for FREE, you're in luck! One lucky reader of Angelica's Awesome Adventures will get TWO complimentary meal passes (does not include beverages). 

MANDATORY ENTRY (Must be done for any other entries to count):
Have you ever been to a Sweet Tomatoes or Souplantation restaurant?

EXTRA ENTRIES (Comment once for each unless it says otherwise): 

• Become a fan of Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes on Facebook
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• Join Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes Club Veg for promotions and coupons! (Enter email address in upper right corner.)
• Become a public follower of Angelica's Awesome Adventures on Google Friend Connect (check the right sidebar to do this)
• Subscribe to Angelica's Awesome Adventures by Email (Subscription must be confirmed to count)
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• Follow Angelica's Awesome Adventures on Twitter (@angelicasmommy) (Comment with your twitter username)
• Tweet the following (CAN BE DONE ONCE DAILY). Comment with a link to your tweet.
  
Delicious veg-friendly fare at Sweet Tomatoes/Souplantation - win FREE dining passes @angelicasmommy http://bit.ly/lNGvl6 Ends 7/8 #giveaway

• TWO BONUS ENTRIES: Add my button to your blog and send me a link to where it can be found.
• THREE BONUS ENTRIES: Blog about this contest with a link back to this giveaway and send me a link to your blog entry.
  

Please leave your email address in your comment or make sure it is visible in your profile!

Contest ends on JULY 8, 2011 AT 9 PM EST. Open to US Residents only and the prize cannot be mailed to a P.O. Box. Winner will be chosen by random.org and contacted via email. Winner must respond within 48 hours of the email being sent or another winner will be selected. (Please make sure you check your spam and junk folders frequently to make sure you don't miss out!)

Disclosure: I was not financially compensated for this review in any way. Sweet Tomatoes/Souplantation provided me with a review package through the their PR agency for the purposes of this review and will also handle prize fulfillment. Thanks to Sweet Tomatoes/Souplantation for providing the review package and giveaway prize! All content in this review is my opinion.