Here are a couple of my favorites. Both could be made with ground turkey or chicken.

Vegetable Burger Soup
makes 10-12 servings

1 lb. ground beef or pre-cooked frozen ground beef
2 lbs. can stewed or diced tomatoes
1 1 lb. can tomato sauce
4 cups water
2 10 oz. pkgs mixed frozen vegetables (carrots, peas,
corn, green beans)
1 envelope dry onion soup
2 t. sugar - white or brown

Brown beef and drain off fat if using fresh. Thaw beef
if using frozen precooked. Add rest of ingredients to
soup pot or slow cooker. Bring to a boil, lower heat
and simmer one hour if in pot on stove. Cook on low
for 8 hours if in crock pot.

I add diced cooked potato cubes to this after thawing the soup and before heating. Sometimes cooked potatoes become soft with freezing.

You can use diced fresh onion if the onion soup is too salty.

Taco Soup

I used less meat and it was great; subbed some bulk sausage for some of the ground beef. I did not include the can of hominy. You could use no salt versions of the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Not sure what you could sub for the Ranch Dressing or taco mix. Maybe garlic and parsley for the Ranch and chili powder for the taco?

2 pounds ground round
1 large onion, diced
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch original dry mix salad dressing
1 can kidney beans (with liquid)
1 can pinto beans with jalapeños (with liquid)
1 can yellow hominy
1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies (Rotel)
2 cans stewed tomatoes (I use Mexican stewed tomatoes)
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup of water

Cook beef and onion until beef is browned, drain excess grease. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.

Any time you add Ranch flavoring or canned anything, particularly tomatoes you are adding a lot of sodium.
I woudl start by making a wonderful rich chicken broth, using chicken wings, feet if you can get them.
Cover with water, add a cut up onion,some garlic cloves,a couple of carrots, some celery, lots of parsley, 1/2 a lemon, some pepper corns and simmer all day. Cool and strain.
Then use tht very flavorful broth as a base for other soups.
Cook some chicken breasts and carrots,celery and onions in it....add some noodles and you have chicken soup.
You can use it as a base for spinch soup....or cook some sliced mushrooms and brown rice in it.
Or make a chicken minestrone by adding raw beans and lots more veggies, including fresh tomato and oregano, garlic and basil.
Stay away from canned ingredients as they will have salt added......and fresh tastes better!
Remember that lemon, herbs and a bit of wine can add flavor without adding salt.
Linda C

Even I can get salt-free/low-sodium canned tomatoes down here. Just look for that option with any canned goods.

This one should freeze OK except for the baked tortilla strips:
CHICKEN CHILI SOUP
2 TBL olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 oz canned green chilis
15 oz can crushed tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth (also available in low-salt)
1 tsp lemon pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp hot sauce, optional
4 TBL flour
1/2 cup water
1 lb chicken, cooked & diced
Tortillas
Sour cream or low-fat sour cream for garnish

Saute the onions in the oil. Add the green chilis, tomatoes, broth, pepper, Worcestershire, chili powder, cumin & hot sauce if using. In a separate bowl, mix the flour & water then whisk the mixture into the soup & bring it to a boil. Keep stirring. After it thickens a bit, add the chicken pieces. Simmer 20 minutes & serve. Garnish with a dap of low fat sour cream on each bowl of soup. Cut tortillas into strips & bake the strips in a 350° oven for 8-10 minutes to make them crispy. Put in the bowls & serve w/soup.~~

There are a lot of wonderful low sodium products you can use to make homemade soups, but you have to be diligent about reading labels. Just because something says it's lower in sodium does NOT mean it's low enough for a person following a sodium restricted regimen. I've been dealing with low sodium cooking for over three years now, ever since my husband was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.

I can tell you from experience that you'll need to punch up flavor with other ingredients if you don't use salt. Bean soups, noodle soups & potato based soups can be difficult because they taste so bland without salt. It would be worth it to invest in salt free spice blends that your MIL can sprinkle on foods if she feels she needs some extra oomph. Flavored vinegars and lemon juice can also brighten dull dishes.

I've been tracking my low salt adventures on my blog for about a year. You might enjoy reading about the various truly useful products I've discovered on my journey. Also, my blog has links to a couple of really good web sites that offer lots of advice and recipes for people following a low salt diet. And there are links to online sources of wonderful low sodium products.

Good luck. Cooking tasty low salt dishes is not as easy as it sounds. The low salt part is a snap, but the tasty part is a real challenge.

Here is a link that might be useful: Please DON'T Pass the Salt!

Thanks for getting me started on the soups. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to post these recipes.

shambo.... thanks for reminding me that I need to focus on ramping up the taste factor. I'll certainly check out your blog and the link that you provided. I need any help that I can get! My mother-in-law doesn't yet understand the concept of "no-salt". In her mind the one can of soup that she ate caused all the problems.... so she's determined not to eat any more canned soup. Oh well.... baby steps!!

Thanks a million.....

starlightfarm:

There's some good advice here.

Make your own chicken broth (or vegetable broth), stay away from cans as much as possible (or read the labels), use fresh tomatoes instead of canned, etc.

I have a collection of about 60 low-sodium soup recipes. I don't think I should post them all here. I just went through them and blew off those that I don't think freeze well. If you'd like this file, e-mail me: thegardenguru@yahoo.com. It's free and this is not spam.

Joe

Well... just an update....

I prepared a Tomato Basil soup that I got from gardenguru.... and she LOVED it! I knew that she loved Tomato Soup and was very sad at the thought of not eating it any more.

Also... ginger st thomas' Chicken Chili Soup was a bit hit. She loves spicy things, so I'm sure she'll be requesting this one again.

I have many more that are on the list to cook. Right now I have her stocked up with the two mentioned. But I'm now prepared with a handful of low-salt recipes for her... thanks to you guys.

gardenguru.... thanks a million for all the recipes that you e-mailed!

Glad she liked them. Thanks for letting us know.

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

16 oz pkg green split peas
any leftover ham you may have, or skip the ham
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 c chpd onion
2 ribs celery plus leaves, chpd
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 t parsley flakes
1 t seasoned salt (or to taste)
1/2 t pepper
2 quarts of water

Layer as given, do not stir. Cook on high 4-5 hrs or low for 8-10 hrs. Remove bay leaf.

This is very delicious and so easy. I have used some chicken broth in place of water. Freezes really well.

Also....be aware of chicken that has added "solution"...that ramps up the sodium by a bunch.