Clean Eating Cream of Carrot Soup

After a weekend full of Superbowl festivities and food, I have been anxious to get back on track with healthy eating. I honestly can feel the difference in how I feel and function when I'm eating cleaner than when I am eating processed, junky food. I actually had a stomach ache from all the appetizers this past weekend. Funny enough, I used to be able to eat greasy, rich food with no real problem. Interesting how your body adapts. Anywho, that's enough of my back-story. I decided to make a clean cream of carrot soup for dinner tonight since it's so miserable outside--rainy weather is like snow to Californians. I just had a bowl and it was so warm and satisfying! I decided to post the recipe right after I ate since the cream of broccoli soup I made in the beginning of January seemed to be well received by many people. I had some inspiration from the cream of broccoli soup in terms of ingredients and measurements.

Ingredients
Serves 4-6
- 5 cups of baby carrots
- 4 cups of low sodium organic chicken broth (I use water and Better Than Bouillon Organic Chicken Base)
- 3 cups almond milk (can use soy or non-fat skim milk instead, I personally like the nutty flavor with carrots)
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/4 of a medium yellow onion, chopped finely
- 2 tbsp grapeseed oil (or olive oil)
- 1 tbsp agave nectar (optional based on how sweet your carrots are, some are more bitter than others)
- salt and pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp allspice (yes, believe it or not, allspice makes this soup very flavorful) 

Preparation
1. Boil your carrots in a large stock pot until the carrots are soft enough to mash with a fork. Turn heat down to medium. (This usually takes me about 20 minutes or so.)
2. Strain carrots and set aside.
3. Heat 2 tbsp of grapeseed oil in same pot and add the chopped onion and garlic. Caramelize the onion with the garlic until the onion is transparent.
4. Next add the chicken broth to this same pot and bring to a simmer.
5. Add the 3 cups milk and stir.
6. Add in the carrots to the broth.
7. If you have an immersion blender, use it to puree the soup. (I love mine--Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender with Whisk and Chopper Attachments) Otherwise, you can pour the soup into a blender and puree — be careful, as the soup is very hot.
Note: I prefer a smooth and creamy consistency so I puree my soup for a good 30 seconds to 1 minute, mixing the soup around with the immersion blender in a circular motion. If you prefer a more chunky soup you can puree by using short pulses.
8. Add cayenne, paprika, and allspice. Mix well.
9. Salt and pepper as desired.
10. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!  

Clean Eating Cream of Broccoli Soup

It's been particularly cold here in my part of California these past couple of days. Yes, yes--insert rolling of eyes here for all your Midwest and East Coast people who have to deal with the snow. Since it's been cold and I happen to have a lot of broccoli on hand (Costco saves you money but also makes you work for it! Cooking up a storm in order to not waste my bulk veggies.) I decided to look for a recipe for "clean" cream of broccoli soup. I found a couple recipes that I liked, but none of them were quite what I was looking for. So alas, I decided to make a hybrid recipe drawing inspiration from here, here, here and here. This is what I came up with. It was delish! I typically cook for only 2 people so this was the perfect amount for me and my boyfriend--bowls filled up about 3/4 of the way full. If you are cooking for a family you might need to double the recipe. It was really hearty so we didn't eat anything else with it--I'm sure a nice piece of sourdough or toasted bread would be great to sop up the last bits of soup.

Ingredients

- 1 (12-oz) bag broccoli florets, or 4 cups broccoli, finely chopped (I used my electric chopper for this)*

- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (chopper again)*

- 1 medium sized red potato, finely minced (chopper again)*

- 1/2 cup of finely minced brown button mushrooms (chopper again)*

- 2 tbsp grapeseed oil, separated

- 2 cups organic chicken broth (you can use canned or you can use a concentrate base and add water, see here, I happened to buy mine from Costco)

- 2 tbsp butter

- 2 tbsp whole wheat flour

- 1/2 cup almond milk

- Salt and pepper to taste

- Shredded cheese as garnish (optional)

*Note: If you don't have an electric chopper--get one! Haha. No really, it comes in very handy. I got mine on Amazon -- Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender with Whisk and Chopper Attachments. But if you don't have one when prepping this meal, you can finely chop by hand and it won't be a big problem. You'll eventually need to puree the soup.

Preparation

Chop your veggies. Heat 2 tbsp of grapeseed oil in a dutch oven or large pot and add the chopped onion. Next add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add in the broccoli, red potato and mushrooms to the broth. Heat up a small frying pan and add the last 1 tbsp of grapeseed oil. Heat it and add 2 tbsp of whole wheat flour while stirring constantly. Slowly add the 1/2 cup of almond milk to the oil/flour mixture while whisking thoroughly. I've found a whisk works particularly well. It will be clumpy at first but as the milk heats it will become smooth. Slowly add this milk mixture to the simmering veggies and chicken broth while stirring constantly. Turn down the heat to low and stir soup until mixed thoroughly. If you have an immersion blender, use it to puree the soup. (I love mine--Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender with Whisk and Chopper Attachments ) Otherwise, you can pour the soup into a blender and puree — be careful, as the soup is very hot. I prefer a smooth and creamy consistency so I puree my soup for a good 30 seconds to 1 minute, mixing the soup around with the immersion blender in a circular motion. If you prefer a more chunky soup you can puree by using short pulses. Add salt and pepper asdesired. Garnish with cheese and serveimmediately. 

Enjoy!