lean, green cheesey soup tureen!

ok, i know i've been posting an awful lot of sweets lately.  can you blame me?  but i don't want to give the wrong impression.  i love veggies, too!  and there's plenty of reasons for you to love them, too.  here's just one:

creamy, cheesey broccoli soup with parsnips + spinach = last night's dinner!  this started out as a mission to clean out the fridge and ended up being a hit.  i'll definitely be including this in the regular dinner rotation from here on out.  what's great is despite it being really rich and cheesey tasting, no cheese was actually harmed in the making of this soup.  i ended up using nutritional yeast for this again (an ingredient which i'm kind of in love with) which loaded it with both flavor and healthy vitamins and nutrients without all the high calories and saturated fat of cheese.  as a matter of fact, i checked the estimated stats on my recipe and compared them to a lot of other typical broccoli cheddar soup write ups and man-oh-man....not only were my servings larger, but my calories were lower, my nutrition was through the roof, and the fat content was seriously 1/8 of the others...and those were the healthier ones!  now, while this soup definitely does have a really pleasant cheesey flavor, i can't guarantee it will taste exactly like cheddar, because let's face it, it's not made with it.  but on the other hand, neither are a lot of the commercial varieties...and they're chock full of bad-for-you stuff.  it's just a matter of what you'd like to put in your body.  i always try to veer towards something i can enjoy and feel good about enjoying.  give it a shot and see what you think!

creamy broccoli better than cheddar soup with parsnips and spinach

makes about 4 servings

• 1 medium head of broccoli with stalk, chopped
• 3-4 medium parsnips, chopped
• about 2 cups of fresh spinach
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 can broth (i used light chicken broth, but veggie would work, too)
• 1 7oz container of 2% or full fat greek yogurt (don't use fat free.  it separates when you cook it)
• 1 ts paprika (optional)
• 2 T garlic powder
• 1 ts dried basil
• 1 1/2 ts sea salt
• 4 T nutritional yeast
• 1 T dijon mustard

in a pot, heat a little olive oil on medium low heat.  throw in the onion and parsnips and cook until onion starts to turn translucent.  pour in your broth and turn heat up a bit to bring to a simmer.  add paprika, salt, basil, garlic powder, and broccoli.  make sure all the veggies are at least partially submerged, cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until parsnips are soft.  stir in spinach and simmer until wilted and dark.  ladle out all your veggies into your blender or food processor, leaving the liquid in the pot on low heat.  blend until smooth and creamy.  pour the pretty green porridge back into the pot and mix in yogurt, dijon mustard, and nutritional yeast.  adjust the spices to your taste.

we ate this with some cooked ground turkey meat, but it's also really yummy on it's own.  andouille sausage would be amazing on it or, for some veggie options, you could also add some smoked tofu or seitan.  top it with shredded carrots and walnuts for something different or throw in some chunks of roasted veggies and potatoes.  this soup is mild and classic enough to really go with a lot of different flavors.  play around with it!  i fully endorse kitchen tomfoolery and table antics.

alright, kids...i'm signing off for now.  but don't worry, i'll be back with more cakes tomorrow.  that's just how i roll: sweet and fluffy.  word.