So Long Soup Nazi – You’re Through

Why is it that thin people can eat whatever they want, and never seem to gain any weight?  Isn’t that the question that those of us who desire to be a tad thinner, really want answered?  I know I’ve pondered it many times.

So, awhile back, when I read somewhere that skinny people eat more soup, the light bulb went off in my head – and I proceeded to launch a journey that lead me to blend up pretty much every vegetable in my house.

My first forray into the soup making extravaganza that insued, was a cream style celery soup, which I made from a leftover bundle of celery and a few other ingredients from the pantry and fridge, that were left over from our holiday meal preparation.  My husband and I both love the flavor of celery, but honestly, I’d never had a cream style celery soup other than that familiar red and white canned version, from the soup isle of the grocery store.  And I dunno, somehow that canned version, to me, just left a little to be desired.

I figured, what do I have to lose?  We were going to just toss out the celery anyway, unless someone came up with a more creative solution for its use, so I grabbed the handful of basic soup ingredients needed, and my wand style blender, and went to town. The soup turned out great, and my husband raved over it, so it quickly became one of the staples of my soup making repertoire. (It also encouraged me so much, because of its ease of preparation, that I moved on to experiment with other soups as well.  To date, I’ve made mushroom, black beans, potato, corn, broccoli – you see where I’m headed with this – I’ve basically blended up every vegetable I’ve ever laid hands on.  Most, I’ve made into a similar cream style variation (because, to me, cream style soups appear heartier, and thus, psychologically, leave me feeling more satisfied). All of the soups I’ve tried were amazing, and perhaps just as importantly, they’ve actually worked in helping my husband and I achieve our stated goals of consuming a lighter diet and trimming down a bit.

It’s true that Spring is on it’s way, but we still have a number of days of cooler temperatures expected ahead, which means it’s not too late to start your own journey toward cooking and eating some new, diet friendly, soups.

Don’t let all your friends beat you again, at the ‘Who Looks Best In Their Bathing Suit’ game, when summer does finally roll back into town.

Here’s my simple and easy celery soup recipe to try for yourself.

Cream of Celery Soup:

Ingredients:

1 large bundle of celery, washed and roughly chopped

1 large yellow onion – roughly chopped

28 oz of chicken stock

1 cup (or so) of half and half

3 tbsp butter

Salt and pepper to taste

This is full cast of characters (plus 3 tbsp of butter, which you will need for sauteing the vegetables).

Remove and discard the base of the celery plant, then wash and roughly chop up the whole thing (including the leaves).  For the onion, cut off  both ends, and discard. Then, peel off (and discard) one or more of the brownish colored outer layers (as needed), and roughly chop it all up too.

When that’s all done. We’re ready to start cooking…

In a large pan, saute the celery and onions until translucent in color.  (PS: If you cook on high, as I generally do since I’m too impatient  to cook at any other temperature, you may end up with some more darkly colored pieces than would be considered just a translucent color, but that’s okay.  As long as you don’t let any of it actually burn, you’re golden.  It will just add to the richness of the vegetables’ flavor.)

It should look about like this.

Now, taking your time, pour in all the chicken broth (taking your time, unless of course, you just want a steamy, chicken broth, facial..).

Then add the half and half and bring the entire mixture up to a boil.  As soon as it boils, it’s done. Turn the stove off, and get ready for some real fun…

Using a wand style blender, puree the contents of the pan all together long enough for it to reach a smooth and even texture throughout. (Note:  Be sure to keep the blade of the wand blender completely submerged in liquid throughout this process – or you’ll splatter soup everywhere. I know this from experience…).

Now, the best part.  Ladle yourself a generous bowlful, and proceed to chow down.

(Recipe yields between 6 -8  servings, with around 130 calories – per my normal 16 oz serving size.).