Bok Choy Soup

Delicious, healthy, easy and practically calorie free

Taste: 5 (out of 5)
Difficulty: 1 (out of 5)
Source: trial and error (actually, success the first time around)

Ingredients:
- 2 lbs bok choy
- 2 liters / 8 cups water
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 1 tbsp Better than Bouillon Beef soup base (or another soup base, or another tbsp of miso)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- yogurt to add to the finished soup as desired (optional)

Directions:
1. Wash the bok choy, add to a big pot with cold water and bring to a boil.
2. Place the softened bok choy with some of the water, the miso, the soup base and the spices into a blender and blend until uniform. (I actually don't add turmeric to the blender to avoid coloring the blender. I add turmeric once I return the pureed bok choy to the pot).
3. Return the bok choy to the pot (add the turmeric, if you haven't yet), bring to boil and keep simmering on medium high heat for another 10-15 minutes.
4. Serve with yogurt (1 tbsp for 2 cups of soup feels perfect to me).
5. Additional serving options: croutons, bacon, crumbled dried seaweed, sesame seeds, or whatever you like adding to your soup.

Afterthoughts:
I am not a big fan of soups or of bok choy. This soup was first made on a cold winter detox day to save calories (because bok choy has only 13 calories per 100 g). But it turned out surprisingly tasty. I made it many times since. It turns out bok choy is some kind of underappreciated super food with lots of nutrients. You can google it to feel even better about using it in your recipes. But this recipe does not really need external motivation - it simply tastes great!

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Cream of Roasted Tomato soup

Creamy tomato soup - great cold or hot 
Source: Adapted from Ina Garten's Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup

Taste: 5 (out of 5)
Difficulty: 2 (out of 5)

Ingredients:
- 6-7 large tomatoes, unpeeled
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 2 chopped onions
- 2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped or minced
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp frozen or 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil leaves
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 cup milk
Total: 6 servings

Directions:
1. Roast tomatoes under broiler on High for 15 minutes. Let cool a little and peel off the skin. It should come off easily.
2. Heat the pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes, until very tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt, and pepper and stir well. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender.
4. Add the milk to the soup and process it in a food processor until smooth and creamy.

Afterthoughts:
Delicious soup. No further comments.

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Vitamix Carrot Soup

Good for your eyes, heart and diet
Source: a successful experiment after several trials and errors

Taste: 4 (out of 5)
Difficulty: 2 (out of 5)

Ingredients:
1 lb / 420 g carrots
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp onion flakes
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tsp better than bullion beef stock (optional)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Total: 3 servings

Directions:
1. Wash the carrots and cut in half lengthwise. Place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and roast in an oven preheated to 400F for 40 minutes. You can prepare more carrots and freeze them for later use.
2. Place all the ingredients in a Vitamix blender. Start on slow, increase the speed and move to High power setting. Blend the soup for 6-10 minutes, until you see steam coming out.

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Lentil Soup

Simple and simply delicious
Source: improvised

Taste: 5 (out of 5)
Difficulty: 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients:
- 3 cups red lentils
- 6 cups / 1 1/2 l water
- 3 inches of ginger (or 3 frozen ginger cubes)
- 1 large potato
- 1 large carrot
- 1 tbsp onion flakes
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp black pepper
- 1 cup chopped parsley or cilantro
- juice of 1 lime
Total: 8 servings


Directions:
1. Wash the carrot, the potato, the ginger and the tomato (no need to peel). Peel the garlic cloves. Place the vegetables with the onion flakes into your Vitamix(or another blender), add 1 cup of water and process on High setting for about 15 seconds until the ingredients are finely ground.
2. In a large pot add the vegetable mix to the remaining water and the lentils and bring to boil on high heat. Stir.
3. When the soup boils, add salt, pepper, cumin and turmeric, reduce heat to medium low and cook for another 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
4. Right before serving, add chopped cilantro and juice of 1 lime.

Afterthoughts:
Great soup, I make it all the time. If you want, make it thicker and serve as dahl over rice. Can also use fresh onion or tomato paste.

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Cream of mushroom soup in Vitamix

The perfect silky smooth soup: 1 minute prep, 10 minutes cooking
Source: Improvised

Taste: 5 (out of 5)
Difficulty: 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients:
- 200 g portabella or button mushrooms (45 cal)
- 50 g roasted onions (20 cal)
- 10 g roasted garlic (15 cal)
- 2 cups milk (220 cal)
- 1 1/2 tbsp rice flour or all purpose flour (60 cal)
- 2 tsp Better than Bullion Chicken base (30 cal)
- 2 sprigs of fresh dill
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Total: 390 cal, 2 generous servings, 195 cal/serving

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients into Vitamix in the order listed.
2. Start Vitamix on speed 1, gradually increase to 5, blend for 5 seconds, increase to 10 and switch to High. Let run for 8-10 minutes until steam starts escaping from the cover.
3. Done!

Afterthought:
- I could not find any cream of mushroom recipes for Vitamix, so I thought that maybe Vitamix does not do a very good job on these, given that in normal mushroom soups, you need to saute the mushrooms first. So I made a small experimental batch and it immediately exceeded all my expectations: Simply excellent soup! With the perfect mushroom aroma and silky smooth texture. And with less than 200 calories per serving you can have it with your favorite crusty bread without any guilt :-). This is the second time I am making this recipe and certainly not the last one.
- This recipe uses roasted garlic and roasted onions. I make those in large batches once a while and freeze in small portions. It's very handy to have those on hand. And because they are roasted in the oven with hardly any oil, they are mush more diet-friendly than their pan fried cousins. Here is my recipe for making roasted garlic cubes.

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Broccoli Cheese Soup

Perfect for one of these cold rainy winter nights - for March SRC
Source: All Day I Dream About Food blog, originally from Cook’s Illustrated

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 2 (out of 5 – the most difficult part is using an immersion blender)

Ingredients
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter (100 cal)
• 1 lb broccoli (150 cal)
• 5 green onions (10 cal)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (5 cal)
• 1 tsp dry mustard powder
• pinch of cayenne
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 cups water
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup chicken or beef broth (20 cal)
• 1 cup frozen spinach (40 cal)
• 1 ½ oz sharp cheddar, grated (170 cal)
• ½ oz parmesan, grated + more to sprinkle before serving (60 cal)
• ¼ tsp pepper (or adjust to taste)
Total 4 servings, 555 calories, 140 cal / serving

Directions
1. Chop the broccoli into 1 inch pieces, use both the florets and the stems. Finely chop the green onions.
2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat butter over medium high heat. Add broccoli, onion, garlic, mustard, cayenne and salt. Stir frequently and cook until fragrant, about 6 minutes.
3. Add water and baking soda and bring to a simmer. Cook until broccoli is very soft, about 20 minutes.
4. Add broth and spinach and bring to a simmer.
5. Add cheeses and blend soup with an immersion blender (alternatively, you can transfer soup to a blender and blend in two batches).
6. Adjust consistency of soup to your liking with remaining water (I found it didn't need any more).
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Afterthoughts
• This is a great soup, we really liked it! Rich consistency, yet not too greasy; all the ingredients can be distinctly felt, yet they blend together very nicely; filling, yet not heavy.
• I made small adjustments to the original recipe; primarily I used a little more spinach and used green onions instead of regular ones. I don’t think these changes made a big difference.
• I was very puzzled by the addition of baking soda. Carolyn mentioned that it was meant to speed up the cooking of broccoli. I did a little more research on baking soda in cooking, and it seems that people add it to greens to preserve the colors, and add it to creamy soups to prevent milk from curdling. Interesting…
• About All Day I Dream About Food – this is a wonderful food blog. I have been following it for ages now, and it’s getting better and better. Carolyn publishes many gluten free and low-carb dessert recipes. She also has a lot of delicious savory posts. I first wanted to make her chilled avocado soup , but it’s a little chilly for that, so I made a warmer soup and her chicken Adobo, which also turned out super yummy!
• About SRC – it stands from a Secret Recipe Club, each month you are assigned a food blog, you choose a recipe from it, post it on a predetermined reveal date and add your link to a blog hop, where all the participant post their results. This is a very neat idea of Amanda Formaro.

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Chicken Coconut Soup

A refreshing spicy Thai-inspired soup
Source
Adopted from “New Flavors for Soups” by Williams-Sonoma

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 3 (out of 5)

Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (330 cal)
- 1 package enoki mushrooms (30 cal)
- 1/2 small acorn squash (85 cal)
- 3/4 cup frozen shelled edamame (280 cal)
- 2 shallots, chopped (30 cal)
- 2 limes (20 cal)
- 1/4 bunch cilantro
- 1/2 inch piece of ginger
- 2.5 cups chicken stock (25 cal)
- 1 can /14 oz coconut milk (180 cal)
- 1/4 tsp sambal oelek
- 1/2 tsp yellow Thai curry paste
- 1 tbsp Asian fish sauce
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar (50 cal)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Total 4 servings, 1030 cal, 260 cal / serving

Instructions
1. Peel and crush ginger, chop cilantro, zest and juice the limes (you’ll need both the zest and the juice).
2. In a large saucepan combine the stock, 1/2 can of coconut milk, ginger, cilantro, sambal oelek, shallots, and 1/2 tbsp of the fish sauce. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer to blend the flavors for about 15 minutes.
3. Peel and cut the squash into 1/4 inch thick slices and set aside. Cut the chicken into thin slices and set aside separately. Separate enoki mushrooms (they come in one bunch).
4. Strain the infused broth through a fine mesh sieve. Wipe the pot clean and return the broth to the pot. Add the brown sugar, the remaining coconut milk and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the chicken and edamame and return to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the chicken is almost opaque throughout, about 5 minutes. Add the squash and the mushrooms and simmer until tender, about 5 more minutes.
5. Meanwhile whisk the lime juice with the curry paste and the remaining fish sauce. Add the mixture and 1 tsp of salt to the pot and stir to blend well. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning.

Afterthoughts
I liked it, not surprisingly given my (by now not so) recently acquired obsession with coconuts :-)

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Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Warm up those rainy spring days when it feels like winter is back. A healthier simpler version of a creamy soup for only 75 calories.

Source

Improvised

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 1 small cauliflower (70 cal)

- 2-3 green onions (5 cal)

- 1 garlic clove (5 cal)

- 1/2 tbsp canola oil (60 cal)

- 1 tbsp shiro miso paste (30 cal)

- 1 cup low fat milk (130 cal)

- 1.5 cups water

- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

- salt and black pepper to taste

Total 300 cal, 4 servings, 75 cal/serving

Instructions

1. Mince the garlic, finely chop the green onions and saute them with 1/2 tbsp of oil for about 5 minutes on low-medium heat. 

2. Add the cauliflower flowerets.  Dissolve the shiro miso paste in 1 1/2 cups of water and add to the vegetables. Let cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes. 

3. Transfer the vegetables with some of the liquids into a blender or a food processor and puree. 4. Return to the sauce pan. Add 1 cup of milk, parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 5 minutes. 

Afterthoughts

- You don’t necessarily need flour, starch and heavy cream to make the soups creamy. This version is light, gluten free and only uses 1 cup of low fat milk. And the creaminess comes from the vegetable, the pureed cauliflower. Much simpler to make, much healthier to eat.

- In the picture served with Zucchini Bread.

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Cream of Yam Soup

A simple happy soup 

Source
Improvised

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 200 g/ 3 medium sized yams (235  cal)

- 2 cups water

- 1 cup low fat milk (130 cal)

- salt and paprika to taste

Total 365 cal, 4 servings, 90 cal / serving

Instructions

1. Pell and slice the yams into 1 inch thick slices. Cook with 2 cups of water on medium heat until soft (about 20 minutes). 

2. Add the milk and puree with an immersion blender or a food processor. 

3. Season with paprika and salt and continue cooking for another 5 minutes on low heat. 

4. Serve with sour cream.

Afterthoughts

A nice sweetish, creamy soup of a very happy color. 

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Broccoli Cauliflower Creamy Soup

Source

Improvised

Taste 3 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 1 lb frozen Normandy Mix: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots (200 cal)

- 1/2 cup frozen corn (60 cal)

- 1 cup low fat milk (120 cal)

- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped

- salt and pepper to taste

Total 380 cal, 4 servings, 95 cal/serving

Instructions

1. In a medium sized sauce pan cook the Normandy mix with 1/4 gallon / 1 l of water on high heat until boils. Add cilantro and salt and pepper to taste and cook for another 10 minutes on medium heat until the broccoli and the cauliflower soften.

2. Let cool slightly. Puree with an emersion blender.

3. Add the milk and the corn and cook on medium heat for 10 more minutes.

Afterthoughts

- A very light, healthy and easy soup. Nice when you don’t have time or if you have too many frozen veggies and want to empty your freezer.

- Serve with fresh bread (a homemade buckwheat bread “in 5 minutes a day” in the picture).

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Green Soup

Source

My mom

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 1 lb / 450 g spinach raw or frozen

- 2 large potatoes

- 2 eggs

- 2 large garlic cloves, minced

- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley (or 2 tbsp dried)

- 1/4 cup fresh chopped dill (or 2 tbsp dried)

- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

- juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions

1. Wash and chop the spinach, dill and parsley and place in a large saucepan. Cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch (1 cm) cubes and add to spinach. Add 2 liters / 1/2 gallon of water or enough to cover the spinach and potatoes, bring to a boil, add salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 45 minutes.

2. Beat the eggs lightly with a fork or a hand whisk and mix them with the lemon juice and minced garlic.

3. When you take the saucepan off the fire, scoop out 1 cup of the soup and let cool. Once chilled (after about 5 minutes) add the cup of soup to the eggs stirring continuously to avoid curdling.Pour the egg mix into the soup saucepan.

4. This soup can be served warm or cold. After plating, you can add sour cream, fresh diced cucumber, dill and or diced boiled egg for garnish and flavor.

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Lentil Soup with Tomatoes

Source

Adapted from Classic Middle Eastern by Soheila Kimberley

Taste 3 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 45 ml/ 3 tablespoons of olive oil

- 1 large onion chopped

- 1 celery stick chopped

- 400 g/ 14 oz/ 2 1/2 cups red lentils (if use yellow or brown lentils cook longer)

- 1.2 liters/ 5 cups meat stock

- 4-5 tomatoes

- juice of 1 lemon

- 2.5 ml/ 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder (optional)

- salt and freshly ground black pepper

- celery leaf, to garnish

My changes: 2.5 cups of chicken broth and 2.5 cups of water instead of beef stock, paprika instead of clili powder.

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion and celery, over a gentle heat, until soft. Add the lentils and stock to the pan, bring to the boil and then simmer for 25 minutes, or until the lentils soften.

2. Peel the tomatoes by dipping them into boiling water for 30 seconds to loosen the skins.

3. Roughly chop the tomatoes and ad the to the saucepan with the lemon juice, salt and pepper and the chili powder, if using. Simmer for a further 10 minutes and serve garnished with a celery leaf.

Afterthoughts

Pretty good soup. It turned out very sick, maybe one can add more water.

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Tomato Soup

Source

Adapted from Michael Chiarello, the Food Network recipe, but with lots of changes

Taste 3 (out of 5)

Difficulty 2 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 3 medium sized tomatoes (15 oz)

- 2 tbsp canola oil

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 2 tbsp butter

- salt and freshly ground black pepper

- 1 stalk celery, diced

- 1 small carrot, diced

- 1 yellow onion, diced

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 cup chicken broth

- 1 bay leaf

- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

- 2 cups 2% milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450F. Cut tomatoes in quarters and place them skin side down on a baking sheet. Drizzle a little olive oil on top and bake for about 15 minutes until caramelized.

2. Meanwhile grind the onion and the garlic. Heat canola oil in a medium size sauce pan, add the onion the celery, the carrot and the garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 10-15 minutes.

3. Cool the tomatoes on a rack, the skin should easily come off and chop the tomatoes into smaller pieces.

4. Add the roasted chopped tomatoes, chicken broth, water, bay leaf and butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 20-30 minutes.

5. Add basil and milk and cook for another 10 minutes on lower heat. Puree with a hand immersion blender until smooth.

Afterthoughts

Pretty good soup.

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Spinach and Lemon Soup With Meatballs

Source

Classic Middle Eastern by Soheila Kimberley

Taste 3 (out of 5)

Difficulty 2 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 2 large onions

- 45 ml / 3 tablespoons of oil

- 15 ml / 1 tablespoon of ground turmeric

- 225 g / 8 oz / 2 cups of minced lamb

- 450 g / 1 lb of spinach, chopped

- 90 g / 3 1/2 oz / 1/2 cup yellow split peas

- 50 g / 2 oz / 1/2 cup of rice flour

- juice of 2 lemons

- 4 eggs, beaten

- salt and freshly ground black pepper

- 1-2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped

- 30 ml / 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint or spinach

My changes:

I used beef instead of lamb, cornstarch instead of rice flour and 8 egg whites instead of 4 eggs.

Also, I cooked the garlic together with other ingredients and not separately for the garnish.

Instructions

1. Chop one onion. Heat 30 ml / 2 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion until golden. Add the turmeric, split peas and 1.2 litters / 5 cups of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

2. Grate the other onion. Put it into a mixing bowl, add the minced lamb and seasoning and mix well. Using your hands, form the mixture into small meatballs, about the size of walnuts. Carefully add to the saucepan and simmer for about 10 minutes, then add the chopped spinach, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Mix the flour with 250 ml / 1 cup of cold water to make a smooth paste. Then slowly add it to the saucepan, stirring all the time to prevent lumps forming. Stir in the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and cook over a gentle heat for 20 minutes.

4. Heat the remaining oil in a small pan and fry the garlic until golden. Stir in the mint and remove the pan from the heat. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the beaten aggs. Sprinkle the garlic and mint garnish over the soup and serve.

Afterthoughts

Turned out a little too sour, maybe can use juice of 1 or 1.5 lemons next time.

I mixed the cornstarch with cold water a bit in advance, and it kept forming lumps at the bottom, at least until I mixed it into the soup (then, who knows). But now looking at some sites, it seems that cornstarch separates from water eventually, so maybe the mixing should be done right before adding to the soup and not in advance.

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