I’m so excited to ring in the New Year at the Stanley Hotel New Year’s Eve Ball tonight. Hopefully we’ll get some good photos I can put up on the blog soon, but for now let’s talk DETOX…it’s not even January 1st yet and I’m so ready to get healthy. I really overdid it, food and drink wise, this holiday season, but hey it’s the holidays so I have no regrets! As a result though I haven’t been feeling my best. Like a lot of you I’m ready to transition back to a healthy diet again. This simple vegetable soup is a great way to detox and help you lose a few of those extra holiday pounds. Those of you who hate vegetable soups, let me explain why this one’s a winner.
It’s all about the pureed texture. I can’t say I’m really a fan of plain chunky low calorie vegetable soups, I’ve just never found them satisfying. When you puree this vegetable soup the flavors blend and create a comforting, satisfying texture. Plus it’s incredibly simple to prepare. This soup is packed full of vitamins and minerals and is the perfect way to sneak more veggies into your diet, even my kids like it!
I use a small amount of coconut oil to sauté the onions, but feel free to omit that and use olive oil or even a bit of cooking spray. I also use homemade chicken stock, but feel free to use store bought, just look for the healthiest kind available. One of these days I will get around to blogging about exactly how I make my chicken stock, or broth. I have several methods to make it, I’ll try to make that a January or February blog goal.
In the ingredients below I’ve listed 5-6 cups chicken broth. I typically do 6 cups but it makes the soup a little on the thinner side, it’s thin enough to drink from a cup. However, if you’d like the soup a little thicker just reduce the broth, you can always add more later if you want to thin it out. You can also up the veggies a little if you want.
How do you puree it? The easiest way is with an immersion blender, if you don’t have one you can still make the soup. Just let it cool slightly and carefully transfer it to a blender. If the soup is hot you MUST VENT THE TOP OF THE BLENDER otherwise the heat will pop the top off and make a huge mess. It’s a mistake you’ll only make once! I usually lift the lid and place a paper towel over the top. The immersion blender method is definitely quicker with less mess.
Once the soup is finished we add a nice squeeze of lemon and top with some fresh herbs for extra vitamins and flavor. My favorites are cilantro or Italian flat leaf parsley. I bet chives or green onions would taste great too!
Detox Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup carrot, chopped
- 3 cups chopped broccoli and cauliflower combined
- 5-6 cups chicken stock or broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- juice of half a lemon
- Italian flat leaf parlsley or cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil in large soup or sauté pan over high heat.
- Add onions cooking 3-4 minutes until slightly soft. Add chicken stock, the remaining vegetables, salt, and pepper. Simmer until vegetables are soft.
- Turn off heat and with a hand immersion blender puree until smooth. Add the lemon juice and any additional salt and pepper if needed.
- Ladle into a mug or bowl and garnish with herbs before serving.
Any leftovers should keep for several days in the refrigerator, I’m kind of weird about reheating this soup though. I will not microwave it, I’m always worried the microwave will destroy the nutrients. What do you think, will it? I just always insist on heating leftovers on the stove top. I’ve also had good success with freezing small size portions of this soup. Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year and I’ll be back soon with some Colorado updates. Take care!
Shop some of my favorite kitchen items below!
Do you have the nutritional info per serving?