For the adults: it's Creamy Broccoli soup; for the kids: it's Shrek in a bowl

When I was in residence at university my mom used to make me homemade soups and sauces to keep in the freezer for when I couldn't handle any more cafeteria food. One of my ultimate favourites was her homemade broccoli soup - it was thick, creamy, full of vitamins (that I'm pretty sure I was missing in amongst my undergrad nutrition plan) and reminded me of home. There was only one drawback - my suitemates...they incessantly called it Shrek soup. I couldn't eat a bowl of it in peace.  

Finally now, 10 years later, as an adult (most of the time) I can sit in my own kitchen, away from the taunting and enjoy my very own bowl. Although I'm not using mom's recipe for this one, it was my inspiration :)

Creamy Broccoli Soup
makes approximately 13 generous 1-cup servings

Ingredients:

- 5-6 medium carrots, cut into chunks

- 3 medium onions, diced

- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic crushed (check this out for a 'how to')
- dash of thyme and oregano

- 8 cups of water and 3 chicken/vegetable bouillion cubes (or 8 cups of chicken/vegetable broth)

- 8 cups of broccoli florets (a great place to buy lots of broccoli is at Costco - you can buy a large bag of pre-cut florets - awesome for soups and much less messy!)

- 2-4 tbsp of cornstarch + 2-6 tbsp water (start w/ a small amount - you can always add more if you need it!)
- salt and pepper to taste

1) Heat olive oil in the bottom of a soup pot at medium to high heat. Add in onions, carrots, garlic and spices. Let cook for approximately 15 minutes (or until onions are browned).
2) Add in water and bouillion (or broth), and broccoli florets. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until vegetables are tender.
3) Take soup off heat and using a hand blender, puree. (If you don't have a hand blender, you can use a countertop blender).
4) In a small bowl combine 2 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp of water. Mix until well blended. ***
5) Add mixture to pureed soup and mix well. Continue heating on low for approximately 5 minutes.
6) Serve :)

Calories per generous 1-cup serving: 81, fat 4.5g, carbs 9.5g, protein 2g

Whenever I make a big batch of soup like this, I put 5-6 servings in the fridge for easy-lunch/snack access and freeze the rest in individual serving containers for quick lunches to go when I haven't been grocery shopping in a while!

* if you want to add some protein to your soup, feel free to throw in a few ounces of cooked chicken breast, or extra lean ground turkey. You can also top it with 1/2oz of old cheddar or hard parmesan - amazing!

In the picture I used for this blog, I drizzled 2 tsp of light 5% cream on top. It's a great and simple addition that will only add 10 calories to your bowl and make your soup look like it walked (or rather, poured) out of a restaurant.

*** Let's talk for a minute about thickening soups. Often people use flour to thicken their soups. That is obviously not an option for this gluten-free girl - but another reason you may want to use something different is because flour has a tendency to clump up in the soup. When thickening using cornstarch, pre-mix it with just enough water to blend it completely together. If you skip this pre-mixing step, the hot soup will transform your cornstarch into a pile of pasty goo in your soup...and if that's not your thing you may want to avoid it! Start w/ 2 tbsp of cornstarch, stir into soup and check consistency in five minutes. If you still want it to be thicker, make up another little mixture and add it in.