Healthy Curried Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup

So about this diet...

I'm actually enjoying it. It's going really well. When you like to cook, diets can be quite fun. Plus, it doesn't hurt having "Splurging Saturdays" to look forward to... (you gotta cheat sometimes).

In regards to eating healthier, I've been doing quite a lot of vegetable buying lately. I just buy a bunch of vegetables and make it my mission to make something really yum out of them. For some reason, it is often thought that vegetables are so boring. They usually are the last thing on one's mind when they're thinking of a really good, filling meal. This, my friends, does not have to be the case.

Two of the non-boring vegetables I found in our tiny fridge and decided to make a totally non-boring, yummy meal out of were cauliflower and broccoli... different colors, somewhat different textures, but quite tasty when blended together with a little curry.

Oh yes, and about curry... I used to be terrified of the word, let alone the spice, purely because of a mission trip to India in high school. Everything we ate had curry in it and it was all so yellow and you didn't know what the meat was... I don't know, it was just a bad experience. Therefore, lately I've started consuming curry little by little and have found it's not scary at all. I have a newfound love for it. ESPECIALLY in this soup- it adds that extra "umphfff" umami-ness (umami means a pleasant, savory taste). Try it in this soup and then thank me. 

This soup is good enough to indulge on any day, even on "Splurging Saturdays."

Healthy Curried Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped small

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 large head cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized pieces and washed

1 large head of broccoli (or 1 steam-able 12 oz. bag of frozen broccoli), chopped into bite-sized pieces (and washed if not frozen)

1 quart chicken stock

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt - nonfat or 2% (about two large dollops)

2 teaspoons curry powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

salt and pepper, to taste

Garnish: Organic Tamari Pumpkin Seeds

Procedure:

1.   In a large pot, heat olive oil on medium-low heat and sweat onion and garlic until onion is soft and translucent (about 7 minutes).
2. Add cauliflower pieces, broccoli pieces, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cover with lid and simmer for about 45 minutes, until it takes barely any effort to cut through the vegetables (basically until they’re turning mushy).
3. Once cooked through, take soup off heat and let cool for about 20 minutes (so it doesn't explode on ya). With any type of blender (either transfer to a blender or use one in the soup), blend soup until smooth. Mix in Greek yogurt, curry powder, garlic powder, paprika, and enough salt and pepper to make it taste just right.
4. Ladle into bowls and garnish with tamari pumpkin seeds if desired.  Enjoy!

XOXO,
Casey