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2.25.2008

Quick'n Tangy Broccoli Soup [Vegan] [Low Carb] [Low Fat]




1 lb. fresh broccoli (try to get stalks with as much floret head as possible. Less stem is better!)
2 c. low sodium organic vegetable broth (Pacific brand is gluten, dairy free, and vegan)
1 to 1 1/2 c. organic lite coconut milk
1 c. water
1/4" chunk fresh ginger root
7 cloves fresh garlic
5 t. nutritional yeast
2 T. extra virgin olive oil

Seasonings:
turmeric
freshly ground cumin
rosemary, to taste
sea salt and pepper
1/2 fresh lime, peeled

Optional:
2 T. organic hemp protein powder

Once all of your ingredients are in order, start by washing your fresh broccoli and chopping off a few of the florets to reserve for later. I used these florets at the end for garnish and texture.

Fill your Vita-Mix (or other blender) with the vegetable broth, coconut milk, water, garlic cloves, jalapeƱo, olive oil and seasonings. The beauty of easy blender soups like this is that you can just throw the veggies in whole; no chopping required. This is a time saver we can all appreciate. I put the garlic and pepper on the bottom of the blender and then pour over the liquids and add the seasonings. Add all the broccoli with the exception of the reserved garnish florets (do this depending on the strength of your blender if it can handle everything at once).



Cover the Vita-Mix and turn from low (1) quickly up to variable speed 10. After a moment, you can turn it all the way up to HIGH and blend for 6-8 minutes or until the soup is hot and steamy. If your blender is not powerful enough to heat the soup without itself overheating, puree the broccoli and soup ingredients in your blender and then warm the soup on low over the stovetop or in your microwave. This second method will take longer than the quick Vitamix method since the Vitamix is built to handle high heat and soup making (it is more of a power hog than your typical blender, however).

Once the soup is steaming, spoon in the nutritional yeast and then pour into serving bowl and drop in your reserved florets. You don't want to add the nutritional yeast until the very end since the hotter blending process can damage the B vitamins. Once completely blended, the steaming soup should not be too hot to add the nutritional yeast. This allows you to retain more of the active B vitamins while still getting that tangy, pungent flavor which the yeast imparts to the soup.

Nutritional yeast is a fantastic gluten free supplement which is easy to use and very flavorful. It is popular with many vegans as a potent source of many other B vitamins and vitamin B12 (if fortified with B12). The flakes are great for making dairy free cheese and cheese sauecsthat dissolve quickly. Nutritional yeast is gluten, dairy, and candida yeast free. It is a great and inexpensive supplement for everyone, but especially gluten free types who can't have brewers yeast.

For an optional protein and Omega fatty acid boost, stir in hemp protein powder at any time during preparation. If you are curious about hemp, read more about the benefits of hemp. Serve hot and enjoy.

Makes ~7 cups



Other uses for nutritional yeast:
The Cheesy Uncheese Sauce @ Karina's Kitchen (Gluten Free Goddess)

Cindalou's Kitchen Blues: Healthy Celiac / Coeliac Gluten and Dairy Free Recipes

10 comments:

  1. looks yummy, cant wait to try it:-)
    X M

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  2. I've missed you! And this looks so good -- lots of my favorite ingredients. Paring lite coconut milk with veggie broth and ginger seems like such a good mix. You certainly come up with some yummy and creative variations of things. And always so healthy. Guess it's that science gene of yours! Your Vita-Mix is sure getting a workout. It's such a good way to make soup. You are just my favorite little alchemist!
    Melissa

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  3. Glad it looks good to you! It actually tastes much better than it looks, I was concerned that the ugly pictures would turn people off. (I mean, come on- green and nutritional yeast in one dish might be a lil much for some, hehe). Let me know how yours is if you try it! It makes everything worthwhile when someone actually uses the info and recipes to make their own concoctions!

    Melissa, you give me too much credit! I am just not creative- in a rut as far as cooking and pressed for time since I am *still* working on my prelim (it is in a week or 2). I need healthy and fast. To some that means a McDonald's salad, but we all those those aren't all they're cracked up to be (dressing loaded with junk and preservatives, old iceberg lettuce, 2 small pitiful squishy grape tomatoes.... can you tell I've tried that route before? :) ) I'm really not harping on the Vitamix for personal gain, it just really has saved my ass (and our dinners) quite a bit here lately! Ahhh ~grateful sigh~

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  4. This is a very entertaining blog. Well-written and clever. You are now on my favorite list.

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  5. Hey there Cindalou!
    I think that most of the brewers yeast sold in health food stores (in the same section as nutritional yeast) is actually gluten-free... I don't think it is actually made from the remnants of the beer brewing process when sold as a nutritional supplement. I've bought gluten free varieties, at any rate. :) But I think nutritional yeast has a nicer, cheesier flavor and I use it frequently myself...

    Here are my recipes using nut. yeast, if you'd like to see:

    http://www.bookofyum.com/blog/category/nutritional-yeast

    I love it!

    This recipe sounds really good and I hope to try it. Quick is good, with school projects looming!

    -Sea

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  6. I have to try this tonight! Might toss in some pine nuts too... Love your blog and all of your paleo/low carb recipes! :D

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  7. After searching this recipe I made it yesterday. The soup was made really superb. It was very delicious in taste. So today I am here to say thanks a lot for the recipe. It is nice experience to visit this site. So I bookmark this recipe site and will visit it again.

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  8. Simple & tasty looking! Haveb;t done soup in my vitamic for a while. I'll be adding this to the menu this week as I chip away the holiday pounds.

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  9. Healthy recipe...This looks delicious. Thanks for sharing this.

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  10. Has anyone tried this as a cold soup? This could be a great raw foods recipe.

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