I am not a huge fan of green smoothies. I know they’re all the rage with heath-concious people like myself. All of that raw green goodness is guaranteed to help you lose weight, have more energy, enjoy a better mood, have better sex and live forever. Wow! What’s not to like?
Meh. I don’t know. I think it’s the raw, green factor – it just tastes too green to me. I know that sounds silly, but really, I just don’t find them delicious. A green smoothie might fill me up, but it doesn’t satisfy. I haven’t given up on them completely, but I am not a devotee.
However, I’ve been sick for the past 10 days with a nasty cold, no doubt acquired during my last sales trip, and I’m getting really tired of it.
Yesterday was Tuesday, which is CSA pick up day for me, and I still had greens from the previous week wilting in my fridge. When I remembered this, it occurred to me that I might feel better if I ate some of them, to round out my steady diet of mint tea and chicken noodle soup. But the thought of a green smoothie really didn’t appeal to me. I had just pinned a recipe for watercress soup the day before and I thought, aha! this is what I’ll make.
But for some reason Pinterest failed me and wouldn’t load up on my iPad. My daughter (who is also home sick) was deep into some game on my laptop, and I didn’t feel like waiting. So I just hauled all the greens out of the fridge and started chopping, though I didn’t even do too much of that.
I wanted some heft, so I added a small diced potato and a couple of carrots. The latter also lent some sweetness to the mix. Once the potato and carrots were quite tender, I pureed everything in the blender (the fancy one I bought to make green smoothies!).
The resulting soup was felt simultaneously spring-y and comforting. I topped mine with some chopped toasted hazelnuts and a crumbling of salty goat cheese, which was the perfect contrast to the velvety soup. I’ve eaten three or four bowlfuls of the stuff now, and I am feeling so much better.
You could garnish with any number of toppings, or nothing at all. Grated parmesan would be nice, so would a dollop of sour cream. Whatever you’re in the mood for.
Maybe not quite as nutritious as the raw green smoothie, but close enough for me.
That sounds intriguing! I’m looking for ideas for a smoothie-soup : )
I am actually converting from smoothies towards soups.
As smoothies I find that I often need to add fruits (bananas or even sweeter) or nut milks to make them tasty – this generally adds to the time and I am very lazy. As soups most greens are fine as they are.
Good to see others as well.