Everything but the Kitchen Sink Soup

What do you do when spring break is coming up and you have to get rid of everything in your fridge? Throw it in the Vitamix and have leftover soup! I linked the ingredients in this recipe to other meals I've made in the Vitamix, which explains why I have, for example, only a fourth of a red pepper in my fridge.

8 baby carrots
6 florets of steamed cauliflower 
1/4 red pepper
1 small stalk celery
2 cups chicken broth
1/3 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1/2 can kidney beans
fiber one crackers (optional)

Dump all ingredients except the beans into the Vitamix. Select Variable 1 and increase speed to 10, then on High. Blend for a few minutes until you see steam coming from the vented lid. Next, select Variable 2 and add the beans. Blend for a few seconds and serve with crackers.

Taste score: 8/10

Likes: I think the secret to this soup's perfectly smooth and slightly creamy texture is the steamed cauliflower. The secret to the flavor is HOT taco seasoning, which kicked up the heat just enough for this otherwise boring soup recipe. I was pleasantly surprised at how full I felt halfway through the meal. Since I couldn't finish it all,  I microwaved some brown rice in the rest of the broth which I will eat tomorrow with a spinach wrap and some cheese. Instant burrito!

Dislikes: I might add corn, steamed carrots, and more beans next time to bulk up the texture. If I had any more vegetables around, I could definitely sneak in some cabbage or more celery.

Nutrition score: 9/10
Is there anything bad for you in this recipe? Well I guess the seasoning and the bouillon have high levels of sodium (we're talking like 20% daily recommended value EACH). So a point off there, only because I don't have much sodium in my diet anyway, and frankly I'll take some salt if it means vegetables taste better!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

3 cups water
1 cube chicken bouillon
5 baby tomatoes
1 stalk celery
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 red pepper
2 tsp taco seasoning
1 cup cooked chicken
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans
Optional: cheese and tortilla chips

• Cook boneless, skinless chicken in a pan on the stove. While it's cooking, prepare the ingredients.
• Open the cans of corn and beans and drain thoroughly. Peel the garlic cloves and slice the onion, red pepper, and celery in half. Add all ingredients except the chicken, corn, and beans in the Vitamix. Start on Variable 1 and increase speed to High. Blend for about 4 minutes or until steam rises from the vented lid.
• Set to Variable 2 and drop in cooked chicken, beans, and corn. Sprinkle with cheese or tortilla chips. Makes 6 cups.

Taste score: 10/10

Likes: This is the famous Vitamix recipe, but I altered it because I always found it too watery and not spicy enough. With the addition of black beans and more chicken, corn, and taco seasoning, this soup tastes just like a taco. Even my younger sister, who hates soup and veggies, loved it!

Dislikes: There are a lot more ingredients in this recipe than most Vitamix soups, and preparing the chicken takes a while unless you have cooked chicken on hand.

Nutritional score: 9/10 

How could you go wrong? This soup is incredibly filling, but it's not filled with preservatives and salt like the canned version! You get protein from the beans and chicken, lots of random veggies, and it tastes amazing! Just don't overload on the tortilla chips or cheese topping.

Sweet Potato Soup

1 sweet potato

1 apple

1 cube vegetable bouillon

1/4 cup frozen peas

6 baby carrots

1 1/2 cups water
Optional: brown sugar

• Scrub the sweet potato and pop it in the microwave for 5 minutes on high. 
• While it's microwaving, prepare the other ingredients: rinse and cut the apple in half, pop out the seeds, and remove the stems. Cut the sweet potato in cubes, and throw in apple, bouillon, peas, and carrots with the water. 
• Start on Variable 1 and increase speed up to High. Let the machine run for about 4 minutes or until steam comes out of the vented lid. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Makes 3 cups.

Taste score: 8/10

Likes: With a little brown sugar, this soup tasted like Thanksgiving! The soup definitely tasted like sweet potatoes, and the only other flavor I could identify was the apple. I hate the bitterness of green veggies, but I popped in some frozen peas and couldn't taste them. That's the beauty of vitamix!

Dislikes: The soup was perfectly smooth, but I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't eating baby food.
 

Nutritional score: 9/10 

Sweet potatoes are a superfood! They have 4 grams of fiber, lots of Vitamin A and beta carotene. Omitting the brown sugar would have bumped this up to a 10, but the natural sweetness wasn't quite enough for me.