Green soup

Everyone needs a go-to, easy, veggie-packed recipe. The dish you whip out after you've been travelling or have just been too busy to prioritize eating your veggies. This soup is an entire, veggie-forward meal made in one pot. The addition of canned white beans serves two purposes. First, when blended, they make the soup creamy and emulsified. Second, they add healthy protein! To make it extra tasty and creamy, I love to blend in some goat cheese, but feel free to leave it out for a vegan soup. This soup freezes really well, and I always like to have some on hand in my freezer.

• Green soup
• 1 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 lbs green veggies (I usually do a pound of frozen spinach and and a pound of kale, but I have also used various combinations of zucchini, broccoli, and chard, celery, etc.)
• 1 can white beans (e.g. great northern or navy beans), including liquid
• 1 t salt
• 3/4 t Italian seasoning or Herbes de Provence (or dump in any fresh herbs you have on hand!)
• 1 T Better than Bouillon
• 1 quart water
• red pepper flakes and black pepper to taste
• 4 oz goat cheese (optional)
• 2 T lemon juice

Sauté onions until browned. Add garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds. 

Add all remaining ingredients except goat cheese and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer until veggies are tender. (If using leafy veggies like spinach and kale, this should only take a couple of minutes. If using something thicker, like broccoli, it will take a few more minutes.)

Remove from heat, add goat cheese and lemon, and blend until very smooth (I use an immersion blender for this). Taste for seasoning and serve!