Vegan Goddess Soup

Ah, Valentine's Day. Love. Romance. And a shit ton of candy.

You would think that being vegan would limit my candy binging abilities, but believe me I found a way. Fueled by my depression over having to go to class on Valentine's eve until 8:30 rather than coming home right away and spending it with Andrew, I decided it was a good idea to eat no less than 3 pounds of nerds. Turns out, it wasn't. (Andrew did make me an AMAZING dinner when I got home so it was definitely a good night).

The next day I felt like I needed a bit of a candy detox, so I decided to adapt a recipe for Green Goddess Soup from one of my favorite food blogs, called Big Girl Small Kitchen. This seemed like a great healthy soup to expunge the nerds from my body, but I was a little skeptical of whether or not it would taste like....grass.

With some minor adaptations, it turned out delicious and flavorful, and a soup that I would eat detox or no detox. I also garnished it with some cashews and bean sprouts and ate it with a little bit of pita on the side, which made it more of a substantial meal. I enjoyed some leftovers for lunch today, and the lingering memories of the nerds are almost forgotten.



Ingredients:

• 2 zucchinis
• 1 medium onion
• 1 bunch of green chard
• 1 small bunch of cilantro
• 1 quart of vegetable broth
• Juice of a lemon
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• Red pepper flakes, to taste
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste

1. Bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a large pot.
2. Chop the zucchini, onion, and remove the leaves from the chard and chop both the leave and the stems.
3. Add the vegetables to the broth and cook for about 5-8 minutes
4. Add the cilantro once the vegetables are soft and boil for another minute
5. In a food processor or blender, blend the vegetables in small batches. Set the liquid aside.
6. Return the blended soup to the pot, turn on medium heat, and add the lemon juice and seasoning to your liking.
7. Slowly mix in as much liquid as you like to get your desired texture.
8. Garnish the soup with chopped cashews and bean sprouts. Serve with pita or your favorite bread for soaking up soup and ENJOY! :)

Corn syrup and sugar be gone!