Jul 21, 20202 min
Updated: Mar 12, 2021
This is the perfect thick and creamy soup to stay cozy this season! It is so easy and barely requires any attention at all. It is a great way to get in many servings of veggies from the broccoli, potatoes, and onion, greens from the spinach, and protein from the white beans, cashews, and nutritional yeast. Not to mention the amount of fiber! This soup makes the best leftovers and tastes pretty close to the classic broccoli cheddar soup if you ask me!
Cruciferous veggies or "Splendiferous Cruciferous" as Dr. Michael Greger calls them, are so important for health and should be consumed daily if possible. Here is what he has to say on his website, about the research behind the benefits of these veggies!
"Cruciferous vegetables can potentially prevent DNA damage and metastatic cancer spread, activate defenses against pathogens and pollutants, help to prevent lymphoma, boost your liver detox enzymes, target breast cancer stem cells, and reduce the risk of prostate cancer progression. The component responsible for these benefits is thought to be sulforaphane, which is formed almost exclusively in cruciferous vegetables.
Beyond being a promising anticancer agent, sulforaphane may also help protect your brain and your eyesight, reduce nasal allergy inflammation, manage type 2 diabetes, and was recently found to successfully help treat autism. A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized trial of boys with autism found that about two to three cruciferous vegetable servings’ worth of sulforaphane a day improves social interaction, abnormal behavior, and verbal communication within a matter of weeks. The researchers, primarily from Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University, suggest that the effect might be due to sulforaphane’s role as a 'detoxicant.'"
- Michael Greger, MD, Physician, Speaker, NYT best selling author
Ingredients:
3 cups broccoli frozen or fresh (use all parts if using fresh)
2 medium or 3 small golden potatoes diced
1 small-medium onion diced
2 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
1/2 cup cashews
2 cups spinach
3/4 cup white beans
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt + to taste
1 tsp black pepper
1 32oz container of low sodium vegetable stock
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
Directions
In a large pot add the broccoli, potato, onion, garlic, cashews, and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 15 minutes or until broccoli and potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.
Next, add the beans, spinach, nutritional yeast, soy milk, and seasonings. Stir to combine and cover to wilt spinach, about 2-3 minutes.
Use an immersion blender to slowly blend the soup until creamy and there are no more chunks. Or transfer to stand up blender and blend on high for 3-4 minutes until well combined. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
Top with sourdough croutons, a plant-based yogurt, and reserved broccoli florets,
Enjoy :)