Recipe: Tangy Broccoli Cheddar Chowder

If your kids love cheese (and who doesn't?), this creamy, cheesy soup will win them over - and get them to eat their broccoli! Not only that, but the adults will love it too. Packed with plenty of flavor and nutrients, this is a warming, tasty soup that will fill you up on a frosty evening - or pretty much anytime. :-)

Serve with some whole grain crackers or whole grain bread and butter for a healthy lunch, or a light supper.

Tangy Broccoli Cheddar Chowder
(Serves 4-6.)

Ingredients:

(Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)

2 Tbsps olive oil
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 large gold potato, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, grated
kosher salt and black pepper to taste
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
6 cups chopped fresh broccoli, florettes and tender stems included
1 to 2 cups grated medium-sharp to sharp Cheddar cheese
2 tsps Dijon mustard

Directions:

• Get out a soup pot, add the olive oil and onion, and put over medium heat; cook until onions soften slightly.
• Add the diced potato and cook, stirring, until the potato softens, then add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute, stirring constantly.
• Pour in the broth and bring mixture to a boil, then add the broccoli, stir, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer broccoli until just tender.
• Remove the pot from the heat and let soup cool slightly.
• Ladle soup into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, doing this in batches if you have to, removing each blended batch to a clean soup pot.
• When all the soup is blended, put pot on medium heat and bring temperature back up until it is hot, but not boiling. 
• Now, slowly add in the cheese, stirring until melted. Add as much cheese as you like, then stir in the Dijon mustard. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
• Ladle into bowls and serve hot.

Recipe: Green Bean Parmesan Soup

 If you have trouble getting your kids to eat their vegetables, try this creamy soup. It's tasty, super simple to make, and creamy and cheesy so even the kids will eat it! If they object to the color, just tell them it's what "The Hulk" eats for breakfast. :-)


Smooth Moves Green Bean Parmesan Soup
(Makes 4 servings.)

Ingredients:

8 oz fresh young green beans, trimmed
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, grated
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup cream or half-and-half
kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

• In a large soup pot, add the beans and olive oil, place over medium-high heat and stir until beans start to soften; about 3 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
• Add the stock and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until the beans are tender.
• Let cool slightly, then put into a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
• Return the soup to the pot over low heat and stir until heated through again.
• Add the Parmesan cheese and cream and stir until cheese melts.
• Taste and add salt and pepper as needed; serve hot.

How to Create Healthy Harvest Soups Even Kids Will Love

Digging into a big pot of hearty vegetable soup might seem like the perfect meal to end a busy day, but not necessarily of you're a kid. It seems a kid's taste in soup is often limited to chicken noodle soup out of a can. When it comes to serving healthier soups, kids don't always appreciate your delicious creations.

Feeding kids a healthier bowl of soup can be tricky since most nutritious soups have a fair amount of vegetables in them. And picky kids tend to turn their noses up at vegetables, so it's pretty hard to get them to even try a bowl of soup that contains more than broth and noodles. Let's take a look at a few tricks to create a nutritious soup loaded with nutrients that even the fussiest kids will try.

Ranch Style Soup

As most parents know, dipping vegetables in creamy Ranch style dressing usually results in the kids ingesting at least some nutrition. Why not use this trick to serve a whole bowl of soup filled with vegetables? Cook up a batch of broccoli, for instance, then throw it in the blender and puree it until smooth. Now, sprinkle in a little bit of dry Ranch style dip seasoning and some milk, and puree again. Crush some whole wheat crackers into the bowl for a bit of crunch. Your kid may think they are eating a whole bowl of Ranch style dressing, but you know better. This trick works with any vegetable you can puree. However, if you prefer a chunky soup, just simmer chopped vegetables in broth until tender, then add Ranch style seasoning, milk, and stir. It's the flavor of the seasoning that will grab, and keep, a kid's attention.

Vegetable Noodle Soup

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If chicken noodle soup out of a can is the only soup your child will even consider eating, why not give in – sort of.  To make the leap to a more nutritious option, begin by making chicken broth at home with lots of fresh garden vegetables. Simmer a variety of vegetables to get the most nutrients you can right in the broth itself. Use carrots, celery, onion, parsnips, kale, turnips, collard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, zucchini, yellow squash, beans, corn, sweet potatoes, and anything else you can pull or dig out of the garden. Simmer these vegetables until they are completely soft, then strain and set the solids aside to puree later for another soup. Use the super-vegetable broth to make a more nutritious chicken noodle soup. Add even more nutrition by choosing whole wheat, spinach, or sun-dried tomato noodles. Your child gets the beloved chicken noodle soup, and you get the satisfaction of knowing it's loaded with nutrition.

Sweet Surprise Soup

Take a dessert or sweet side dish and turn it into soup. Pumpkin is a good example of a vegetable that most kids equate with dessert. Use plain canned pumpkin and flavor with spices and a pinch of sugar to taste. Or, you can dice a cooking (sugar) pumpkin and simmer until tender, then puree until smooth. Add a swirl of heavy cream to the top of the bowl for a pretty soup presentation, and sprinkle with cinnamon or allspice. You can also use sweet potatoes in the same way, mimicking a sweet potato casserole. Add a generous sprinkling of crushed pecans to complete this nutritious soup that also happens to be just sweet enough to please a picky eater.

Look at your kids' eating habits right now. No matter what they like to eat, you can usually find a way to re-create those eating habits into new healthier habits. It takes a bit of imagination and, let's admit it, a bit of trickery, but it's all worth it. Soon you'll be feeding your kids healthy soups they will actually eat, and enjoy!