Cold, stormy weather certainly makes you want to sit by a fire, curl up in a cozy blanket and have a delicious bowl soup. It always seems like a warm soup belly is an instant cure for cold weather blues, but did you know it can also be beneficial to your health and preventing cancer, if you add the right ingredients of course… This apple and carrot soup contains cancer-fighting fiber and other preventative ingredients like beta-carotene which is in carrots, and quercetin which can be found in apples.
Makes 6 servings.
Per Serving: 92 calories, 4 g fat, 15 g carbohydrate, 3 g protein, 4 g dietary fiber, 84 mg sodium.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium leek, white part only, rinsed well and chopped
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2- inch slides
1 tart apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
3 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. minced fresh mint leaves, for garnish
Directions
In a Dutch oven or large, heavy pan, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the onion and leek and sauté for about 4 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
Mix in the carrots and apple. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the broth, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the carrots are very soft. Remove the pot from the heat and set the soup aside to cool slightly.
In a blender or food processor, puree the soup in batches until smooth. Return soup to pan and heat to very hot before serving. If soup is too thick, add more broth, as desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve, garnishing each serving with mint.
