Broccoli White Bean Soup

Hi there! How is everyone’s weekend panning out so far?

Friday was a great day. It began with a perfectly ripe banana with peanut butter that I tossed in the microwave for 20 seconds to make drizzly, and a little bit of honey.

I did a couple of odds and ends around the house while anxiously awaiting Kate’s arrival. Oh yes, my friend who is in town that I mentioned yesterday is the wonderful Kate. She was one of my bridesmaids, we were roommates in college, and our friendship goes back to 8th grade.

She recently moved out of state and I miss her dearly. She’s home for the weekend so we made plans to go for a nice long walk around the neighborhood and enjoy the gorgeous fall weather.

Before we headed out, I snacked on a LARABAR Über Roasted Nut Roll bar. The kind folks of LARABAR sent me these four to sample.

The verdict on the Über? MMMmmm, so good! It tasted like a healthy version of a salted nut roll. Yes, please. I’m excited to try the rest of the flavors! It did a nice job of holding me over for a couple of hours too.

Kate and I were out for over an hour, walking and talking, catching up, and taking in the beautiful sights and smells of fall. It made me so incredibly happy to see her. It was bittersweet saying good bye as always, BUT I will be seeing her again in about one month because I will be journeying out to Georgia to visit her! I can’t wait! I love love love her, my Katie boo boo boo. 🙂

Throughout the afternoon I tackled random projects around the house. I organized the front closet, did some laundry, reorganized our kitchen, and brought up wedding gifts that we still had in the basement that we now have room for upstairs.

Then it was time to get dinner brewing. On the menu: Broccoli White Bean Soup. While I got to concocting the soup, Dana got to work making a fire in the fireplace. Our first one of the season.

So pretty! A short while later, dinner was served and it was enjoyed in front of the fire.

Warm soup in front of the fire in my sweatpants with my hubby and dog. Does it get more comforting than that? The soup turned out fantastic. I am very proud of it and excited to share the recipe with you all.

Broccoli White Bean Soup

Recipe type: Dairy-Free; SCD-Friendly

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 cup onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups cooked cannellini beans or other white bean
½ Tbsp. dried thyme
dash of nutmeg
½ tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
32 ounces lower sodium chicken broth*
3 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-size pieces
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Diced turkey bacon (optional)
*substitute vegetable broth if vegetarian

Instructions

Use olive oil to lightly coat medium soup pot.
Add onion and garlic; saute for 3-5 minutes.
Add beans, thyme,nutmeg, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and broth; mix well.
Use immersion blender to puree onions and beans in the pot.
Add broccoli, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes.
Use immersion blender and pulse 1-2x to puree some of the broccoli, but leaving most of the pieces whole.
Spoon soup into bowls, and top with parmesan cheese and bacon (optional).

The rest of the night was spent relaxing with the men of the house, eating some cocoa banana soft-serve, and hitting the hay early.