• Choosing the Healthiest Foods for Your Family

    Welcome! I am a mom of a busy 8 year old and an adventurous 6 year old. I also happen to work for a great company called NuVal. NuVal is a nutritional scoring system that rates foods on a scale of 1-100, based on how nutritious they are. We are implementing NuVal in grocery stores around the country.

    NuVal may not be in your area yet. But I see the scores while they are "hot off the press" and because of that I am able to make better decisions about what to feed my family.

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    I am not a registered dietitian. I am just a mom who happens to work for NuVal. I am also an AFAA-certified Group Exercise Instructor. NuVal is a system designed to lead customers to the most nutritious food choices. It is not a diet or weight-loss plan. Before starting a diet, you should always consult your personal physician. The opinions expressed in this blog are the opinions of the writer and not the opinions of NuVal LLC.

Carrot & Stick

Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 07:12 AM

Remember my friend Heather and her amazing marinara sauce?  The recipe calls for some blending and Heather says that a stick blender works the best.  Heather is a fabulous cook and I knew that her advice was something to take seriously.  So, I headed to Kohl’s and dropped $50 on a Cuisinart SmartStick hand blender.  And I am so glad I did!  It is the coolest thing ever.  I’m just looking around for things to blend.  And that is how I came to be making carrot soup…

Easter is fast approaching and we are hosting my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law who will all be in from out-of-town.  I’m starting to think about the menu and I thought it would be very Easter-y to start with a Carrot Soup.  And truth be told – I was excited about the thought of blending up some carrots with my new SmartStick! 

I hunted around for some recipes and found this one on the Dr. Oz site.  It is sooooooooo healthy.  It’s hard to believe that there is no cream in this soup.  So what’s the secret ingredient?  Rolled oats!  And the stick blender does make the consistency simply dreamy.  Check out my SmartStick in action.

Healthy Cream of Carrot Soup (from Dr. Oz)

2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (NuVal score:  11)

1 large onion cut into medium dice (NuVal score: 93)

1/2 tsp sea salt (NuVal score: 1)

2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch rounds (NuVal score: 99)

5 cups of vegetable stock (NuVal score for Swanson 100% Fat Free: 5)

1/4 cup rolled oats (NuVal score for Quaker Rolled Oats:  57)

1 1/2 tsp ginger juice

1 tsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish with 2 tsp dill and dollop of plain yogurt (NuVal score for Chobani non-fat plain Greek: 94)

In a medium-sized pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onions and salt.  Sweat until onions are soft (about 5-8 minutes).  Stir often to prevent browning.  Add stock and oats to pot.  Raise the heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 25 minutes until carrots are tender.  Pour contents of the pot into a blender.  Blend the soup until creamy.  Add additional stock to desired consistency.  Add lemon and ginger juice.  Readjust seasonings.  Garnish with a dollop of yogurt and dill and serve.

This soup is delicious!  It’s perfect for early Spring when it’s still cool enough to crave warm, filling foods, yet you also want something fresh and flavorful to awaken your senses.  My daughter ate the whole bowl.  My son tolerated it (that’s good!) and said that it “surprised his tummy.”  My husband and I devoured ours and my mother enjoyed it for lunch the next day when she came over to babysit.  It’s a keeper!

So, now, I want to blend more things!  Asparagus soup, anyone?

Question of the Day

What should I make next with my SmartStick blender?

Posted by: Melissa 9 comments

Posted in: Carrots, Soup

Tags: ,

9 Comments on “Carrot & Stick”

  1. #1 Em
    on Mar 25th, 2010 at 8:47 am

    Oooh! Yes, Asparagus soup!!! YUM!!

    That carrot soup sounds phenomenal! An excuse to get a stick blender thingie! YUM!

  2. #2 Tara
    on Mar 25th, 2010 at 10:44 am

    I want that blender! I need that blender! The soup too!

  3. #3 Kim Piro
    on Mar 25th, 2010 at 1:27 pm

    Yum!! I keep a piece of paper next to my computer on my desk to list things I want, because I never know what to say when my husband says “What do you want for your birthday, Mothers Day, Xmas, etc?”…..a stick blender was just added to that list!! :)

  4. #4 kalli@fitandfortysomething
    on Mar 25th, 2010 at 2:23 pm

    oh i don’t know what you should make next but i LOVE that blender-how fun :)

  5. #5 Cate
    on Mar 25th, 2010 at 6:31 pm

    Thanks for the healthy carrot soup recipe. I have thinking about making some recently, but have wondered if the healthier recipes would taste good. Now I have a great recipe to use.

  6. #6 Laura
    on Mar 25th, 2010 at 9:45 pm

    I’m so glad you videotaped the stick blender. I was wondering what it was. I’m very intrigued!

  7. #7 Tricia Kuchler
    on Mar 26th, 2010 at 10:10 am

    This sounds sooo interesting! I can’t wait to make it after I move (on May 1st, need to get a blender but I am not buying ANYTHING until after we move lol).

  8. #8 Jennifer
    on Mar 27th, 2010 at 10:00 pm

    What is ginger juice? Never seen it in the store. Something you make yourself?

  9. #9 C Neroni
    on Apr 6th, 2010 at 9:25 am

    That soup is fantastic! Has a great flavor. Not at all sweet like you would think. Ginger brings a great new burst to the soup. Really nice flavor blending. My mother and I kept talking about the whole way home after Easter.

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