Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Soup season is upon us! The weather is cooling down - making it the perfect time to sit down with a warm, steaming bowl of soup! Restaurant soups get a bad rap for all of the sodium they contain (and rightfully so), but homemade soups can actually be a great part of a healthy lifestyle. They’re a fantastic use of leftovers in the fridge and excess produce. Soups can also be used to mirror our favorite dishes (albeit in a slurpier form!). We know that a favorite side dish you'll find at restuarants is a loaded baked potato. And what's not to love?! It's got cheese, bacon, sour cream, butter, and a sprinkle of chives loaded on top of a steaming baked potato! Delicious as it may be, it's far from the healthiest option out there.

But here at MRC, we try not to let unhealthy appearances keep us from ever being able to enjoy the foods we love. Instead, we get creative, and find healthier ways we can enjoy them! Introducing Loaded Baked Potato Soup - compliments of Kayla in NE! This dish is a slimmed down version of a traditional loaded baked potato. But don't confuse "slimmed down" with "flavorless" - because this one's still got all of the flavors you love in a loaded baked potato! And here's how we did it:

• Potato: our soup does include potatoes, but a healthier portion size for this starchier vegetable. The rest of the texture for this one comes from the mild flavors of cauliflower!
• Bacon: INCLUDED! Bacon is a flavorful fat that can be a balanced part of a healthy diet
• Cheese: INCLUDED! Cheese, in healthy portions, provides protein to your diet
• Butter: we’ve opted to saute some of our other ingredients with an I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray to give that butter-flavor without all of the fat and calories
• Sour Cream: we’ve replaced traditional sour cream with healthier and more protein-dense plain Greek yogurt. In a soup like this, no one is going to know the difference!
• Chives: INCLUDED, of course! Our recipe utilizes both parts of the chive (the green and the white)

So, you can see that the end result is going to be just as delicious as it sounds - we haven’t missed any of the essential ingredients in a loaded baked potato. In fact, we’ve found a way to incorporate extra vegetable servings into this one. So, for those of you with picky eaters, this is a great way to pack more nutrition from veggies in your meals without offending any taste buds. Our recipe below is for a serving size of one (seriously, the whole thing is just ONE serving)! But you can very easily double, triple, or multiply by any amount needed to feed all the mouths in your house!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 C. low-sodium chicken broth
• 7 oz. raw cauliflower or 3.5 oz. frozen, cooked, and drained cauliflower; cut into florets
• 1 oz. green onions, diced and separated into green parts and white parts
• 1 tsp. Garlic, minced
• 2 slices of bacon (or approximately 150 cal serving), diced
• 2 oz. potatoes, diced
• 1-1.5 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded*
• 2-3 oz. plain, non-fat Greek yogurt*
• To taste: Mrs. Dash Onion & Herb seasoning

*MRC Clients: refer to your menu for correct portion sizes. You’ll want a half size portion of each cheese and yogurt.

Instructions:

1. Place diced potatoes in a pot and add enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil and let boil until tender (i.e., easily poked through with a fork). Drain and set aside.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the white parts of the green onion and garlic with a couple squirts of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spray or butter-flavored cooking spray for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add in chicken broth and cauliflower, and bring to a boil. Boil until very soft and tender.
4. In a blender, blend together the cauliflower and cooked potatoes until very smooth. Note: be VERY careful when transferring the cauliflower mixture to the blender - it is HOT!
5. In the same saucepan, cook the bacon until very crispy, and move to a paper towel to drain.
6. Add back to the pan the cauliflower mixture, cheese (note: reserve a small handful for garnish), Greek yogurt, half of the bacon bits, and Mrs. Dash Seasoning. Let simmer on medium-low for a few minutes, until cheese is melted and soup is warmed through evenly. If soup is too thick for your liking, then you can add additional chicken broth to thin it out to your desired consistency.
7. Once heated through, transfer to a bowl and top with remaining bacon bits, green parts of the green onions, and reserved cheese.

Makes 1 Serving | Serving Size: entire recipe | One Serving Replaces: 1 protein, 1 vegetable, 1 carbohydrate, and 1 healthy fat