Summer might be winding down, which means more time for one of my all-time favorites – soup!
In this post, I wanted to share this healthy celery soup recipe that everyone in my family loves. There is no cream in this soup, but still is so creamy and delicious.
Hope you enjoy my healthier version of celery soup, slightly tweaked to be 21 Day Fix-approved.
Health Benefits of Celery
The star of this recipe is celery. Celery is high in vitamin K, vitamin C, B vitamins, and a good source of vitamin A. It also offers a good dose of folate, potassium, pantothenic acid, manganese, and is high in fiber
Celery is also abundant in phytonutrients. Two very beneficial antioxidants celery contains are luteolin and apigenin. These two might be able to help the body reduce inflammation and have the ability to help the body improve many inflammatory conditions.
A list of some conditions nutrients in celery might help:
- Allergies
- Reducing inflammation
- Arthritis
- Lowering bad cholesterol
- Lowering blood pressure
- Improving cardiovascular health
I would say that’s not too bad for a vegetable you can find almost anywhere. Now celery can be slightly bitter, especially to some who have more sensitive taste buds, but fortunately making a soup can help make the celery become less bitter and more palatable.
Creating a Lighter Thickener
This celery soup recipe uses a couple different ingredients to make it lighter in calories, but allows it to still be nice and creamy. One of the more important qualities of a good cooler weather soup.
Often celery soup recipes call for heavy whipping cream, half and half, or another creamer. This recipe does away with the calories and fat-dense creams and replaces it with:
- 1/2 cup non fat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup of milk
Just make sure to combine the milk and yogurt prior to adding to thicken the soup. This will be your cream substitute. And if you’re worried about the taste of the yogurt coming through, don’t. I honestly don’t love the taste of yogurt and can taste even the tiniest bit in anything when it’s served cold, but have found that baking or cooking with it gets rid of the yogurt taste and offers a healthier alternative.
If you need a completely dairy free option, I’ve read that adding just a touch (quarter cup or less) of canned coconut milk can add creaminess without changing the flavor too much.
I always encourage experimenting with any of the recipes I post on this site. I’m not an extraordinary chef by any means, but I do enjoy cooking. I like to experiment with different ingredients to see what I can do with the flavor and sometimes what I like doesn’t necessarily work for everyone. Feel free to try different ingredients and spices to make it your own and to your perfect recipe.
Celery Soup Recipe
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 chopped onion
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 lb potatoes cubed
- 2 bunches celery with leaves, chopped
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup whole milk Greek yogurt
Add the olive oil to a large pot, heat to medium
Add diced onion to pot, saute for a few minutes to soften
Add crushed, diced, garlic cloves and saute for a couple minutes
Pour in 4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
Add the chopped potato and chopped celery
Bring to a soft boil for 12 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender
Remove from heat and use an immersion blender until soup is smooth
Stir together milk and yogurt, add to the soup
Put back on burner and heat until warmed through
How this Fits in with the 21 Day FIx
Depending on how much you use of the different ingredients, this soup recipe should make about 4 servings. For the 21 Day Fix portion approach to dieting, I would recommend the following containers:
- 1 green container
- 1 yellow container
- 1/4 blue container
If you are tight on yellow containers, you could consider replacing the potatoes with cauliflower. This would increase the amount of green containers and get rid of the yellow container count.
And 2B MINDSET Approved
This celery soup is also 2B Mindset approved! A little more flexible than the portion control approach, this low-calorie healthy soup works very well on the 2B mindset nutrition program.
I hope you enjoy this celery soup recipe as much as we do! If you have any questions about this post or try any new ingredients that make it even better, make sure to leave a comment below.
