In our family, we drink soup with a straw. (or, at least, the children do).

When the big girl was not so big, and at a too early age, she got under the peer pressure that green is yucky.  Before the peer pressure, she has been eating salads, asparagus, broccoli, advocado and even Brussels sprouts with no mishap. But one day, I picked her up from daycare and green became the number one enemy. At that time, I only had one child and life was so easy. I could have chosen to fight but despite the easy peasy status of the single child, I was not in the mood for a fight. There were pink straws in the drawer. I gave her a pink straw with the green soup and voilà, the miracle happened. The girl drank her veggies instead of eating them. No big deal, cute story and this is how a tradition starts.

I know there are lots of theories saying that you should be a eating your fruits and veggies and not drinking them. I do not care. As of now, my children have at least 5 servings of pure vegetables in the shape of a soup every week, more if I have time. They still drink it with a straw and again, I don't care.

My adorable little kids tell me that my soups are the only ones they like and for once, I don't contradict them. No soup tastes better than the easy ones I prepare. Except in these fancy restaurants and by fancy restaurant, I am not talking about Panera Bread. My soups are cheap, super healthy and literally take no more than 10 minutes to prepare. 

How to achieve this miracle? You need two or three basic ingredients and a variable one. Today, I am making broccoli soup. It takes me a little longer than expected because broccoli has to be boiled twice, otherwise, you spend your day burping broccoli and that's no fun.

Ingredients for a broccoli soup by the straw

broccoli florets

1 or 2 shallots

Knorr chicken cube (replace with vegetable cube if you are vegetarian)

1.5 liter water or about 6 cups water

Preparation

1. Cut the broccoli in big chunks

2. Boil the florets until they are tender.

3. Pour the water, reboil them. Add the shallots and when the water is boiling, add one or two little cubes.

4. Let boil for 5-10 minutes

5. Don't drain the water. Put all ingredients in a vitamix or blender and that's it.

remember to boil the broccoli twice if you don't want to be burping broccoli all day long.

Easy peasy. No heavy cream, no fat. One bowl is about maybe ... what? ... 30 calories? And believe me, it tastes SO good!

Sometimes, I add a little shaved super-extra-vermont-sharp cheddar with it. That adds on the calories and it is just for a little extra pleasure. And as for the big glass jar of soup, I might drink it all before the kids come back home. However, broccoli soup is their favorite and kids need their veggies, right?