Vegan Cheesy Broccoli Soup

I'm a huge fan of chickpeas. This is really funny coming from a girl who didn't even know what they were a little over a year ago. Team Beachbody and Tony Horton have definitely peaked my interest in the wide variety of great food options out there. Since being challenged last year to give up animal products, I've definitely become quite fond of my Vegan staples. My pantry is always filled with a larger variety of beans, tomatoes, whole grains, silken tofu and various spices just to name a few. I love to create in the kitchen - and my favorite thing to do is re-make my traditional favorites Vegan Style.

Tonight I set out on an adventure to create a cheesy tasting broccoli soup without the dairy. I think I've found just the recipe I was hoping for. This soup has a nice rich smoky cheddar cheese taste - dairy-free! I used my favorite chickpeas blended with peeled tomatoes, Tahini sauce and nutritional yeast to create the faux cheese sauce. In my book, I'm calling this a SUCCESS! Hope you enjoy!

• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup chopped White Onion
• 1 tsp minced Garlic
• 1 cup Water
• 1 Vegetable Bouillon Cube
• 1 (15 oz.) can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can peeled Tomatoes, drained and rinsed
• 1 tbsp Tahini sauce
• 1/3 cup Nutritional Yeast
• 1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 2 cups chopped Broccoli Florets
• 1 tsp Ground Mustard
• 1 tsp Dill weed
• 1 tsp Parsley
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Soup Base
In medium saucepan add oil, onion and garlic. Saute' on low heat until tender. Add in water and bouillon cube. Cook at low heat until cube dissolves, then lower heat to simmer.

Cheesy Sauce
In blender, combine chickpeas, tomatoes, Tahini sauce, nutritional yeast and milk. Puree on high until liquified. Pour into soup base in saucepan.

Add mustard, dill weed,parsley and broccoli. Simmer on low heat covered for 20 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Makes approximately 5 servings.

Nutritional: 1 cup serving size
Calories: 222  Carbs: 29.7g  Fat: 8.5g  Fiber: 6.9g   Protein: 8.6g