Potato Leek Soup

One thing Joey and I both want to do this year is lose weight. We all know it's "easy." All one needs to do is eat healthily and exercise. I wish there was a way to divide up those duties. I would gladly let Joey do the exercise part and I would do the eating. It seems totally fair to me. Of course that is not the case, so we need to do both together.

Another thing we want to do this year is save money. That ranks right up there with exercise for me. I have visions of myself waddling to The Dollar Store to buy discount SlimFast. At least I would have all my bases covered. Rather than do that I am going to focus on low-fat, inexpensive, healthy meals. I was shocked to find it surprisingly easy. There are a myriad of low-fat cookbooks out there and I have most of them! I recently purchased 1,000 Lowfat Recipes by Terry Blonder Golson and along with all the other great recipes is a fantastic soup chapter. I had a lot of potatoes and found this great recipe. Not only is it 123 calories per serving, it's completely nonfat. As with most soups you can make this well ahead of time and it can be served hot or chilled. Either way it's a light yet satisfying soup.

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped leeks, including the light green part, washed well and chopped
• 4 cups peeled, shredded all-purpose potatoes
• 6 cups reduced-sodium, defatted chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh chives
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt

Instructions

1. Simmer leeks, potatoes, broth, and salt in a pot for 30 minutes.
2. Add the chives and parsley.
3. Cook for 10 minutes more.
4. Season to taste.
5. Puree if a smoother soup is preferred.
6. Chill or serve immediately with a dollop of yogurt.

Notes

• I chopped my leaks first thing then soaked them in cold water while I gathered up all the other ingredients or ten minutes. Then rinsed and drained them. Leaks can have a lot of sand.
• If you intend to puree the soup, you can just cut the potatoes into small pieces, which faster than shredding them.
• I didn't have chicken broth so I used mushroom broth and vegetable broth. It was really tasty and is a great vegetarian way to make the soup.