Super Easy Creamy Asparagus Soup - Low Carb

I often find myself with nothing "legal" for me to eat, even juggling Wheat Belly, Paleo and Low Carb diets. To keep myself from cheating, I keep these three ingredients in my home - cream cheese, chicken broth and asparagus. You can literally whip up this soup in less than 20 minutes, and it's good!

EASY LOW CARB CREAMY ASPARAGUS SOUP

1 16-oz can of low-sodium chicken broth or 2 cups homemade broth
1 can of chopped asparagus or about 2 cups of frozen or fresh asparagus steamed until tender
3-4 ounces (a scant half of an 8-oz block) of cream cheese
Salt (if your broth is not salted), onion powder, pepper, garlic powder to taste.

Optional - grated parmesan cheese, ground beef or chicken
If using fresh or frozen asparagus, you could cook it in the chicken broth until tender before adding the cream cheese

In a two-quart sauce pan pour in the chicken broth. Add in the cream cheese and heat gently. Drain the asparagus, if using canned, and rinse it to hopefully get off some of the sodium and BPA (blech). If using fresh steamed, chop and add to pot along with your seasonings - sorry, I don't measure these, just whatever works for you. I don't like spicy but I'm sure some pepper or a bit of hot sauce would be good if you do.

Heat until the cream cheese is melted or soft, then use a stick blender to puree the soup. If you don't have one, go out and get one! I use it all the time and I got mine at Goodwill for $3.93! I see them there all the time but you can find inexpensive ones as well. If you don't have one, you can carefully blend in a regular blender. NOTE: Asparagus has woody stems so it may take some extra work to get it pureed, and you may need to actually spoon through your soup and remove some of this if you want it nice and smooth.

If I have time, I sautee some chopped onion (and sometimes a bit of sliced carrot) and fresh garlic and add just the broth and simmer until vegetables are tender. Then I add the cream cheese and asparagus and blend together. Sometimes I then also add a bit of cooked ground beef or leftover chicken or some sort of cheese, a bit of parmesan or Italian blend are my favorites, and stir until meat is hot or cheese is melted. It all works and keeps the carbs very low!