Sweater Weather: Everybody Loved It...Except the Grumpy WFPB Guy
Jeff
9/22/20264 min read
I don't even know where this blog is going today…Just like normal, I woke up this morning with that extra little pep in my step. Nathan was up this week, and he seems to have a pretty good grasp on this whole Soup Club thing. Plus, he's a pastry-baking dude, so expectations were high.
But before we get into today's soup, let's take a step back…When Soup Club started, it was about sharing healthy soups. It was kinda nice because I was primarily WFPB, Andy and Conlan were mainly vegetarian, and everyone seemed to understand BOTH parts of our tagline: Eat Healthy. Have Fun.
I looked the other day, and we've now been involved with more than 90 recipes. That's actually pretty damn impressive!
Last week I may have hinted that putting 1½ cups of oil into a pot of soup wasn't exactly in the spirit of "Eat Healthy." That hint was twofold. One, maybe Josephine thinks a little more in the healthy direction next time. And two, maybe our other newbie, Nathan, pays attention before his big day. Just look how far Tam has come!
Apparently Nathan wasn't listening…Maybe he was too busy wondering if Josephine used avocado oil last week, because this week we got oil, heavy cream, butter, cheese and bears...OH MY!
We also got our first-ever gnocchi soup, which we all appreciated. Although, let's be real, those delicious little dumplings probably aren't winning any health-food awards either.
To Nathan's credit, he absolutely crushed the 240-ounce Soup Club minimum. Much appreciated. He also packed the soup with a ton of great ingredients. Unfortunately, this may have been the first Soup Club meeting where there was plenty of soup available...and I only ate one bowl. Yep…Me…One bowl. That should tell you where this is going.
Sweater Weather: Original vs. Lighter Version
(Estimated batch yield: 240 oz, Nutrition values are estimates. Sodium can vary significantly depending on the vegetable broth, gnocchi, pesto, Parmesan, rotisserie chicken, added salt and other seasonings used.)
ORIGINAL RECIPE
Serving Size: 15 oz
Calories: ~425
Total Fat: ~16 g
Saturated Fat: ~6 g
Carbohydrates: ~37 g
Dietary Fiber: ~6 g
Total Sugars: ~6 g
Protein: ~28 g
Sodium: ~575 mg
LIGHTER VERSION
Without oil, heavy cream, butter, gnocchi, chicken or cheese
Serving Size: 15 oz
Calories: ~85
Total Fat: ~1 g
Saturated Fat: ~0 g
Carbohydrates: ~16 g
Dietary Fiber: ~5 g
Total Sugars: ~5 g
Protein: ~5 g
Sodium: ~150–225 mg
Here's the part that jumped out at me…Take those six ingredients away and a 15-ounce serving drops from roughly 425 calories to 85 calories, while also substantially reducing the fat and saturated fat. Yes, there's a tradeoff. Protein drops from roughly 28 grams to 5 grams per serving. BUT...I'd comfortably eat two or three bowls of the lighter version!
Enough of my soupbox…Let's count the 10s...
Soup Club Feedback:
Kevin: Seemed VERY happy. He was already working on his second bowl when he gave it a 9.0. Then he added smoked salt and Habanero Harman's sauce and suddenly it became an easy 10.0!
Conlan: Started off saying something about overcooked gnocchi, and then...gave...it...10.0! Huh? From Conlan? Wait a minute...maybe he actually DID make it?
Josephine: "There's nothing wrong with this soup...10.0!!!" And yes, there were actually three exclamation points on her ballot.
Adam: "Delicious, perfect fall-season soup." Didn't love the stringy spinach dangling off his spoon, though. Final answer: 9.75!
Marketing Mike: Called it "a lovely bowl of soup." Yep…He used the word lovely. He liked the thin carrots, loved the thick broth and joined the parade with another 10.0!
Jeff: Ugh…Let's start with the positives. Good texture. Good color. I like gnocchi, although probably not the healthiest choice, and I thought the spice profile was really good. Now the cons…Oil. Heavy cream. Butter. Cheese. Overcooked, slimy gnocchi. I actually think this soup has some serious Soup Club potential if the bad stuff gets eliminated and the gnocchi becomes a Bottomer™ like the chicken. Then everyone could build the soup they want. THAT would be something that fits Soup Club. But as presented? Nope. I graciously gave it a 5.5 and wasn't even planning to finish my bowl. Then I added some smoked salt and Habanero Harman's sauce and bumped it to a 6.5. Probably could've been a 2.5 and 3.5, but I know Nathan put a lot of effort into this. Well... Maybe Nathan…Maybe Conlan…Maybe one or both of their partners…Somebody put a lot of effort into it.
Tam: Called in sick.
Soup Club Average: 9.375 - Apparently I ate a completely different soup than everybody else.
Campbell's Crew™:
Hunter: Retired. Retired people don't get a score.
Felton: "Something's missing..." Then didn't give us a score. Helpful.
So now I'm sitting here shaking my head as I look toward next week, which was supposed to be Andy's turn. Except Andy has now taken a firm stand that he will NOT be making soup next week. Or ever. He's officially no longer "on break." He quit. Apparently Soup Club isn't really his thing anymore, he feels his time is better spent elsewhere, and he's getting enough recipe variety in his life without us. Bummer. Wiping away one tear now...Maybe two.
Sooooo...That puts me in the on-deck circle, swinging the weighted bat. I've got another WFPB experiment in the works that should hopefully bring Soup Club back around to the "Eat Healthy" part of the tagline. Now we just need to eliminate the drama...and find our way back to the "Have Fun" part.
