I’ve been slacking on my nutrition lately.

I know, I know. The cold hard truth is I’ve had a few too many fistfuls of sugary candy, decadent chocolate and gorgeous carbs, and I don’t mean the whole or multigrain variety either. I’m referring to those delicious white devils. Look, we all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and the path to type two diabetes is a slippery slope. It’s also possible I added my own little twist at the end there, which is par for the course with me.

To be clear, I am in no danger of becoming diabetic; certainly not from a few nights and weekends of excess. It takes more time and dedication than that, and I can be somewhat idle when I set my mind to it. Hello Pajama Day, you beautiful, beautiful thing. Plus, we all know my one true love is veggies and cheese and potatoes and fruit and… crap, I get around. Oh well, at least I adore whole foods in all their shining glory. It’s easy to avoid diabetes when the healthy stuff gets your motor running.

So you’re probably wondering why I’m revealing my less than savory ways, to which I’d respond, “Great inquiry, and my answer is three-fold.”

First, TMI (Too Much Information) is my new middle name. Case in point, I had a Fifty Shades of Hubby dream this weekend, and it still has me smiling.

My second and more tactful reason is I’m a lot like YOU and sometimes I struggle with my food and fitness too. Shockingly enough, being a food blogger doesn’t automatically make me the perfect eater. In fact, it only means I can afford the monthly website fee.

The third and most important reason: it’s why I added broccoli to my classic potato soup. When I find myself getting a little lethargic with my eat all the whole foods mentality, I deliberately amp up my fruit and veggie intake. Saturday night’s popcorn for dinner doesn’t count, even if I did make it on the stove, the old-fashioned way.

This Creamy Potato and Broccoli Soup combines one of my absolute favorites, the simple, yet underappreciated spud with two shades of green: broccoli and pesto. It’s an award-winning combination, minus the actual award because I haven’t brought it to any cooking contests…yet, that is.

It is a mouth-watering bowl of nourishment which is Hearty. Dense. Flavorful. And Filling. It will warm the cockles of your heart and tickle your toes. It will make you wish you’d tripled the batch. Honestly, this magical concoction is so incredible on its own, I didn’t even add any cheese, which says everything right there. In fact, depending on what pesto you use, this recipe could qualify as vegan.

The parsley, the pine nuts, and the added green onions are more for presentation purposes than anything. The simple truth is the Hubby and I inhaled this without any of the accoutrements seen here. Sage colored soup can be tricky to photograph though and sometimes you need a little help from your friends, in the form of garnishes that is. I don’t mean the illegal mother’s little helper kind. Then again, pine nuts are pretty racy.

If you’re looking to warm up this winter, for something satisfying and gratifying or for a good time, you’ll want to make this soup. It fits the bill on all accounts.

Creamy Potato Broccoli Soup with Pesto 2015-02-16 19:58:11 Serves 6 A healthy, hearty, dense, flavorful and filling potato soup with a nutritional boost in the form of broccoli and pesto. Write a review Save Recipe Print Prep Time 20 min Cook Time 30 min Total Time 50 min Prep Time 20 min Cook Time 30 min Total Time 50 min Ingredients 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil 1 large Onion or roughly 1 cup, chopped 2 Tbsp. Dry White Wine or Sherry 6 large Russet Potatoes, roughly 6 cups, peeled and chopped into one inch pieces 2 bunches of Broccoli or roughly 3 cups, chopped 4 cups Vegetable Stock 1 1/2 tsp. Salt 3/4 tsp. Pepper 1 cup Milk of choice* 3 Tbsp. Pesto Toasted Pine Nuts (Optional Garnish) Diced Green Onion (Optional Garnish) Bunch of Parsley (Optional Garnish) Instructions Heat olive oil in a large deep saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook for a few minutes until translucent, about five minutes. Add white wine or sherry and cook for thirty seconds until it evaporates, stirring the entire time. Add the diced potatoes, broccoli, vegetable stock, salt and pepper and bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and let cook another twenty five minutes until potatoes and broccoli are tender. Remove from heat, add one cup of milk and cream the soup using an immersion blender or by adding it to a blender in batches. Stir in pesto. Enjoy. Notes *I used Silk Original Almond Milk. **If the consistency of the soup is too thick for you, you can always thin it with more milk. I only needed one cup. By Meghan McCarthy Clean Eats, Fast Feets http://cleaneatsfastfeets.com/

Once upon a time I mentioned most of my recipes happen on a whim , and this particular bowl of delight is no different. You know why I brought the broccoli to the party, although the rest came about because it was damn cold out and I was looking for something to feed me now and again, later in the week. Also, I had a twenty pound bag of potatoes from Costco hanging out in my basement, and the Hubby strongly encouraging me to work through my freezer supply of put up ingredients. Hello pesto from 2o13. The rest is history.

What’s your preferred soup flavor? Do you like your soup creamy or chunky?