Sweet Potato Soup

Nothing tastes better than soup when you're sick.  Jack is running a fever and feels crummy, so I thought he needed some warm soup to make him feel just a little bit better.  My usual feel-better soup is chicken noodle, but today I made something a little different - sweet potato soup.  It is an easy, healthy meal and leftovers are delicious.

Sweet Potato Soup

What you will need:
2 large sweet potatoes (peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 chopped white onion
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon herbes de provence
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (less if you don't want your soup spicy)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups low sodium chicken stock
4 bacon slices, cooked and chopped
Shaved parmesan cheese
Green onions to garnish

How to make it:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spread cubed sweet potatoes on a sheet pan, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper.  Roast for 35 minutes or until tender.  Set sweet potatoes aside to cool.

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, heat a skillet over medium heat.  Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan.  Add onion and garlic; saute for 5 minutes until translucent.  Add the spices to the onion and stir to coat.  Remove onions from heat and allow to cool.

Using a Vitamix blender*, add chicken stock, sweet potatoes, onion mixture and salt.  Turn blender to the soup setting and blend until smooth, creamy and hot.  Top soup with cooked bacon, parmesan cheese and green onions.

*If you do not have a Vitamix, you can combine the stock, sweet potatoes, onions and salt into a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil and then transfer to a blender.  Work in batches to blend until creamy.