Ah, the perfect meal: It’s something we’re always searching for. Something that is filling but not heavy; savory with a hint of sweetness; infinitely customizable instead of being the same every time.

When I’m planning dinners and lunches, I’m always trying to strike a balance. While I COULD eat leafy greens and veggies only, I’d get hungry in an hour. But I’m not really into eating lots of meat.

In fact, my husband and I eat very little meat on purpose. But we’re both extremely active – we prefer to work out 4-5 times per week. We need substantial meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and we like to find other ways to have a hearty meal.

Turns out, there are lots of the benefits we’re looking for in potatoes! I’m working with the US Potato Board for this recipe to turn them into an awesome meal we can make for lunch, dinner or for making ahead and freezing. Our theme is “Reinvigorating Your Love” – in this case, a new imagining of a classic.

It’s a riff on a recipe my mom made many times during my childhood – and a pretty vintage recipe idea! But what has me really excited about it, and has reinvigorated my love for it, is that this is a great meal for people who are trying to lead a plant-based lifestyle.

It’s packed with veggies (in fact, it is vegetarian and gluten free already), and it’s VERY easy to make vegan or just flexitarian (that bacon on top is always fun!)

Now that I’m making food in my own home with my own family and knowing the science we know in 2016, it’s really important to me that my husband and I lead an environmentally friendly, plant-based lifestyle. I think potatoes are a great choice for this since they are so nutritious, with lots of health benefits that are great for any weeknight OR for powering us for our next half marathon.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 3 celery ribs, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 medium carrots, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 6-7 small russet potatoes, diced
• 1 quart vegetable stock
• 2 generous tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. red miso paste
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. best quality olive oil
• 2 cups milk
• You may want to add these toppings:
• Bacon
• Chives
• Green Onions
• Shredded Cheese
• Greek yogurt

Instructions

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven (about 6 quarts in volume is good), heat the vegetable oil. When the oil is heated, add the celery, onion, carrots and garlic to the Dutch oven. Cook until the veggies are translucent.
2. Add the diced potatoes, vegetable stock and salt. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 20-25 minutes.
3. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the broth out into a heat safe bowl, and use a fork or a whisk to stir in the miso. Add the miso back to the pot. Turn off the heat, and very carefully use a stick blender to blend the soup to be about 2/3 smooth and 1/3 chunks – or if you prefer another texture, go for it!
4. Finally, stir in the lemon juice, milk and olive oil. You can hold this over low heat for quite a while, stirring occasionally. Or, it’s great for freezing for work lunches. I like to top mine with chives and bacon.