Meet: my new friend... The Smoothie Soup

It's getting cold in LA again (well, it might have dropped below 70, which makes ME cold!) so I'm rethinking my standard Smoothies and Smoothies-in-a-Bowl. I decided to try something I hadn't tried before: A Smoothie Soup. Hot. Protein-rich. Here's what went into the Vitamix:

• Hot water
• Handful spinach (it was my morning green smoothie after all)
• 1/2 raw zucchini
  
• 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1/2 tsp Guar Gum
• 1/2 tsp Agar powder
• Scoop chocolate protein powder
• sprinkle Stevia

Let it whir for a couple of minutes...then I added the final ingredient to get it to be a bit thicker:

• 1.5 Tablespoon Chia seeds. Then let sit for 10 minutes

The verdict? This was quite a low-cal meal- probably 280 maximum including the topping (even though I'm no longer counting calories, I'm just letting you know the stats!)... Here are my impressions:

• It was warm and comforting on a cold morning.
  
• It filled me up for a good couple of hours.
  
• The taste was surprisingly good, and not vegetal at all- really chocolaty.
  
• The consistency was a tad runny.

Some thoughts for improvement:

• Add more Chia seeds
  
• Use less hot water
• Use vanilla protein powder, and perhaps more of it..
  
• Use other veggies (cauliflower, yellow squash, pumpkin, butternut squash, etc)
• Try without veggies
• Try with fruit: nanners, peaches, pears
  
• Use some cooked oat groats or wheatberries for chew (blended gently at the end)
  
• Use oats or other carbs if desired
• Go crazy with the spices- cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, etc.
• Eat a nut butter on the side- more staying power.
• Have fun with the toppings- sky's the limits! Sprinkles anyone?
  

Question: If you could create a warm smoothie soup, what would be your star ingredients? I want LOADS of ideas! Come out of the woodworks, lurkers! Everyone's welcome! :-D