My tastes & eating habits have evolved a lot over the past few years, going from a steady diet of microwave popcorn with spray butter & pasta with the cheapest jarred sauce in college to what you see here on this blog every day…mostly whole foods & well rounded homemade dishes.  I read somewhere that your tastebuds morph over the course of about seven years, so that sounds about right.  Give or take a few years.

Throughout these years one thing has remained the same.  If I walk into a Panera Bread (which, admittedly, isn’t nearly as often as it used to be), I will order the Broccoli Cheddar soup.  I just love the stuff, & especially crave it when I’m sick (extra black pepper, please), which is why I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of DailyBuzz Tastemaker Program with Panera Soups.

I was initially hoping we would be chosen to create a Panera inspired recipe, giving us an excuse to try & recreate my beloved Broccoli Cheddar.  We weren’t, but that’s okay because I probably would be dangerous armed with that kind of knowledge.

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Instead, we received a gift card & headed to the nearest Panera for dinner.  I swear up & down that I was thisclose to ordering the Chicken Sonoma Stew with Dry Jack Biscuit because it sounds delicious, especially that biscuit, but it was cold & I was tired & I fell right in to my comfortable Broccoli Cheddar routine.  Tom’s usually a sandwich guy, but stepped right up & chose the French onion soup as part of his You Pick Two.

My Broccoli Cheddar was as creamy & satisfying as always.  I was even pleasantly surprised to see that it only clocks in at 220 calories for the You Pick Two portion & 300 calories for the full size bowl.  The French Onion was a little disappointing to look at, with none of the croutons & melted cheese that typically tops each bowl, but the taste wasn’t at all disappointing…it was rich, with almost a slow cooked flavor.

What’s your favorite thing to order at Panera?  Do you make your own combinations, or are you stuck on one thing, like me?  Let us know in the comments!

Panera Bread did send us a gift card to purchase these soups & we are being compensated for our time, but the thoughts expressed are 100% ours.  We can & will continue to spend our hard earned cash on my broccoli cheddar & Tom’s sandwich habits.