Place the oil in a minimum 5-quart pot and melt over medium heat.
¼ cup olive oil
Stir in the garlic, yellow onion, and bell pepper.
3 large cloves garlic, 1 large yellow onion (up to 250 grams), peeled and coarsely chopped, 1 large red or orange bell pepper
Season with sea salt and royally with black pepper.
1 teaspoon sea salt, Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cook and stir for 5 minutes.
Add the carrots and stir to combine. Then add the vegetable broth.
1 pound carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped, 32 oz low-sodium vegetable broth
Cover the pot and let the liquid come to a simmer.
Continue to cook, pot half-covered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Don't let the soup come to a full boil. Instead, reduce the heat if necessary to maintain a steady simmer.
Stir in the spinach leaves until wilted (1 to 2 minutes).
1 cup packed spinach leaves (30 grams)
Remove the pot from the stove, and with an immersion blender, carefully puree the soup. Of course, you can always puree the soup in batches using a stand blender or food processor.
Stir in the fresh orange juice while the soup is still hot—season to taste with more salt, if necessary.
½ cup fresh orange juice
Garnish with sliced almonds and a pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes when serving.
Sliced almonds, Dried chili flakes or red pepper flakes to taste