Everything But the Kitchen Sink Soup
Howdy and Happy Monday!
Yesterday I made another batch of soup for Souper Sunday. This might be my favorite yet.
I used Sarah Bitton’s recipe Garlicky White Bean Stew as my Inspiration. However, my version of this this soup ended up being more of a cleaning out the fridge experiment that actually turned out pretty dang well. I was a little skeptical in lieu of the randomness of the ingredients, but the ingredients worked together. This souper is filling, flavorful and simple. Woot!
The Goods:
- 1T coconut oil
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1.5t smoked paprika
- dash of sea salt
- 5bay leaves
- pinch of chili flakes
- 1can kidney beans, rinsed
- 1can cannelini beans, rinsed
- 1 can (14oz) diced tomatoes – no/low sodium
- 2 cups brussel sprouts, halved
- 1c up broccoli, chopped
- 1c spinach
- 1 medium Japanese sweet potato, chopped (could also use a yam or regular sweet potato)
- 4c cups vegetable broth
- avocado & hot sauce for garnish- optional
- Heat coconut oil in a large stockpot.
- Add onions to the pot with a couple pinches sea salt, chili flakes, bay leaves and paprika.
- Cook for a few minutes until the onions have softened, then add sliced garlic.
- Add the potatoes and stir for 3 minutes
- Add brussel sprouts and broccoli and stir for 3 minutes- if getting too dry add a little vegetable stock
- Add other ingredients, bring to a boil,
- Simmer for 20 minutes
- A few minutes before serving add spinach & season to taste, and
- serve with a avocado & a dash of hot sauce
I am off to Trader Joe’s to see if they finally have more broccoli in stock. Why is there a broccoli and kale shortage at Joe’s lately?! The horror.
Toodles!
Curried Cauliflower Soup
I am on a soup kick. The past two Sundays have been cleverly deemed Souper Sunday.
This Past Sunday I dominated Dr. Andrew Weil’s Curried Cauliflower Soup. I got the recipe from Sir Weil’s latest cookbook True Food. I adore this recipe for how simple and nutritious it is. I pretty much followed the recipe entirely, but I made a few tweaks to up the flavor a wee bit. Here is what my version looks like:
Curried Cauliflower Soup serves: 4-6
The Goods:
- 1/3c raw cashews
- 2t extra virgin olive oil
- 1medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 large head of cauliflower- chopped into small pieces
- 1 (14oz) can light coconut milk
- 4c veggie broth
- 2T curry powder
- 1t turmeric
- 1T cumin
- 2T maple syrup
- 1/2t ground cinnamon
- 1/4t garlic salt
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over low heat add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add chopped cauliflower, cashews, coconut milk, vegetable broth, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, garlic salt, cinnamon and maple syrup. Bring to a boil and simmer until the cauliflower is tender (about 10min)
- Blend soup with immersion blender until desired consistency is reached- this may take a few minute to chop up the cashews and the cauliflower. Be patient. If using a standing blender, allow the mixture to cool for 20 minutes. Pour soup into the blender. Hold the lid down firmly with a clean, folded towel over it. Start on low speed and blend until the soup is smooth. Return to pot and reheat.
I topped this gem with Siracha & a few pieces of marinated & baked tofu. Toppings are endless…. pumpkin seeds, greek yogurt, or like Sir Weil suggests caramelized onions & cilantro.
I enjoyed this guy alongside a mixed green salad topped with dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and spicy cashew sauce.
yumsicles.
And with that, I am off. Happy Tuesday!
What I Ate Wednesday
Happy Halloween!!!
Pardon my blog hiatus, I was celebrating my besties upcoming nuptials in Phoenix and work has been a little cray cray. Nonetheless, I did remember to snap the majority of my eats yesterday, so without further adieu, I bring you my latest WIAW:
Go Here For More Info.
Breakfast:
supplements & lemon water
pumpkin parfait.
In this delight:
1/4c Swiss Museli, 2/3c Organic Whole Milk Yogurt, 1T Chia seeds, 2T organic pumpkin Pie filling, & 2T unsweetened almond milk
How To: combine all ingredients the night before consumption and store in fridge.
Next Up:
Coffee & whole Milk
Lunch:
Egg Scramble on Ezekeil Wrap with a few orange pepper slices and hummus.
Post Lunch, I decided to pull this bag out from the back of the cupboard
big mistake. I kept going back for just a few more bites…
A few hours later, my appetite came back, so I munched on a few veggies w/ hummus while warming up last night’s veggie chili for dinner
Dinner:
Veggie Chili. I almost followed this recipe to a tee. Except I used butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes and used 1t of chipotle powder instead of 1T. I put this batch on a bed of spinach and topped with avocado, Siracha & nutritional yeast.
Honestly, the best part of this meal was sir cornbread
I used Bob’s Red Mil’s GF cornbread mix. Super easy & pretty darn tasty.
Dessert:
A medley of chocolate
1T white chic chips, 1T dark chic chips & 1T of Trader Joe’s dark chocolate covered ginger= yumsicles.
If you want to partake in this eating soiree or just get your fill of food porn, stop by Jen’s blog Peas and Crayons for more WIAW madness.
Have a safe and happy Halloween!
I will leave you with a pug mug:
Super Soup
Last night I went over to Meg’s for dinner. Miss Meg is a friend and fellow Health Coach’s over at Feed Me Darling . On the menu was Warming Spice Squash Soup. Meg did an amazing job with soup. I literally can’t stop thinking about it.
Some of the goods used in the soup:
Miss Meg cooking away:
Me getting after a bottle of wine in which I am feeling today.
I am thinking I will be recreating last night’s deliciousness in the very near future.
I am also thinking that I am rather obsessed with soups right now. Now that the weather is getting cooler, I love the warm nurturing comfort soup provides. In lieu of my recent obsession, I started sleuthing the food blog world for drool worthy soup recipes.
Here are the top three I intended on making in the very near future:
1. Manifest Vegan’s Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup
2. My New Root’s Four Corner’s Lentil Soup
3. Healthy Green Kitchen’s White Bean Stew with Pumpkin and Kale
And with that I am off. Have a superb weekend!
Weekend plans
Fall has officially arrived in P town. With the cooler temps, I started sleuthing for fall inspired recipes and thus began my weekend agenda.
My weekend plans are lookin’ a little like this:
1. Cake Batter Blondies. I am obsessed with these. I think I just need to make these to get it out of my system. They scare and thrill me all in the same vein.
2. The hairs are getting chopped. I think. I hope. I made the appointment, so lets see if I can actually go through with it. I have an unnatural attachment to my mane and it is time to stop the madness. I am hoping for the haircut below- I wonder if the face comes with it?
3. I need a good pair of cords (who doesn’t?!) and I just so happen to have an anthro gift card burning hole in my pocket.
4. Chili will be made. I am thinking this fella will be a good place to start.
What are your thrilling weekend plans?
I saw this on pinterest this morning and I giggled.
I just laughed again.
And with that, I am off.
Happy Weekend!
say farewell to this week’s workouts
I know all must be shedding many tears that I will no longer be posting this week’s workouts. Fear not, I will still be working out and sharing a single workout from time-to-time, but the collaborative post on the weekends had me bored to death. And I am my biggest fan, so if I was bored I can only imagine where that left you cats.
Now lets get on to more important matters:
This post is full of random. Beware.
I fully intend on making this curried lentil soup from Oh She Glows. I plan on following this recipe to the tee except adding some kale at the end. big plans!
veggies preparing themselves:
carrots, celery, green onion
The star of the show:
sprouted lentils are easier to digest
In addition to getting goods for the soup, I picked up these two fun finds:
fiesta time rice chips and garlic gold evoo
I have been itching to try this garlic gold oil for a while and decided to splurge on it yesterday. I am thinking he will be a nice topper to my salads. deep thoughts.
The fiesta lime chips have also been on my radar, but I have passed them up in lieu of the sugar and whey in the ingredient declaration. I got a wild hair up my fanny yesterday and said “screw it.” I am wild! They are delish!
I also decided to try a new shampoo and conditioner. I have been buying the same salon stuff for over a year and didn’t feel like making a separate stop, so I hope these two do not disappoint.
I have been using Earth Science’s olive and avocado conditioning masque for a while as a treatment and I adore it. This fella can also be purchased at Whole Foods. If you have dry, frizzy hair like myself then this guy should be added to your toolbox asap.
Two other loves that were purchased on grocery store expedition:
the lavender is intended to help me chill out and the white musk is to make me smell oh, so good. The white musk is a mixture of oils that allow you to smell devine without knocking you out. To boot, the little bottles are only $7.99 and they last for months. Win!
On another note:
Today we are watching our friends’ kiddo, Mr. Maxx.
the hat game
lunch time
sharing is caring
Maxx has moved in
I will leave you with Mr. Dead Dog
so weird
there it is again
And with that, I am off. Happy Sunday!
Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, & Buffalo Chili
Monday night I made this chili except I used ground, organic, grass-fed buffalo, instead of ground, organic, grass-fed beef. Please pardon my need to justify my meat consumption by listing its redeeming qualities. Anyway, this was my first time cooking with buffalo and my second time-consuming it, but it is a great lean alternative if you’re looking for that ground beef taste with less fat. Honestly, I am so new to the world of meat so taking my opinion may not be the wisest, but I definitely enjoyed the buffalo substitute . In addition to substituting the buffalo, I also added:
- extra brussel sprouts (maybe 10-15)
- extra broccoli another small head
- 1/2 of a butternut squash cubed and peeled.
- 1 additional 14.5 oz can of stewed tomatoes
- 1/2-3/4 c. extra water
I also topped with:
- a sprinkling of organic cheese
- a dabble of hot sauce
- and I lined the bowl with oodles of mixed greens
This is such a great meal that you can eat for many nights & lunches to come. The husband and I ate it for dinner again last night and we still have at least one more full meal for the both of us and perhaps another one. The gift that keeps on giving.
Hope you are all having a happy Wednesday!
chickpea spinach soup
This gem has been my lunch for the past couple of days and I might just eat it again today. I am wild. Get ready for a super easy, tasty and fast meal.
The goods:
- 1/2c pasta sauce of choice. I used Mazzetta*, which is really thick, so if you use a thinner pasta sauce, then use less water.
- 1/2c cooked chickpeas
- 1c kale, or spinach
- 1/4c (or so) water
- dash of sea salt, pepper and hot sauce
- a few crumbles of goat cheese
How to:
combine above ingredients in a small sauce pan on medium heat for 5-8minutes, while stirring often. Top with a few more goat cheese crumbles. Enjoy!
*side note about Mazzetta pasta sauce: this is the best pasta sauce I have ever had that came out of a jar. Here is the ingredient dec:
good stuff
Happy Friday!!
Veggie Chili
I made a very large batch of veggie chili on Sunday. I got this recipe from Whole Living last year, I altered it a little, so I will give you my version. I do not know who the original creator of this recipe is, so I am not sure who to give the credit to, but I thank them because this guy is a real gem and it makes enough for dinners/lunches all week long. I have made this recipe before, but for whatever reason this batch was soooo spicy. I like spice, so I don’t think I am being a wuss. To further prove my point, my husband’s head sweats every time he eats it. I could not figure out why this batch was so spicy. I thought maybe the jalapeno I used this time was extra spicy. Nope. I am just a ding dong. I went out to lunch with a friend today and she solved the mystery. Turns out chipotle powder is quite a bit more spicy the chili powder. Who knew? I do now. Here’s why this matters: the original recipe called for 5T of chili powder. I don’t have chili powder and I love the smokie-ness of chipotle powder, so I used 5T of chipotle powder. Well, if you like your food VERY spicy, I say give it a whirl. However, if you prefer to avoid breathing fire, use about 1.5T of chipotle powder. lesson learned.
Veggie loaded chili:
Prep time: 45 min
cook time: 45 min
serves 7-10
The goods
What you’ll need:
- 2T organic coconut oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3 cups broccoli florets, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1.5 (not 5)T chipotle powder
- 1T cumin
- 1t paprika
- 1/2t sea salt
- 1/2 fresh, ground pepper
- 1 orange pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes with juice
- 2 15-ounce cans of beans. I used 1 can pinto & 1 can of black beans. My favorite type of canned beans is Eden’s because they are packaged with seaweed rather than salt and their cans are BPA free.
Steps
- Heat oil in large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and jalapeno. Saute for approximately 3-5 minutes.
- Add sweet potato, broccoli and spices. Stir until spices evenly cover veggies. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add bell peppers & stir. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add tomatoes and and beans. Simmer uncovered for 25-30 minutes.
yummm
I added spinach or kale to my bowl after cooking, I also top with avocado and nutritional yeast (for some B vitamins) and added yum.
