Archives for vegetable soup

Creamy Asparagus Soup

November 30, 2016 by Zucchini Runner in Food, Side Dish | Comments Off on Creamy Asparagus Soup

Ok, so asparagus might be a spring veggie, but the organic bundles at the store the other day looked SO GOOD, we just couldn’t pass them up! I’m very much a live in the moment person, especially when it comes to cooking or planning my meals. Sure, I go through periods where I pull out the cookbooks, get ideas, make lists and then shop that list… but it never lasts. Nearing age 40, I’ve really started to embrace the unchangeable aspects of my personality. In some areas, a plan is good, in other areas planning just makes me more stressed! It’s a hard balance to maintain, and as I said, it has taken me nearly 40 years to figure out which end is up — but hey at least I did! Life is SO much better when we embrace and accept certain aspects of ourselves that are just engrained in our cells. Wait, isn’t this supposed to be about asparagus soup?! Ah yes, well, here you go.

Some fun facts about asparagus:

  1. Antioxidant Rich: neutralizes cell-damaging free radicals
  2. Nutrient Rich: fiber, folate, vitamins A, C, E and K
  3. It also contains high levels of the amino acid asparagine, which serves as a natural diuretic; not only releasing fluids, but also rids the body of excess salts. (Beneficial for people with high blood pressure or edema.)

So throw caution to the wind and eat out of season! Who cares if it’s November! Bring on the asparagus soup. LOL
But if you DO want to eat in season, here is the list for Arizona. 😀

asparagus_soup_final

Ingredients

2 lbs. asparagus, about 2 bundles
1/2 of one large zucchini, chopped (optional, this just adds a little more green!)
1 medium brown onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped
1-2 TBSP coconut oil
5 c. vegetable broth
1/2 c. raw macadamia nuts
1/4 tsp. real salt
Ground black pepper (optional, for taste)
Pumpkin seeds (optional, for topping)
Fresh squeezed lemon juice (optional, for a light zing!)

Instructions

  1. Wash asparagus and remove extra firm ends, by snapping off. Then chop the asparagus into 1″ pieces. Set aside.
  2. Heat a stock pot over medium-low heat with coconut oil. Once the oil melts, add the chopped onion. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes, or until the onions start to become translucent.
  3. Add chopped garlic, stir well to combine.
  4. Add the chopped asparagus and chopped zucchini, stir well and cook for about 10-15 minutes. Stirring often.
  5. Add vegetable broth and salt, increase heat to medium-high. Once it comes to a boil reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 10 minutes or until the asparagus is nice and soft.
  6. To turn it into a nice, creamy soup you can either use an emersion blender or a standing blender. (I used my Vitamix standing blender.)
  7. Standing blender method: Simply ladle the soup from the stockpot into the blender. Add the macadamia nuts to the blender too. Place the lid on tightly and loosen the center cap to allow SOME heat to escape. Use the soup setting and blend! Keep a close eye on it however, since the heat build up can cause the lid to pop-up, especially this full. (I have an 8+ cup blending container, so I could do this all in one batch. You may have to do half and then do the other half if you have a smaller blender.)
  8. Emersion blender method: add the nuts to the soup/stockpot and blend away until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
  9. Before serving, you can squeeze some fresh lemon juice into each bowl, and top your soup with ground black pepper and some pumpkin seeds if you like. Have fun with it, make it yours!

This soup makes ~8.5 cups. It’s great reheated the next day and can also be made and frozen ahead of time.

Below is a little slideshow of the steps, if you are a visual person like me! Enjoy!

What is your favorite creamy vegetable soup?

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Veggie Medley Soup (aka Holiday Helper Soup)

December 6, 2013 by Zucchini Runner in Food, Main Dish, Side Dish, Snacks | 2 Comments

In true retail fashion, Thanksgiving dinner was still digesting in our guts when we heard Christmas music playing over the store speakers. [sigh]

Yes, we were THOSE people.

I’ll admit, on Thanksgiving night, we perused the racks at Sports Authority hoping to find some great deals on fitness apparel… and maybe some gifts in the process. You see, in the hot month of July when everyone else was sweating and sitting by the pool, I was already excited for Christmas. This NEVER happens and I’m still not sure what got into me. But this year I was determined to NOT be on the verge of tears while standing at the FedEx shipping counter, for fear my gifts to family wouldn’t arrive on time for Christmas.

Maybe it’s all the personal development I’ve been doing as a Beachbody Coach… or listening to Chalene Johnson’s CAR SMART series during my daily commute. Either way, I’m happy to report that as of today, December 7th, I have 95% of my Christmas shopping DONE and I couldn’t be happier! Not only are some of these gifts more thoughtful (I say some, because I did buy my 21 year old nephew a Subway gift card… and there may be some people getting Starbucks… but I digress…) I now have more time to devote to the things that REALLY matter at Christmas. The spirit of giving – not just gifts, but my time, celebrating traditions and focusing on providing my body with nutrient dense meals. This is the time of year where nutrition is MOST important, yet many of us, myself included let it fall to the wayside and put our priorities elsewhere.

I called this soup The Holiday Helper Soup, as I was thinking how beneficial it would have been for me to have this in my corner that night I was in tears at FedEx. I could have scarfed a bowl while shoving my homemade body scrubs into a large box and quite possibly avoided the meltdown I was doomed to inevitably experience when they asked me if I had liquids in my box. Perhaps my blood sugar levels would have been more balanced and I would have had the presence of mind to simply LIE, knowing full well it was oil mixed with sugar and perfectly harmless.

This original recipe was given to me almost a year ago by my friend Danielle. She is a fellow runner, vegan and both she and her husband Rob LOVE to cook! Over the past year, I’ve made this recipe many times, in a variety of ways. I finally think it’s been modified enough that I can share it here! The BEST part about this recipe is you can put just about any root veggies in it and keep the seasoning the same and it will always come out great! Below is a double batch, so it will last quite a while!

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It’s a lot of chopping, but fairly easy and well worth it!

In a large stock pot, combine the following ingredients:
6 cups water
1 1/4 c. rinsed lentils
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 small golden potatoes (organic is best), chopped into cubes
6 stalks of celery, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 small parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 small bundle skinny radishes, chopped

Added in the last 5 minutes of cooking:
4 c. kale, without stems and ripped into bite sized pieces
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
1 – 7 oz. can tomato paste
2 tbsp coconut nectar (maple syrup works great too)
2 tbsp white vinegar (I’m going to also try apple cider vinegar next time)
1/2 tea. garlic salt
1 tea. dried thyme
1 tea. dried dill weed
1/2 tea. dried tarragon
1/2 tea. fresh ground black pepper

I love this soup because it’s so basic and really, really hard to mess up! The cook time is also pretty quick considering how much soup it makes. Once you get the first seven ingredients in the pot, heat on high to med-high and cook for about 15-20 minutes. You just want to make sure the potatoes and parsnips are getting soft – I usually pull one out and let it cool for a minute and take a bite. Once it’s almost the perfect tenderness, add the remaining ingredients and give it a good stir. Cook for an additional 5-7 minutes.

This will freeze great or stay in the fridge for up to a week.

It’s perfect to have on hand for those nights when you don’t have time to cook, but really need to nourish the body! You can mix up the veggies as well or add a side of sprouted toast for a little filler too.