Belly-warming detox soup!

Autumn is officially starting to take hold in Sydney. The days are still sunny and warm but the mornings and evenings are definitely getting colder.

And these cool, dark evenings coupled with a little bit too much indulgence over easter (mmmm hot cross buns!!!!) inspired me to cook up a huge pot of belly-warming vegetable soup for the week. 

I cook this up almost every other weekend during winter. Because I work full-time plus now with teaching yoga on the side, it is so great to have my dinner sorted out - a massive batch will last me for most of the week. I just come home, heat it up and I have got a nutritious, warming and filling dinner. 

And because it has nothing but good stuff in it, it is great for those times when you have been eating too many crappy foods and want to detox. Nothing but vegetables and legumes with a little coconut oil and lots of spices! 

And it is stupid easy to make. Like, ridiculously easy.

Ingredients:

- Lots of vegetables 

Can't make vegetable soup without 'em! I don't really have a set recipe for my soup and the veges change each time I make it. Other than that, I just chuck in whatever vegetables I felt like buying that week (or what I can find/ what is on special!). Last week this included carrots, celery, cauliflower, butternut pumpkin, broccoli, zucchini and a leek. 

- 2 brown onions 

- 2 cloves of garlic

- Coconut oil (about a tablespoon)

You can use any oil, but as you will be using it for browning the onions and leeks, I like to use coconut oil because it has a high smoking point so won't oxidise when heated at high temperatures. It is also has many other great benefits that have been written about extensively. Here is a starting point though if you are curious.

- Tumeric (2 teaspoons)

- Chilli flakes (1 - 2 teaspoons depending on how spiky you like your food)

- Cumin seeds (1 heaped tablespoon)

- Vegetable stock powder (3 teaspoons) 

- Dried lentils (3/4 cup)

You can use any kind of lentils that take your fancy - brown, green, red, yellow - it is all good. Or even swap them out for dried beans like navy beans.

- Split peas (1/2 cup)

Make it happen

Chop all the veges into bite sized chunks. If you are going to blend the soup (you can leave it chunky if you prefer), the size of the pieces doesn't matter that much but they will cook quicker if they aren't too big. Finely slice the onions and leeks (if you are using them).

Heat the coconut oil in a really big-ass pot. Once it covers the bottom of the pot, chuck in the onions. Keep stirring them until they go a nice golden colour.

Add in the turmeric, cumin seeds, chilli flakes, leek and garlic. (I just use a garlic crusher on mine but you can just as easily chop it finely with a small, sharp knife.) Keep stirring until the leek goes nice and soft.

Drop in all the veges, the lentils and the split peas and pour in enough water to cover everything with about an inch of water above it. Add the stock powder.

Give it a quick stir, take it to the boil and then allow it to simmer over a low heat with the lid on the pot.

And then you just wait! Leave it on for an hour or so, giving it a stir now and then to make sure it is all looking good.

Enjoy!

Once it is done, you can serve it straight up if you want it chunky or otherwise put it in the blender for a few seconds to make a smooth, thick soup. Add a piece of heavy, grainy bread if you want or just enjoy it as it is.

It will keep in the fridge for about a week and freezes well too. And the best thing is - it tastes even better the day after you make it.

YUM!!!!!

Greening my diet

My biggest vice is probably that I drink a lot of coffee. I love coffee.

I mean, I really love coffee. I probably have at least three proper barista-made coffees a day.

Given that I otherwise have a pretty clean diet that is free of all animal products and I don't drink at all anymore, I tend to give myself a break when it comes to coffee. It isn't like I am an intravenous drug user or anything - I just consume a whole lot of caffeine.

I have in the past made numerous attempts to give my lovely coffee. I have tried going entirely caffeine-free and replacing it with dandelion tea and assorted other herbal teas. I have tried replacing it with green tea. I have tried to just have it now and then as a treat. All of these attempts have done is given me a nasty headache and an even nastier attitude. It was not pretty.

At the moment, I am in a happy place where I try to only have normal coffees before lunch time. If I want one after that, I'll have a decaf (which I don't think is that awful to be honest). And right now, this is all that I am willing to do. I figure that this should at least ensure that the caffeine has enough time to leave my system so that I won't be overstimulated when I go to bed.

Recently, though, I have been reading more and more about the importance of balancing your body's pH level by including more foods in your diet that have an alkalising effect on the body. For example, this article on MindBodyGreen sets out a rather scary list of the negative effects that having an overly acidic diet can have on the human body.

I always take these types of lists with a grain of salt mind you - they are often based on scant or skewed research and tend to over-state the results - but there is a growing volume of literature which ties negative health consequences to acidity. And certainly enough for me to take stock of my own diet.

And wouldn't you know it? Coffee is a pretty god damned acidic. But, more surprisingly, so are a lot of other foods and beverages that I consider to be healthy and regularly consume - like nuts. And jeez - purified water!?!

I am not that keen to toss these things out of my diet. If I try give up coffee again, I am likely to lose friends and, quite possibly, my job. Also, let's face it, as a health-conscious vegan, my diet is already pretty limited. So, instead, I am focussing on including more of the foods that are on the other end of the pH scale and will have an alkalising effect on my body. Thus, hopefully, bringing my bod into a lovely balance.

If you look at the super-alkaline end of the spectrum shown in the article I mentioned before, you will notice lots and lots of green things - spinach, seaweed and the like. As much as I would love to say I can happily gorge myself on these foods, in all honesty I can't. I don't mind having them with things, but find it hard to get excited about them as the main event.

And that is where the amazing green smoothies come in!

Green smoothies are basically an easy way to sneaking greens into your diet (as well as a few choice other wonder-foods if you like) by whizzing them together with some yummy fruit and ice. You may have already seen lots of recipes for green smoothies - they are a pretty popular thing for health and food bloggers to post about at the moment (and don't forget the millions of photos on Instagram of green goop in recycled jars). The great thing about the green smoothie is that there are so many different ways to make these blended beauties. You can just keep experimenting with different ingredients until you come up with the concoction that best floats your boat.

So I figure - why don't I just add another green smoothie recipe to the blogosphere? So here it is - the green smoothie recipe that is currently rocking my world:

• Medium-sized banana - frozen and chopped into chunks
• About one cup of baby spinach leaves
• The same again of kale (if you can't get kale, just double the amount of baby spinach)
• Half a mango
• One scoop each of ground chia seeds, LSA mix, green powder (like wheatgrass, barley grass, spirulina etc) and protein powder (I use pea protein but you can use whatever you like - just try to avoid anything with added flavouring because it can mess with the taste of the smoothie - and not in a good way)
• A tablespoon of tahini
• A splash of almond milk (or whatever milk takes your personal fancy)
• Enough water and ice to get it to the right consistency (gluggy but still able to be poured

If you really like sweet things, you might want to add a sweetener like stevia or agave syrup. I personally think the banana and mango make it sweet enough so I don't bother.

The method could not be simpler - bung it into a blender, press go and, when all the bits have become one liquidy awesome mess, press stop and pour it into a big-ass glass. Et voila!

I am actually having one of these for dinner most nights because it is hot and I am crap at preparing real food for myself - especially after work. Most normal people would probably say to have it for breakfast though.

I should also note that this is my summer recipe. Once the mangos go out of season, I will start to substitute the mango and ice for blueberries and cacao powder. Granted, this looks more like a mud smoothie than a green smoothie thanks to the cacao - but it tastes like a really rich chocolate thick shake so - win! 

I am always tinkering with the recipe so I don't get bored too. Would love to here any variations on the green smoothie that you guys might have - just leave your recipe in the comments! 

xox