Minus the Dairy & Roasting :)
A luscious bowl of Cream of Roasted Red Bell Soup
Hello dear friends! I'm back! Please pardon my brief hiatus... things have been very busy here with lots of exciting changes in the air. While it's too soon to share any details yet, at least I can say I've been walking further down my spiritual path, getting closer to what my heart desires... embracing freedom by continuing to let go of my little old- and highly addictive- ego. Speaking of which, ego's unhelpful little voice is yammering at me right now, "What the heck does any of this have to do with Red Bell Pepper Soup?" Nothing! It's a blog, dear ego. And thank you, as always, for your ever-so-helpful non-stop commentary. However, I have a post to attend to so buh - bye :)
So, back to the subject of this post... As you've noticed, I've been rolling out all the recipes from my yummy raw vegan holiday feast, each of which can be incorporated, deliciously, into our repetoire all year long. My Cream of Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup is completely fabulous. Full of 'roasted' flavor from my (no longer) secret ingredients Smoked Paprika and a shot of smoky Coconut Aminos. Creamy decadence abounds with the addition of omega 3, copper, iron and manganese laden raw cashews. Red Bell Pepper is the star of the show showing off its tantalizing color and vitamin C power. Add along some water and a few spices to your Vitamix, whiz until steamy and, Bam! Instant bowl of warm, longevity-building, glow-enhancing goodness!
Jim looooves this recipe... he thinks it tastes like pizza :)
I want to share one more quick thought, or a reminder really, on incorporating Raw Vegan Living Foods into your diet, right before I get to the recipe. You all have accompanied me on my ever-evolving journey to optimal health thus far and, as promised, I'll continue to share everything I experience and learn along the way. Obviously, by now you've picked up on the fact that I continue eating a Raw Vegan diet because it makes me feel amazing, both physically, mentally and spiritually. Remember my first green drink? Rocket Fuel! It's what got me instantly hooked! However, my head was definitely ahead of my body - I wanted to dive full-on in to 100% Raw - and I did. Everything went swimmingly for a good while actually- until I hit a major detox, randomly out of the blue, which told me to scale back. This is par for the course, however, it can be alarming if one isn't prepared for it. I got back on track and plunged ahead once again with full abandon... and the same thing happened again and again. I've experienced everything from hives (which I've never previously had in my life) to sinus issues, joint pains, headaches and more. I always know it's detox (also known as a healing crisis or, in medical terms, a Herxheimer Reaction) because I'm leading such an insanely clean lifestyle (no dairy, no sugar, no meat, no coffee, no gluten, no allergenic grains, no unsoaked nuts, no processed food, alcohol etc) - plus I've read a billion detox books to know what's going on. Although, I take that back about the insanely clean part- on a couple of trips I did have some of those aforementioned items- and that can throw a person into detox as well- if a body is insanely clean- it actually can't handle toxicity as well. The body repells the foreign invader with mucus production or through the skin in a rash etc because the body is no longer tolerant to it. Think about trying a cigarette for the first time or having your first drink of alcohol. Same thing. So, what I want to make clear is it's not really a great idea to push our bodies too hard in this way. Either in the beginning or once we're really clean, going back to our former ways, as we can pull up too much toxicity at once causing a compounding effect. Some of us will experience less detox than others, however we do all want to pay close attention to the cues our body provides. This journey is about being in tune with life, in tune with our real homes, our bodies. For some of us, we may never want to be 100% Raw Vegan or even 100% vegetarian for that matter. Everyone has unique nutritional needs, a unique history, etc. This isn't a contest. It's about treating ourselves with loving kindness, respect and care. Not perfectionism. The bottom line is it's healthy to incorporate lots of raw fruits, veggies, high quality grains (quinoa, millet & buckwheat are my favs, packed with amino acids, calcium, iron etc) and sprouted nuts, seeds & legumes. I have to admit continually paying the price for going too strong because I just feel so darn good, yet it can result in detoxing too much too fast! So let me be your example to incorporate changes sloooooowly. And then, once our cells are squeaky clean, it's probably best not to go back to our old ways as our bodies become more sensitive and won't be able to handle toxicity in the same manner.
Without further ado...
Recipe for Cream of Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup (serves 2)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper (reserve 1/2 cup to add in at end for texture)
- 1/3 cup cashews or macadamia nuts (soaked overnight)
- 1 cup water (plus a bit more on hand to adjust to perfect consistency)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- a splash of Coconut Aminos (lower in sodium) or Braggs Aminos (high in sodium)
- garlic powder to taste
- himalayan salt to taste
- 1 scallion sliced thinly, reserved for garnish
Method
- Add everything except extra reserved diced bell pepper and sliced scallion to Vitamix or high speed blender.
- Whiz until steamy.
- Pour into pretty bowls or plain bowls since the soup is so pretty it really doesn't matter! Garnish with sliced scallion.
- Enjoy yummy warm goodness in your tummy with a special friend. Or save the 2nd serving for yourself. I won't tell :)
Would you rather have the recipe for my raw Sesame-Flax Crackers or probiotic rich, Herbed 'Goat' Cheese in my next post? Or both! Let me know and I'll post whichever receives the most votes.
Also, let me know if you have any questions about anything raw vegan or simply tell me how you're doing! One thing is certain, I'll be happy to hear from you and you can count on my thoughtful reply :)
All Love,
Juliane
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I would love to see both recipes! Sounds delish!
Posted by: Dina | Tuesday, February 04, 2014 at 08:05 PM
Thanks Dina!
I'll be posting both the Herbed "Goat" Cheese & Sesame-flax Crackers recipes in my next 1 or 2 posts. Also, I actually have an amazing new bread recipe to post too- it's one that can be made as either a RawVegan bread or a RawVegan cracker- just depending on how thick it's spread out before dehydrating (and it can be made in either the oven on low or a dehydrator.) So stay tuned for that as well...
So wonderful to hear from you! Thanks for your comment and best wishes in training your sweet new pup :)
Love,
Juliane
Posted by: juliane | Saturday, February 08, 2014 at 04:37 PM