Best smoothie soup ever!

[Diana Cda]

I had to share this one ... for the last few days, I've really gotten into the better habit of having a green drink of some kind. And that's because I discovered a way where I not just like it but totally love it.

I prepare my green drink as per normal. I usu. have at least one cucumber and some celery and dark leafy greens such as kale or collards, etc., the darker green, the better. But what gives it the extra punch I'd not had till now, I now then I put the green drink in a Magic Bullet cup (you can use a regular blender instead) and add 1/2 an avocado and some chilli flakes (and when I remember some dulse and kelp for iodine). Blend that up and I eat it like a soup.

It's simple but, boy, to me it's been sublime.

Lately, I've also added carrots and tomato. Whatever you want to add to make any variation of V8 juice-type of ingredients is good.

I don't dislike the usu. green drink but it's not my most favourite thing though I feel I should have one at least once a day. But this "smoothie soup" I actually really, really, really enjoy, so hopefully this might make someone else find it easier to have their dark greens, too!

Other options:
- spinach
- red pepper
- green pepper
- beets
- romaine lettuce
- parsley
- coriander
- etc.

Any other ingredient suggestions welcome.

:)

[Diana Cda]

Well, I'm very happy to report that my GreenPower has been semi-retired now! It deserves the rest it's put in a lot of service since 1996 or so when I bought it.

My Magic Bullet comes through once again. I've taken the above soup one step further. I'm now preparing it in a MagicBullet cup.

I was having blood sugar problems and upon reading Alissa's book this week came upon a reminder that I need to eat more (d'uh). The phenomenon of hunger is so different for me, and I'm sure for other raw fooders, too, though I've never talked about it. Hunger is not as easily recognizable as it was pre-raw-food days <g>. So I now am making an effort to eat every 2-3 hours and this style of energy soup has been fantastic.

I find that it's more filling and my malabsorption issues are being triggered less frequently. Juice was always the most effective way for me but I'm finding the blended soup now easier to handle. Re the malabsorption and one of the effects of resulting burping, a few days ago it was particularly bad so I hunted up a remedy to help ease the symptoms on the net. One doesn'tt know whether one should _add_ more acid or try to _reduce_ acid but I took the advice for excessive burping to _reduce_ the acid to alleviate the symptoms (yes, an allopathic approach but I was very uncomfortable):
- 1 cup water
- 1 t baking soda
- 1 t fresh lemon juice
I had already been experiencing several hours of discomfort so don't know if this ended because it was going to or if the above aid really did work but in half and hour the discomfort virtually stopped completely and unlike medicines and such, this drink was very gentle in nature.

For my new energy soup/green smoothie regime, I've been putting in a large cucumber, half an avocado and kale and some spices including dulse and kelp and some form of paprika. I thought the kale would become stringier than it actually turned out to be. Then whiz till everything well blended. "Drink" with a spoon. I can't help feeling that the need to "chew" this thicker beverage is better than a juice, too. So many have counselled to "chew" one's juices and I never remember to but it's a given with a thick soup of this kind.

I ran out of kale today and so had to substitute romaine but the effect wasn't as good. Definitely it's the dark greens for sure that do the trick. I've been rationing the kale waiting for payday but I'd like in future to put 2 medium-sized leaves in to every energy soup and have at least 2 soups a day, morning and night. So I'm off to buy 2 or 3 bundles of kale/collards instead of the usual single bundle.

Cheers. :)

[Diana Cda]

Wow, didn't realize I'd been doing this so long now (since February this year)!! I still find this the best way for me to get my greens in liquid form. Also, since I seem to like to drink this and really prefer to "eat" it with a spoon (like a soup), I'm not gulping it down which is my usual m/o when it comes to juice! Gulping my juice is a habit I can't seem to break so this green "soup" makes me do this naturally! <g>

My mom even loves it better than the juice I made for her when she was here last year!

If you know anyone who has a hard time with the principle of green juice, perhaps this can be an alternative for them, too. Add half an avocado and blend. I add dulse flakes and chilli powder to mine and I absolutely adore this! It's one of those things I just don't get tired of.

The only changes I make, then, are to add more veggies to it. When I have them, I'll add tomatoes and carrots and anything else that appeals while the basic recipes still remains:

cucumber/celery/kale juice
blended with 1/2 avocado and some spices

Yum!! :)

[Dimond]

I'm big on soups (savory smoothies) too. They're extremely easy to make and taste delicious. I drink (sweet) smoothies and eat soups with a spoon. Unless I'm out or don't have much time, then I'll usually drink the soup because it's easier.

Celery is the one I make the most, with cucumber coming in 2nd. Sometimes I combine the two. I use very few ingredients-usually 4-5 and it's quick to make in my Vitamix.

[lovenlife]

Diana...I LOVE this...I have been tired of green smoothies for quite a while. When I make one, I only can get down a lil bit of it,drink some the next day and usually end up tossing it (ugh).

Soups are awesome and I am going to experiment with these more.

I love corn chowder and garden veggie soup. The people I coach on raw are big into soup and tend to go to the local healthfood store and buy organic cooked. It is better than other soups for sure but I am working on exposing them to as many raw soups as i can.

Thankx for sharing this.

[LeafLicker]

Okay, I just made my first green drink EVER (I'm a raw newbie) using your recipe and it was wonderful!!! I'm so glad I saw your post and had all the right stuff on hand.

Thanks so much for sharing this!

LL

[lodestar]

i've been making a very similar soup...all of the above with--

two or three mushrooms
wee bit of onion
juice from half a lime

oh, and i chunk up the avocado rather than blend

[Rawhoney]

Diana, thank you for sharing your recipe, and it does sound yummy. I will use this soon.

[somelikeitraw]

When I first got my BlendTech last June, the first thing I did was very similar to this. In the second thing I did I replaced the avocado with sprouted sunflower seeds. I love having the different textures and enjoy eating these textural things out of a bowl with a spoon.

[Diana Cda]

I'm so glad that this had helped others, too! I've had my mom on this in the mornings, as well, and we never tire of it! It's like bananas and other stuff. There are just some things we seem to have to have every single day!

I don't vary the recipe much; if anything, it's just a question of what I _add_ to it, like what I mentioned in the possible options (of which there are many more that what I listed, of course).

Enjoy everyone! I'm off to making a smoothie right now. It's a rare treat at night but I'm "splurging" tonight! I just came home from seeing "Avatar" with a friend, as a gift from her, for the 3rd time but this time in 3D at my local IMAX theatre! I'm experiencing the uplifting high that comes from a fantastic good-triumphing-over-evil movie and I'm going to continue the good feeling with the type of lovely and natural euphoria raw foods brings in the form of a wonderful food! <g> Good night, everyone. :)

[DixonMyers]

The recipes that all you members have shared are simply awesome.I always prefer smoothie soup in breakfast.One of my favorite is:Pumpkin and carrot soup
This smooth and creamy soup is easy to make and is suitable for vegetarians. It contains beta carotene.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
6 large carrots, peeled and grated
1 small or one half large pumpkin peeled, deseeded and chopped
750 ml vegetable stock
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
150 ml fresh cream (optional)
salt and black pepper, to taste

Method:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion, covered, over a low heat for five minutes.
Add the carrot and pumpkin, stir and cover. Cook for a further ten minutes over a low heat, stirring occasionally.
Add the stock and nutmeg and bring it to boil. Cover again, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and blend it until smooth. Season it as per your taste.
Add a little more stock or boiling water over low heat if the soup is a bit thick for your taste, then return to the pan.
Stir in the cream and heat through for a minute before serving.
Add two tablespoons of ground almonds while frying onions for a nutty taste.