Eating For Your Future/Sunday's Soup

This past week, two of my friends asked me about my eyes. Both asked in the same manner, a little hesitant. I told them the same thing, I won't know anything more until the end of April, but in the meantime, I'm doing my best to eat a very healthy diet. Actually, the diet is so healthy that my husband jokes about my skin turning green ;)
The first of February, I began the Daniel Diet. My acupuncturist wasn't happy about me drinking only water, so I have tweaked it a bit, a cup of green tea in the morning and a little kombucha everyday. Once a month, she also has me do a kidney flush. The recipe is simple, a gallon of distilled water, juice of 2 lemons and 2 limes, 2 tablespoons of Grade B maple syrup and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Mix all ingredients and drink over a 48 hour period. The first time I mixed up the concoction, my husband took a taste and said, "I don't think she likes you very much." The cayenne can be a little shocking, but thankfully, I like spicy things.
For the most part, the diet has gone rather well, although I have succumbed to temptation a few times. The fact that I'm not eating meat is not an issue for me, but I miss cheese! I miss bread! I miss having a little something sweet! I had initially planned to do the diet for 21 days, but I have decided to stay with it through Lent. I've learned a lot about why I crave certain foods and I have realized the link between stress and cravings, and being overly tired and cravings. So another interesting journey....to be continued :).

Now on to this week's recipe. What caught my attention was the title, "The Best Vegan Soup I've Ever Tasted." So I thought, that's enough incentive for me to give it a try! Now that I've made it, I wouldn't necessarily say that it's the best I've ever eaten, but it is awfully good. The soup is full bodied, full of flavor and yet mild. If you like cauliflower, I highly recommend giving it a try. There is one mistake in the instructions, they left out the addition of the chopped cabbage. Be sure to add the cabbage with the other vegetables and cook all together. You can find the original recipe HERE. Be sure to look around a bit as there are lots of great looking recipes on the site. I think I will be camping here for a while :)

Cauliflower Soup

3 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds cauliflower, roughly chopped
1 1/4 cups green cabbage, roughly chopped
1/2 cup leeks, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1/2 cup parsnip, roughly chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary, minced
3/4 teaspoon thyme leaves
2 cups coconut milk
2 1/2 cups celery juice (or vegetable stock)
1 teaspoon Himalayan salt (additional to taste)
Black pepper, freshly cracked, to taste
Nutmeg, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil slightly in the stock pot, and sauté the cauliflower, leeks, parsnips,  cabbage, garlic, rosemary, and thyme until the cauliflower is slightly browned.
2. Add the celery juice (or vegetable stock) and coconut milk. Let simmer for approximately 30 minutes, then season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
3. Blend until smooth, either using a handheld immersion blender or transferring your soup to a food processor or blender in 2 or 3 batches (depending on the size of your blender.)

*I was not able to get the celery juice, but since I really like the taste of celery, I added 2 stalks of chopped celery and a teaspoon of celery seed to my vegetables. I then used vegetable stock for my liquid.

I served my soup with chopped green onions and toasted pine nuts.

Enjoy!