Golden Austrian Cauliflower Cream Soup

This recipe is one of my favorites from the Eat to Live book/program.

I could honestly eat this soup every day and never get sick of it!

I like to double the recipe, freeze some, and have the rest available throughout the week.

Golden Austrian Cauliflower Cream Soup

Serves 4-6

1 head cauliflower, cut into pieces (I just threw in a bag of frozen chopped cauliflower for this last batch, and it was much easier and saved a ton of prep time!)  

3 carrots, coarsely chopped

1 cup coarsely chopped celery

2 leeks, coarsely chopped (If you've never cooked with leeks check out this page on how to prepare them.)

2 cloves garlic, minced 

2 tbs no-salt seasoning (I like Mrs. Dash seasoning, especially the garlic & herb mixture, for this soup.)

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 cups carrot juice (Rather than actually juicing carrots, I blend about 3-4 carrots with 2 cups water in my Blendtec. It's quicker and a much  easier clean-up.)

4 cups water

1 cup raw cashews

5 cups chopped kale or baby spinach (I use baby spinach without chopping it)

Place all the ingredients except the cashews and kale/spinach in a pot. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender. Steam the kale until tender (if you are using spinach there is no need to steam it; it will wilt on it's own). In a food processor or high-powered blender, blend two-thirds of the soup liquid and vegetables with the cashews until smooth and creamy. Return to the pot and stir in the steamed kale or raw spinach. 

Serve and Enjoy!

Our current Netflix instant queue

I  mentioned  in one of my last posts that lately I have so much to say about food. My desire to learn and  implement permanent changes in the way we eat still occupies many most of my daily thoughts. As silly as it sounds, I have felt like this health journey is going to be one of the most fulfilling and worthwhile endeavors I will have, and I think it is going to be a very significant part of my life (and my family's of course).

If you haven't seen these, watch them. 

All of them.

Each time I find (or re-watch/read) a book, film, or blog that is based on a whole, natural, 95% plant based diet, it's like a heavenly witness that God truly is all-knowing, and all-loving. He has blessed His children with incredible physical bodies that have amazing capabilities. And He has also blessed us with all the substances our bodies need to be healthy. The more I learn, the more convinced I am that we can live long, vibrant, healthy, disease-free, lives. 

We all think we need to have nutritionists and doctors tell us what to eat. 

I just cannot believe healthy eating is that complicated. 

But it actually is, for most of us, because society, our government, and our individual family traditions have engraved in us certain beliefs. And questioning those beliefs is really uncomfortable for a lot of us. Most of the time we say. . . 

oh that sounds good, but that's not for me

my doctor said ______ is good for me

that film is biased

you only live once, why not enjoy it

that's too hard, I could never eat that way 

I've eaten ______ my whole life, I'm not giving it up now

my ________ ate _______ and lived till they were 90

You get the picture. 

Why are we so defensive? 

Shouldn't we jump on the chance to be healthier?

Don't we want to live longer, disease-free lives? 

But the idea of change most always makes us immediately defensive of our ways. 

Change is hard, isn't it?  When we've all grown up accustomed to a certain way of eating, it's really hard to change. Old habits die hard. This journey is overwhelming at times. I feel like I don't know very much. But, at the same time, I think we all already know a lot more than we think we do, because eating whole, natural plant-foods JUST. MAKES. SENSE.

So, as each day passes and I learn a little more about why I'm trying so hard to eat better, I'm willing to be patient, and to do what it takes to make these changes permanent. This is a learning process, and not an item to check off on my "to-do" list. 

We only get one body, and one life. 

I, for one, want to make them count.