Delicious Summer Soup (Hot or Cold)

Summer Soup... Yummy!

Summer Soup… Yummy!

I love summer time with all the fresh veggies and farmers markets. I am super lucky that there is a local farmers market, Cannon Beach Farmers Market. I do a CSA (community supported agriculture) box with Kingfisher Farms and get an abundance of local, organic goodies. This is a soup made from those treasures…

Delicious Summer Soup (serve hot or cold)

  • 2-3 large tomatoes
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 zucchini
  • 1/4 cup raw sesame seeds (could substitute with cashews, hemp seed, sunflower seed, etc.)
  • 2-3 cups of water (more or less depending on how creamy you like it)
  • salt to taste (I actually used liquid aminos because I prefer the taste)
  • chipotle (just a dash… more if you like it spicy)
  • 3-4 cups chopped greens: kale, chard, arugala (whatever yummy greens you have on hand)
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped onion or chives

Blend the tomatoes, red pepper, zucchini, sesame seeds and water in blender until smooth and creamy. Then add salt and chipotle to taste. You can heat this up if you would like or just super chop the greens and onion, add to the soup and serve… Enjoy!!!

Who Needs Coffee When You Have GREEN SMOOTHIES!!!

I have been absolutely loving GREEN SMOOTHIES! I used to make them all the time and when I would try to share them with someone… well let’s just say it wasn’t the most palatable experience. But now after reading Green Smoothie Revolution by Victoria Boutenko, the smoothies I make are amazing and other people love them too. So the smoothies I used to make were out of spiralina, wheat grass, kale, maybe an apple. Yes they are good for you, but they tasted a lot like a grass smoothie.

It was actually my brother who said he was reading Green Smoothie Revolution, and actually making the smoothies and liking them. He had better energy and digestion from consuming 1-2 quarts of green smoothies/day. I had heard of this book before and I just assumed that it would be more of my crazy super green smoothies that tasted a bit too green. So I borrowed his book and actually followed some of the recipes and… WOW!!! So delicious, so fruity, still a beautiful green color (at least the recipes that don’t have blueberries or beet greens), and I keep wanting more. I have been consuming green smoothies every day for the past 2 weeks and I can tell you, even living on the Oregon coast with the lack of sunshine my energy is better than if I were having a couple shots of espresso!!!

Today the green smoothie I made (pictured below):

  • 1 mango
  • 1 banana
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 2 large kale leaves
  • 1 or 2 cups water (enough to blend up)
Green Smoothie

Green Smoothie for Today!!!

Some tips for making delicious GREEN SMOOTHIES:

  • rotate greens (meaning use different greens every couple days: maximizes nutritional value)
  • use fruit high in soluble fiber (this makes smoothie homogenous in texture and prevents separation)
  • drink 1-2 quarts/day (increases energy: can even be used as a meal replacement)
  • remember greens have the most protein/cal of any food so you will be getting all the protein you need
  • experiment to find recipes that you love!!!
  • check out Green Smoothie Blog for more recipes and ideas