Cauliflower Energy Soup: Detoxing at Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays

I'm detoxing this weekend. A bit too much indulging this week... a birthday lunch with a friend that was not at all healthy, mashed potatoes for dinner twice because I really needed them, more sugar than normal... The pinnacle was an awesome Spanish wine and cheese event at Whole Foods where far too many tastes of wine and samples of cheese were savored--even a couple of slices of cured meat, along with a salt-fest of olives, anchovies and Marcona almonds that were nibbled on. I don't regret it. The fun of sitting at little tables in the frozen food aisle being overfed while learning about Spanish wines and hanging out with good friends was well worth waking up with a stuffy head and chest from all of the dairy and the tannins in the wine. Still, I found myself in need of some serious clean eating this weekend to get my system back on track. Lots of green juice, fruit and veggie smoothies and this Cauliflower Energy Soup from The Beauty Detox Solution by Kimberly Snyder, C.N.

Although I have made plenty of hot, cooked cauliflower soups, I was not sure about how creamy raw cauliflower would be. Blended up with the avocado and miso paste, it seems almost indulgent. 

Snyder says, "Cauliflower lovers, you will be in heaven with this soup! I never really considered myself a hard-core cauliflower lover until I started making this delicious soup. Whenever I make it, I slurp it up pretty fast! The turmeric, besides its wonderful health and detoxifying properties, gives the soup a nice yellow hue, so it doesn’t come out a pasty white or ugly gray color!

If you are new to raw soups or it is wintertime, you probably won’t want to eat this soup super cold right out of the fridge. You can heat it over the stove at the lowest possible temperature,  stirring well. Remember that you don’t want the temperature to get near 118 degrees, which is the temperature that would destroy the enzymes in this raw soup. So warm very gently and slowly!"

Cauliflower Energy Soup

The Beauty Detox Solution by Kimberly Snyder, C.N.

(Yield About 4 Servings)

1 med. head cauliflower (outer green leaves removed), chopped into pieces

3 Tbsp organic, unpasteurized miso paste

1/2 ripe avocado

2 cups filtered water

juice of 1 lemon

2 1/2 Tbsp of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or soy sauce (I used 1 1/2 Tbsp)

1/2 tsp turmeric

chopped parsley, as a garnish

1 tsp Himalayan sea salt

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. If you’d like a thinner texture. Try adding a bit more water. Enjoy!

"Beauty Note: Turmeric is an Ayurvedic spice that has amazing antioxidant properties. It inhibits oxidation and protects us from free radical damage, and also helps us clean up metabolic waste. It also supports our liver, while adding some bright color to this soup."

Notes/Results: Simple and quite good. I reduced the amount of Bragg's Aminos, feeling that with the sea salt and the lemon juice I didn't need the extra sodium, but otherwise I didn't make any changes to the soup. This one is ready in just a few minutes--nice when you don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I let my Vita Mix blender go for a few minutes to make the soup slightly warm, but it is also good cold if you want to enjoy it on a warm day. There is plenty of flavor from the miso, Braggs and turmeric, making this a soup that I would make again--whether detoxing or not. ;-)

I am linking up this healthy soup over at Sunday Night Soup Night, a seasonal weekly soup event hosted by Debbie at Easy Natural Foods.

In the Souper Sundays kitchen this week, we have a few soups, salads and even a sandwich, so let's check them out.

Margo and Jill from SaucyCooks made a beautiful Carrot-Coconut Soup with Coconut-Crusted Shrimp. Margo says "...discipline is not a strength of mine either, so my best bet is to balance between the really healthy and the bad but tasty.  With that in mind, I decided to create a truly healthful dish, with a side of deep fried yummy, which in this case is an amazing ginger, coconut, carrot soup with coconut shrimp on the side.  The soup is delicious on it’s own but I have to admit that the shrimp did give me that TBO that I was looking for."

Ana of Sweet Almond Tree has a hearty Navarin Printanier (French Lamb Stew) to share this week and says, "Navarin refers to stew which contains lamb, and the word printanier alludes to spring and to the first tiny vegetables that appear in the garden and are kind enough to offer themselves up for cooking.  This stew is made with meat from lamb shoulder, a tougher cut of meat which becomes truly flavorful when properly cooked.  The stewing method tenderizes tough pieces of meat and allows the flavors of the ingredients to blend deliciously."

Debbie of Easy Natural Cooking made a velvety spring (Sour) Cream of Asparagus Soup and says, "I wanted to make a Cream of Asparagus Soup, and I had planned on using coconut milk to make it dairy free. But at the last minute, very spur of the moment, I had a change of heart and decided to use sour cream instead! I can’t remember what prompted me to do that….but I’m glad I did because it was very tasty."

Heather of girlichef has both a soup and a salad to share this week. She says, "Sopa de Fideo (or Mexican Noodle Soup) is one of those things that we make when things in the pantry and fridge are getting down to bare bones.  It's super simple, yet I'd never tried it before I got married.  Well, to be fair, I'd never even heard it. So it would've been kinda hard to make it. But that's beside the fact. My point is, this is one of those everyday foods that sort of take for granted. The more I thought about it, the more I decided that it's just as fun to share the quick everyday meals that are easily overlooked as it is the more complex ones." 

Heather's salad is this colorful Spinach and Citrus Salad w/ Ginger Sesame Dressing about which she says, "The jewel-tones of segmented grapefruit in two colors, blood orange, and apricots adorn the tender green leaves of baby spinach.  Candied nuts gleaming with a thin shell of sugar are tucked amongst these bright bursts of color.  And the musky, seductive scent of sesame oil and ginger complete the experience. If you don't do it for the looks...you've got to make this for the awesome health benefits and fantastic flavors!"

Janet of The Taste Space made this pretty Warm Chickpea Salad with Mango, Pomegranate and Chaat Masala and says, "Here, the chickpeas are mixed with sweet and creamy mangoes, sweet and sour tamarind, and tart and sweet pomegranate arils doused in a savoury dressing with ginger, tamarind and chaat masala. Cilantro, used both cooked and fresh, adds a brightness to the dish. It was refreshing to break free of my typical Indian curries and savour such a nicely balanced salad." 

Our sandwich entry is from Ramya of Ramya's Recipe, here with a veggie-packed version of a grilled cheese, Cheesy Sweetcorn and Bellpepper Sandwich. It's been a while since we have had Ramya here at Souper Sundays and it is always a pleasure to welcome back and old friend, especially when they bring a delicious toasty sandwich recipe to share! ;-)

Thanks to everyone who joined in with their fabulous dishes this week. If you have a soup, salad, or sandwich that you would like to share, just click on the Souper Sundays logo on the side bar for all of the details.

Have a happy, healthy week!