Hi friends,

I was gifted a beautiful Raw Vegan book created by Judita Wignall titled “Raw & Simple Detox,” that I’ve been enjoying the recipes, the simplicity and content. I have found others in my home having excitement over what recipes we will get to create together next, which is absolutely amazing since I do not live with vegans yet alone raw vegan enthusiasts.

I love how the recipes have simple ingredients, quick and simply techniques while the meals contain an abundance of flavor, texture and have been keeping us all feeling satiated. My loved ones have not been craving breads, meats or anything else with these recipes! Ding, ding, we have a winner haha. I would like to share with you a few things I noticed with 3 soup recipes from the book “Raw & Simple Detox” as well as just one photo for each soup to share some plating ideas.

(From Left to Right: Coconut-Broccoli Shorba, Dilly Beet Soup with Cashew Sour Cream and Sweet Pea, Mint, and Fennel Soup)

I did not use any of my more high-end blenders for these recipes. I feel like this is the best way to test out someones blended soups because most people probably do not have a $300+ blender like I do. I used a Oster blender with no super special settings, blade or so on. My soup came out looking extremely different color and texture wise compared to the recipe book. Mine was not as creamy and smooth looking, and my green soups came out darker. It’s more visible in mine that herbs were used, I wasn’t getting the same silky smoothness. The taste is all there, very complex, exciting and warming. A little bummed out that I missed out on the soup possibly getting volume, that whipped thick feeling. The ones I made had a bit of a fibrous semi crunchy feel.

Here are my experiments with the soup with the recipes attached with some notes I have made in hopes to help make the recipes easier, tastier and so you will want to keep them on your meal rotation. My favorites are the two green soups 🙂 For all of the recipes I used the higher number for dates. I used fresh turmeric or ginger and I make my own coconut milk that I adore so I used that for the recipes. If you are interested, I have a previous post sharing all of my homemade nut and seed alternative milks (it will open in a new window).

Coconut-Broccoli Shorba

Makes 2 to 3 Servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Plan Ahead: Coconut Milk

3 cups (700 ml) Coconut Milk

1 cup (71 g) broccoli florets, chopped

2 teaspoons curry powder

1/2 of an avocado

2 to 3 Medjool dates, pitted (please check the insides of the dates when removing the pit to make sure there aren’t any unwanted gifts in the date from a bug possibly getting inside)

2 tablespoons (28 ml) lime juice

3-inch (7.5 cm) piece of fresh turmeric root of 2 teaspoons dried powder

2 teaspoons grated ginger

1 small clove of garlic

1/2 teaspoons of sea salt.

Process all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste. Garnish with some additional chopped broccoli florets for a little color and texture. I personally used some sliced avocado for the garnish/topping/plating as well.

This was another soup that afford a lot more than anticipated flavor wise.A little kick, a little sweet, creamy yet not completely smooth, a tiny bit bitter and just the right earthly green goodness from broccoli. I am still depending if this soup is indeed my favorite!

xoxo

Dilly Beet Soup and Cashew Sour Cream

Note: You will want to prepare to make the sour cream first since the cashews need to be soaked and the cream does best if it has a chance to chill, firm and fluff in the refrigerator. This soup took a lot of blending for my machine, I gradually went up in speed to be mindful that I used the type of blender that could over heat and the blades just aren’t all that sharp either.

Makes 2 to 3 Servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Soup Base

2 1/2 cups (570 ml) water

1 cup (225 g) chopped beets (peels peel the beet and wash after, I only needed one smallish sized beet to make one cup)

2 stalks of celery (please chop so the fibers break down completely so you don’t get that straw stuck in the teeth feel)

1/4 of a medium avocado

3 tablespoons (45 ml) lemon juice

1 to 2 Medjool dates, pitted (please check inside and make sure no bugs have left any unwanted surprises inside)

Few sprigs of dill (I like dill, I went with 4 sprigs)

1 clove of garlic

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Additional (garnish)

Avocado, cubed

Cashew Sour Cream

Process all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Adjust seasons to taste. Pour into servings bowls and top with cubed avocado and a dollop of Cashew Sour Cream (see below).

Cashew Sour Cream

Makes 8 Servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Plan Ahead: Soak 1 cup of cashews for 2 hours

1 cup (67.5 g) cashews, soaked

1/2 cup (120 ml) water

2 tablespoons (30 ml) lemon juice

Process all ingredients in a blender until very smooth, Add more lemon juice if you like it tart. Chill to firm. Cashew Sour Cream will keep in the refrigerator for one week.

I liked the rather traditional European soup concept with some ideas on how to make it a bit more modern with the cream and avocado. I am a fan of dill, and liked how well it played with the beets in the soup. I think it was a huge flavor enhancer.

*Please keep all extra soup and/or cashew cream sealed tight in your fridge*

xoxo

Sweet Pea, Mint, and Fennel Soup

Makes 2 Servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Plan Ahead: You will need to make coconut or almond milk

Soup Base

1 1/2 cups (355 ml) Coconut Milk or Almond Milk

1 cup fresh or frozen (150 g or 130 g) peas, thawed (you can soak the bag in hot water to aid with thawing if you have purchased them frozen)

1/2 cup (44 g) chopped fennel

1 zucchini, peeled and chopped (please wash the zucchini after peeling)

1/4 cup mint (24 g), loosely packed

2 tablespoons (28 ml) lemon juice

1 to 2 Medjool dates, pitted (again please inspect the inside of the dates)

1 tablespoon (10 g) chopped shallot

Salt and pepper to taste

Additional (garnish)

1/2 bulb of fennel, shaved

1/2 cup (75 g) peas

Process all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste. I personally added a little bit of cayenne just on the top of this one as well as some fresh dill in addition to the recommended garnish. Please remember to store your extra soup in an air tight container.

I liked the texture the peas created in the soup and I do not play with mint much in my recipes. This had a wonderful bounce of being earthly, bitter, sweet, and tangy.

xoxo

Well my friends, I highly recommend you purchase this book. Besides have several soup recipes, there are also juice recipes, smoothies, salads, tonics, sauces, treats and oodles more. The book make everything rather clean, it is easy to plan meals and prep. It was a relief for me personally that all the ingredients for once were actually easy to find in the grocery store and didn’t burn a whole in my pocket.

I hope these recipes, ideas, concepts and flavors inspire you to try some soups on your own. Or may be to even try more raw vegan meals. Wishing you all a Happy New Year! May 2017 be filled with laughter, delicious meals, joy, adventure and everything delicious in between. Thank you for taking the time to stop by my site. Much love