My husband and I have been leaning toward a healthier diet containing a lot more raw fruits and vegetables. He finished a 12-day juice-fast a few days ago, so he’s still transitioning back to ‘normal’ food. So today for lunch I decided to take advantage of some beautiful tomatoes we bought a few days ago to make a raw tomato soup. I looked at a number of recipes online, found several that looked sort of interesting, and ended up creating a vitamix creation, containing tomatoes, and red pepper, celery, garlic, and fresh herbs from my garden (I love my herb garden in summer!). The garlic added a surprising ‘bite’ to the soup – it’s good that my husband and I both had the soup for lunch, because I rather suspect that anyone who hadn’t had it would not be too eager to kiss me for the rest of the day.
Recipe (serves 2 – large servings)
– 1.5 cups hot water
– 3 cloves raw garlic
– 3 ripe tomatoes
– 1 red pepper
– 1 stalk celery
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– 1 tsp sea salt
– 2 tbsp fresh basil, thinly sliced
– 1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
– 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
Put all ingredients except the fresh herbs into a blender (ideally a Vitamix), and blend until smooth. Pour into two large bowls, sprinkle with fresh herbs and fresh ground pepper (to taste). Enjoy!
Nutritional breakdown [from NutritionData.com]
This food is very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin B6 and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin K.
Calories – 180
Glycemic load – 5 (very low – that’s good)
Inflammation factor – 312 (highly anti-inflammatory – that’s good)
Protein – 3 grams
Fiber – 4 grams
Fat – 14 grams (mostly mono- and poly-unsaturated)
Vitamin A – 74% DV
Vitamin C – 171% DV
Vitamin E – 20% DV
Vitamin K – 57% DV
Vitamin B6 – 20%
Folate – 17% DV
Potassium – 18% DV
Manganese – 21% DV
Probably I’m sick of this raw foods for this is what I’ve been eating for the whole three months just to get low my cholesterol level. And yes, it’s effective but yet I can’t get enough of things that life’s has to offer. I feel I’ve been lacking something that’s because I wanted to break the chain and eat some meat that will satisfy my cravings.