Fabulous Fast Food: Your Favorite Soup

Happy Day 9 “Favorite Things to help & entertain you”

Joe and I would like to wish you a Healthy Happy New Year!

Have you made some choices to eat better? want to save time? be healthy? get organized?

Here’s a simple suggestion to take care of all of the above: Make a big batch of HOME MADE SOUP and freeze portion sizes appropriate to your needs.

1. We use left over Feta Cheese containers from Sams Club
2. Ice cube trays are a super for defrosting exactly how much you want.
3. When a neighbor/friend is unwell reach into the freezer, defrost a soup and deliver within minutes. Warm their body and heart with this act of kindness.

A soup we call “Your Favorite Soup” is the Lima Bean Soup out of the Body Ecology Diet book. I’m not a big fan of Lima Beans, avoided the recipe in the book for years, then Georgia Lister [1] made it for me “in error” and it’s been my favorite ever since. Here’s the recipe:

Lima Bean Cilantro Soup (Page 271 of Body Ecology Diet Book)

1-2 Tbsp. coconut oil
Two 10oz packages frozen lima beans
2 large onions, minced
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, peeled and cut in half
8 cups water
2 tsp. sea salt
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped (freshly clipped off your tower garden LOL)

1. Saute onions and garlic in oil
2. Add water, carrots lima beans and salt
3. Simmer until vegetables are tender
4. Remove carrots, coll, and slice into thin rounds.
5. Puree 3/4 of soup and return to pot with carrots
6. Add red pepper flakes and add salt as desired
7. Add cilantro and simmer for 2 minutes.

(Parsley, Spinach, Watercress or kale are fun alternatives to cilantro)

¹ When Joe’s mom was at MD Anderson being treated for Pancreatic Cancer I had a training where I needed to lead the entire training and provide all meals! One of my gifts is knowing when to ask for help. One of my blessings is friends who respond when I share my need. I asked five NiaMoves teachers to each prepare a large soup, I left recipes by the stereo. Georgia chose to do the Lima Been Soup, even though I had identified the OTHER soup on that page to be my request. I’m glad she did as I wonder if I would have ever tried this recipe other wise. And it is now my favorite and the most requested at Soma Ranch.

ACV Alternative to Wine

I LOVE to drink a big glass of red wine in the evening.
My body and my mind prefer me to be alcohol free.
We came up with a compromise that I enjoy drinking and my body mind AND emotions thrive on:

• Mineral Water (I like sparkling: Pellegrino or a can of La Croix)
• 1 - 4 caps apple cider vinegar
• 5 - 20 drops of stevia
• splash of pure cranberry juice concentrate (optional)

1. Select a lovely glass
2. Pour in each of the ingredients
3. Run a warm bubble bath (optional!)
4. and enjoy

Looks like a Merlot
Tastes curious
Alkalizes my body, keeps my mind sharp and balances my emotions.
(a great potion to help PMS)

Going to a party and want to be healthy happily alcohol free?
Here’s my trick…

1. Take an empty bottle of wine (or IKEA have fabulous glass bottles with flip tops)
2. Make a big batch of the above recipe and
3. Enjoy (funny thing at the part is folks often get super curious at party and end up loving samples of your drink)

CocoBiotic

The key to enhanced and vibrant health is restoring and maintaining your inner ecosystem. And key to creating that healthy inner ecosystem is promoting your intestinal microflora, the organisms that help your body defend against disease-causing bacteria, viruses, yeast and other dangerous invaders.

By far, one of the most beneficial “edible tools” to promote this intestinal microflora are:

Cultured vegetables
Young coconut kefir (CocoBiotic)

Joe and I used to make young coconut kefir, buying the coconuts at Fiesta, drilling holes, using several electric tools to cut and open the coconuts to get the milk. Only to find discrepancy between the quality of each batch resulting in lots of wasted matter, time and money.

CocoBitoci is a premier beverage in the Body Ecology probiotic line, it combines the best of both worlds. A naturally-fermented drink made from wild-crafted, young green coconuts… plus a savvy blend of synergistic probiotics.

Best of all, you can enjoy this fresh and delicious beverage anytime, anywhere… and without any work! Coco-Biotic is also great for travel. Its ready to go when you are.

Light and refreshing, this sensational probiotic beverage has been getting rave advance reviews from attendees at trade shows.

Benefits include:

• Improved Digestion
• Reduced Sugar Cravings
• Greatly Increased Energy
• Improved Liver Cleansing

Vitality Greens

Vitality Green is a green powder I enjoy every Day.
Unlike most other green drinks I find it smooth and quite palatable to drink.
FYI when drinking a green drink add with water rather than juice.
Juice is acidic and counteracts the alkalizing benefits of the green drink.
Many green drinks have spiralina added, body ecology adds FERMENTED spiralina which is far more gentle on the gut.

When I travel I take an empty Kombucha bottle with 2 tablespoons of Vitality Green.
On the plane I ask the attendant to fill with water.
This helps me avoid the airline food AND enjoy my green drink.

Vitality Green is $44.95.
One container lasts 30 days (when you have 2 scoops a day).
Available at Soma Ranch and Niamoves.
Also can be bought on line at www.BodyEcology.com

What makes Vitality SuperGreen different from all the other green drinks on the market today? Why is ours so special? With a unique focus on nourishing the inner ecosystem, this very alkalizing formula, especially created by Donna Gates, will soothe and help rebuild the lining of your intestines.

Fabulous Fast Food: Home Made Soup

Home made soups are a fabulous fast food! Here’s how:

At Soma Ranch we use recipes from the Body Ecology Diet book.

• Each recipe works well,
• Super easy to make and
• Take little time and make BIG nourishing taste

Now here’s the best news… as well as tasting great you save time…

• Make a big batch then freeze in small containers:
• use jam jars, reuse feta cheese containers and more.
• keep a permanent marker and painters tape on hand to easily write contents/date before freezing.

Taking a soup out the night before to easily defrost and reheat.
Soups are excellent as sauces - e.g. mix with quinoa pasta for a yummy twist on mac and cheese.

When a friend isn’t feeling well home made soup is an amazing thoughtful gift.

• Reach for a jar,
• wrap it with a bow,
• write a little message and
• drop off by their door.

POOF! a thoughtful gift that may be remembered for a lifetime that took minutes to prepare.

My favorite is “Lima Bean Soup”. Joe serves it as “This is your new favorite soup” when guests ask what the soup of the day is, guests then share how great the mystery soup tastes then exclaim surprise when they learn it’s lima bean.

Summary - don’t be put off if you think you don’t like lima beans, this soup is tasty, nourishing and super yummy.

Another Favorite is Claire’s Creamy Cauliflower Soup Recipe:

Ingredients (Makes 6 to 8 servings)

1 large head cauliflower, washed and cut into chunks
2 medium to large carrots, grated
1 large onion, chopped
1 large clove pressed garlic
1 teaspoon (or to taste) curry powder
Celtic Sea Salt to taste
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
Approximately 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

1. Place cauliflower in large pan, cover with filtered, salted water, and cook until tender. Do not drain water.
2. Place cauliflower and water in blender. Puree, adding the curry powder and more sea salt. (This will need to be done in two stages, as it is too much for one blender to accommodate).
3. Set aside cauliflower puree.
4. In a deep pan, saute onion in the coconut oil and ghee until it’s translucent. Add garlic, and saute gently for a few moments, being careful not to brown it. Take off the heat, and set aside
5. Cook the grated carrots in just enough water to cover until tender, being careful not to let them get mushy. Do not drain.
6. Add pureed cauliflower to onion and garlic mixture.
7. Using a slotted spoon, lift carrots from water and add to the soup along with most of the parsley, stirring gently. Add some of the carrot water, if desired, to thin the soup, or leave it thick and creamy.
8. Garnish each serving with a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

To read more about the diet, food combining and how to make beans work in your diet check out
Principles of Food Combining