Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog » soup

Alkaline Diet Recipe #107: Alkaline Pistou Soup

Ross — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:31:55 +0000

Alkaline Diet Recipe #107: Alkaline Pistou Soup

This week’s alkaline recipe features another delicious soup, which is packed with different vegetables and will definitely keep you warm in these still pretty cold temperatures.

This pistou soup is mostly associated with the Provencal dish Soupe au Pistou or the minestrone al pesto from Italy. Traditionally pistou is made with parmesan cheese, which we will leave out, as it is acidifying.

The usual ingredients used are green beans, white beans, potatoes and tomatoes. This particular recipe contains these plus some other healthy and alkaline vegetables like courgettes, onions, celery and carrots, which are all packed with nutrients and are important for good health.

We hope you enjoy this tasty and highly alkaline pistou soup – Bon appétit!

Alkaline Pistou Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

250g white haricot beans
200g green beans, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
180g new potatoes, cut into cubes
850ml yeast-free vegetable stock
2 large tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and chopped into small pieces
200g courgettes, cut into small cubes
1 bunch of fresh basil, finely chopped
Himalayan Crystal Salt or celtic sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients For The Pistou

100g fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 tbsp pine nuts
2 large garlic cloves
50ml extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Remove the outer skin of the harder and slightly older white beans. To do this carve into the skin with the tip of a knife and push out the inner tender part of the bean.

Heat the oil in a large cooking pot at medium temperature, add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot and gently fry for about 5-8 minutes, until the onion is soft, but has not browned.

Stir in the potatoes, stock and tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bring the broth to boil and add the basil. Reduce the heat, cover the pot with a lid and gently simmer the soup until the potatoes are tender.

For the pistou mix the basil, garlic and pine nuts in a mixer until you get a thicker paste. Then add the olive oil. Fill the pistou into bowls, cover them and put them into the fridge until they have to be used later on.

As soon as the potatoes are tender, add the courgette, white and green beans to the soup and cook for another 10 minutes until the beans are tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide the soup into bowls and serve each portion with one large spoonful of pistou.

Enjoy!

About Ross Bridgeford

Ross is known as THE Alkaline Diet Expert...especially when it comes to implementation and making the alkaline diet REAL in your life. He has been living, learning, teaching, coaching and loving the alkaline lifestyle since 2004 and has written over 600 articles, alkaline recipes, videos and guides on how to live alkaline and stay alkaline for life. Ross loves life in Brisbane, Australia (although is a proud Englishman) and is healthily-obsessed with nutrition, fitness and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

From Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog - health news, alkaline diet resources & tips to make you happy! do something nice today...

Alkaline Diet Recipe #96: Sweet Potato Soup

Ross — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:29:37 +0000

Alkaline Diet Recipe #96: Sweet Potato Soup

This sweet potato soup recipe has been created by the famous British chef Antony Worrall Thompson. Callum, one of the Energise directors, forwarded this recipe to me and it is truly delicious and healthy too.

As we are experiencing arctic temperatures in the UK at the moment, a soup is the perfect type of food to warm you up and provide you with all the nutrients your body needs. The main ingredient here are sweet potatoes, which are not strictly alkaline and should be eaten in moderation. They are however a root vegetable which are currently in season and are perfect for using in soups. Just make sure that they are fresh and do not have any fungal spots when you buy them.

Sweet potatoes have got a high nutritional value and are rich in protein, dietary fiber, vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. The other ingredients are onions, garlic, ginger, coconut cream, spinach and coriander, which are all alkalising.

We hope you enjoy this delicious soup created by Antony Worral Thompson as much as we have!

Sweet Potato Soup

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic
1 onion, sliced
Two pinches of ground ginger
Two pinches of dried chilli flakes
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
400g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
200ml hot yeast-free vegetable stock
200ml coconut cream
50g fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Himalayan Crystal Salt or Celtic Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
30g spinach leaves, to garnish

Instructions

Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and fry for 3-4 minutes, until golden and softened.

Add the chilli flakes and ground ginger and fry for one minute, then add the sweet potato and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the stock and coconut milk. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to simmer for 8-10 minutes, then add the coriander.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then pour into a food processor and blend until smooth. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

To serve, pour the soup into a warm bowl and garnish with the spinach leaves.

Enjoy!

About Ross Bridgeford

From Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog - health news, alkaline diet resources & tips to make you happy! do something nice today...

Alkaline Diet Recipe #94: Fennel Soup

Ross — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 08:43:21 +0000

Alkaline Diet Recipe #94: Fennel Soup

This is a highly nutritious and alkalising fennel soup, which will warm you up in these freezing temperatures.

I particularly love soups in the winter months, as they fill me up nicely and warm me up from the inside when I am feeling cold. This recipe features one of my favourite vegetables – fennel.

Fennel has got a very distinctive taste and aromatic flavour which reminds me of anise or licorice. It is crunchy and slightly sweet and is widely used in Mediterranean cuisine. It is also one of these vegetables which is packed with nutrients and highly alkalising.

Fennel has got a unique combination of phytonutrients that give it a strong antioxidant activity and it is also high in Vitamin C, dietary fiber, potassium, manganese, folate, magnesium, calcium, iron, just to name a few as the list could go on! It is also a very versatile vegetable for cooking, as it can be steamed, roasted, fried and used for making lovely soups.

I hope you enjoy this alkalising soup as much as I do!

Fennel Soup

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 fennel bulbs
2/8 litre of yeast-free vegetable stock
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp Udo’s Choice Ultimate Oil Blend or Flax Seed Oil
Ground coriander
Pepper
2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice (optional)
1 tsp finely ground organic orange peel

Instructions

Clean the fennel bulbs, cut out the stalks and shred into very fine pieces. Put a bit of the fennel leaves aside.

Bring the vegetable stock together with the lemon juice to boil. Add the fennel and gently cook for about 10-15 minutes until the fennel gets soft. Shortly puree everything with an immersion blender.

Season the soup with the oil blend, the ground coriander, pepper and the orange juice.

Garnish the soup with the fennel leaves and the orange peel.

Enjoy!

About Ross Bridgeford

From Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog - health news, alkaline diet resources & tips to make you happy! do something nice today...

Alkaline Diet Recipe #89: Tunisian Chickpea Soup

Ross — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 08:18:41 +0000

Alkaline Diet Recipe #89: Tunisian Chickpea Soup

This warming and alkalising chickpea soup has got delicious arabic flavours given by spices like cumin and coriander.

Chickpeas are a very versatile type of pulse, which are used for a wide variety of dishes like stews. They are also highly nutritious and are a good source of protein, folate and zinc. They are also high in dietary fiber and low in fat.

I really like the smooth texture and oriental flavours in this alkalising chickpea soup, which are complemented by other ingredients like garlic, carrots, onions and celery.

Tunisian Chickpea Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

350g dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight and drained
10 garlic cloves, cut into very fine pieces
2 1/2 litres of water
8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots, cut into fine strips
5 celery stalks, cut into thin rings
2 onions, very finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
4 tbsp finely chopped coriander
Juice of one lemon
Himalayan crystal salt or celtic sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Gently heat half of the olive oil in a big pot. Add the garlic and steam for about two minutes. Add the chickpeas, water, cumin and ground coriander. Bring all ingredients to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 2 1/2 hours.

In the meantime heat the remaining oil in a frying pan, add the carrots, onions and celery. Gently fry whilst stirring.

Add the vegetables to the soup and stir in well. Take about half of the soup and puree in a mixer or with a hand held mixer. Add the puree to the soup and stir well. Spice the soup with salt and pepper and the lemon juice.

Fill the soup into pre-warmed bowls and garnish the soup with the fresh coriander.

Enjoy this delicious and alkalising soup!

About Ross Bridgeford

From Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog - health news, alkaline diet resources & tips to make you happy! do something nice today...

Alkaline Recipe #69: Carrot and Artichoke Soup

Ross — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:36:22 +0000

Alkaline Recipe #69: Carrot and Artichoke Soup

This soup is made of jerusalem artichokes and carrots, which give it a smooth texture and a very earthy taste.

The jerusalem artichoke is one of the lessser known vegetables around, which is a shame as it has a unique nutty, sweet and crunchy taste and is a very good source of iron.

Did you know that the jerusalem artichoke is not truly an artichoke but a variety of sunflower and has nothing to do with Jerusalem, but is derived instead from the Italian word for sunflower, girasole?

If you have never cooked with this versatile vegetable before, then why not give this delicious soup a try?!

Carrot and Artichoke Soup

Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients

700g jerusalem artichokes
3 celery stalks, chopped
450g carrots
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1.5 litres yeast-free vegetable stock
Himalayan crystal salt or celtic sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Peel and slice the artichokes, then put them into a bowl of cold water to prevent them from discolouring. Peel and slice the carrots.

Gently heat the olive oil in a cooking pot and soften the onion and celery for ca. 5 minutes, then stir in the carrots and artichokes. Add a pinch of salt, put the lid on and let the vegetables sweat for ca. 10 minutes on a low heat.

Then pour in the stock, stir well, put the lid back on and simmer for a further 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Then liquidise the soup.

Taste to check the seasoning, re-heat and serve!

Enjoy!

About Ross Bridgeford

From Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog - health news, alkaline diet resources & tips to make you happy! do something nice today...

Alkaline Recipe #59: Moroccan Vegetable Soup

Ross — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:33:41 +0000

Alkaline Recipe #59: Moroccan Vegetable Soup

Do you fancy a delicious and warming soup in these current arctic temperatures?

This Moroccan Vegetable Soup will do exactly that – It will fill you up nicely, make you feel really warm and provide you with lots of nutrients at the same time. The creamy parsnip and pumpkin give this soup a wonderfully rich texture!

Moroccan Vegetable Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

30ml/2 tbsp olive or coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
225g carrots, chopped
225g parsnips, chopped
225g pumpkin
Ca. 900ml of vegetable stock
Lemon juice, to taste
Himalayan Salt and fresh ground black pepper

For The Garnish (Optional)

7.5ml/1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley and coriander, mixed
A good pinch of paprika

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion for about 3 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Add the carrots and parsnips, stir well, cover and cook over a low heat for a further 5 minutes.

Cut the pumpkin into chunks, discarding the skin and pith, and stir into the pan. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the stock and seasoning, and slowly bring to the boil. Cover the pan and simmer very gently for 35-40 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.

After the soup has slightly cooled, puree it with a food blender or in a food processor until smooth. If the texture is too thick for your liking you can just add a little extra water. Reheat the soup if necessary. Stir in lemon juice to taste.

To make the garnish, heat the oil in a small pan and add the garlic, parsley and coriander. Fry gently for 1-2 minutes. Add the paprika and stir well.

Pour into bowls and spoon a little garnish on top.

Voila … Enjoy!

About Ross Bridgeford

From Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog - health news, alkaline diet resources & tips to make you happy! do something nice today...