Raw Vegan Split Pea Soup

Day 12 of our “One Month Raw Food Cleanse”
Raw soups are easy to whip up and are very filling. For creamy soups, I recommend getting a high speed blender like a Vita Mix.

My favorite cooked winter soup is split pea so when I was thinking about making a raw soup today, I experimented with pretty much the same ingredients I use when I cook this soup. Instead of dry peas, use fresh or frozen ones. Peas are a good source of protein, niacin, folate, iron and phosphorus. They are a very good source of manganese and vitamins A, C, K and thiamin. This recipe also packs 8 grams of fiber per bowl. I must say, this soup is as good as or better than the cooked version. It’s fresh and light yet very satisfying. I hope you try it!

I generally use carrots to complement split pea soup, but I decided to use corn in the raw version to get a complete protein since the peas alone lack the two amino acids, methionine and cystine. Methionine was one of the amino acids that I found to be difficult to get sufficient quantities of when on a complete raw food diet. Brazil nuts are another good source of methionine so make sure you are popping a brazil nut in your smoothie in the morning to get this important amino acid as well as your daily requirement of selenium.

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Raw Vegan Split Pea Soup [serves 2]
2 cups fresh or frozen petite peas (if frozen, thaw before using)
1 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 small cloves garlic
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup filtered water
1 teaspoon sea salt, more or less to taste
Dash of cayenne pepper
Kernels from one medium ear of corn
1 tablespoon of fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped

Place peas, celery, onion, garlic, oil, lemon juice, cumin, water, salt and cayenne in a Vita Mix blender and process until smooth. Place half of the corn in each of two bowls leaving a few tablespoons for garnish. Pour half of the blended soup in each bowl. With a spoon, mix the blended soup with the corn. Top each bowl with the extra corn and either fresh parsley or cilantro.

Per serving: 214 calories, 7.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol, 8 g protein, 28 g carbohydrates and 8 g of fiber.

Menu for Day 12
For breakfast, I had a fruit smoothie with pineapple, banana, frozen grapes, soaked almonds and a few brazil nuts. Lunch will be a bowl of the featured, “raw vegan split pea soup” and for dinner I’ll have a big kale salad. I might make some more marinated mushrooms if I get to the store today. I have some fresh strawberries which I will eat for dessert with a raw dessert topping which I need to share with you soon.