Tuesday, May 12, 2009

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.

4 comments:

  1. this sounds delicious! thanks for sharing.

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  2. i made this last week and it was delicious. i am so glad i found your site!
    keep up the strong work.
    thanks, katie

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  3. Thanks Katie,
    So glad you enjoyed it!
    Joanne

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  4. Loved this soup. It was delicious.

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