Green with Envy Soup

Green with envy soup??  I thought this would be a great title since, as you can see from my photo of this avocado soup, it is extremely green and is packed with plenty of healthy nutrients! Who wouldn’t enjoy this yummy soup?!

About two weeks ago, I was watching Good Morning America and they had a segment with two fellas talking about their book, “The 10 Things You Need to Eat.” They were showing recipes made from their book and one of them happened to be avocado soup! I had never even thought of using avocados in soup! The soup looked delicious and when Robin Roberts tried it the look on her face was the look of astonishment. She went on to saying how amazing the soup was. I HAD to make this soup!

If you know anything about cooking, and me you would know that I absolutely LOVE making soups! I love making soup for people too! I’m always trying new soups. Unfortunately, my husband doesn’t have a fondness for new and unusual foods. I think he would be content eating pizza for the rest of his life; so, I usually end up making a whole pot of soup for one! I eat leftovers for lunches and freeze the rest. My favorite recipe book for soups is titled “Jill’s Soups” by Jill Wilcox. If you can get your hands on this recipe book, I highly recommend it! Jill is from my hometown, London, Ontario Canada and she even has her own specialty food and kitchen shop, Jill’s Table in London! I love, love, love her store! I go in there and drool over all of the amazing products! Check it out

http://jillstable.ca/

I had a friend over one day when I was making Italian wedding soup and she said she had never made soup before. I could not believe this! She stated that she thought making soup would be, “too hard.” Too hard!! I quickly proclaimed that making soup is the easiest thing you can make! Believe me, it is!! For the most part, you simply add all of your ingredients and let the element do the rest of the cooking!

I had friends asking for this recipe with curiosity, so I thought I would share it with everyone here. I also have quite a few vegetarian and vegan friends, who I know would enjoy this soup! I also thought this would be a nice addition to the blog, maybe once a week with a recipe along with nutrition facts about ingredients from the recipe?! Let me know what you all think of such an idea…

Here we go…

RECIPE:

Avocado Soup

From Anahad O’Connor and Dave Lieberman’s book ‘The 10 Things You Need to Eat’

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=9536043&searchtext=avocado%20soup&criteria=&page=1

Makes 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 large leek

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 medium celery stalks, roughly chopped

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2 bay leaves

1 quart (4 cups) chicken OR vegetable stock

½ teaspoon ground coriander

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

1 large ripe Hass avocado, pitted, peeled, and mashed

1 lime, juiced*

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 small bunch of scallions (green onions), finely chopped

1 small bunch of cilantro, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Trim the root end of the leek, cut off the tough green leaves, cut the leek in half lengthwise, and rinse well to remove any grit. Roughly chop the leek.

Nicole’s Notes: Leeks are extremely dirty and gritty! Be sure to wash them well! As the recipe states you can cut the leek lengthwise, peel away each layer and rinse each layer well. I did it this way when I made this recipe.

 

OR you can simply cut the leek in half (lengthwise) and chop roughly, THEN place all rough cut pieces of the leek in a bowl of cool water. Break the pieces apart; be sure to remove all the dirt. The dirt should sink to the bottom of the bowl and the leek should float to the top. Scoop out the washed leek pieces. DO NOT empty the whole bowl or empty the whole bowl into a colander, as the grit and dirt will follow.

 

*An easy way to juice a lime or a lemon is to “roll” the fruit. Before cutting the lime, roll the fruit on the counter using your palm of your hand. Apply plenty of pressure while doing this. This allows for easier juicing of the lime once you cut it.

Directions Continued: Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the leek, celery, and onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables soften.

Add the bay leaves, stock, coriander, cumin, avocado, and lime juice and simmer for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve topped with the chopped scallions and cilantro to taste.

Nicole’s Notes: You can serve this recipe hot or cold. I had it the next day and it tasted even more amazing! There were two things I would have added if I made this soup again… first, I LOVE garlic and so, I would have definitely added a clove or two to the onion, celery and leek mix! The second item that would have been tasty with the soup would have been an ice-cold Corona beer! This soup is perfect for a cold January day; it takes you away to Mexico!

Nutrition Info…

AVOCADOS-

If you have never tried an avocado, you are truly missing out on one of Mother Nature’s divine, creamy, delicious fruits! Yes, avocados are classified as a fruit.

They have a creamy texture and taste slightly bland. They should not taste bitter.

FIRST lesson about avocados: How to choose an avocado?

Avocados have a deep, dark green to brownish purple outer skin. Often, the darker the color of skin, the more ripe the fruit. If you plan on using the avocado right away, choose an avocado that is slightly soft to the touch. Apply a bit of pressure to the avocado or slightly squeeze it, if it feels soft or allows pressure it should be ripe to use right away. If you want to use an avocado later in the week, choose ones that feel firmer and allow them to ripen on your kitchen counter. DO NOT store in the refrigerator; it will not allow them to ripen and can sometimes affect their flavor.

Nutrition and Health Benefits

Like citrus fruits, avocados are grown in Florida and California, or other warm countries such as, Mexico. Believe it or not, there are many, many different varieties of avocados that come in all shapes and sizes. Usually, the most common avocado you may see in your local supermarket is the Hass avocado, but you may see other varieties. Check out this link to view the array of avocado varieties. http://www.avocado.org/about/varieties

A fruit that contains fat?!

Yes, avocados do contain fat. However, they contain more ‘healthful’ fats, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (often referred to as the “good” fats), which have greater health benefits than saturated fats. Saturated fats are typically found in animal products and meats, whereas monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are found in vegetables and some fruits like avocados. Athletes and non-athletes alike, NEED fat in their diet! No one should exclude fat completely from his or her diet! Fat is needed for fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K, as well as carotenoids. The 2005 American Dietary Guidelines, recommend that adults consume 20-35% of their total daily calories from fat with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (1). The guidelines also recommend that adults consume less than 10% of their total daily calories from saturated fats (1).

Reference:

1. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005. Chapter 6: Fats. http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2005/2005DGPolicyDocument.pdf. Accessed January 25, 2010.

 

Plenty of Vitamins and Minerals!

A great aspect about the healthy fat-containing fruit, avocados, are that they contain about 20 vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients including, vitamin E & C, folate, fiber, iron, potassium, lutein (which is important for eye health, since it is an anti-oxidant), and beta-carotene (2). Avocados also contain a plant sterol called beta-sitosterol, “which may help maintain healthy cholesterol levels” (2).  Overall, avocados are an excellent fruit to add to your diet since they are a “nutrient dense” food! A “nutrient dense” food is a food that contains few calories, but contains a considerable amount of excellent nutrients, like vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fiber!

Reference:

2. California Avocado Commission. (2010). Nutrition. Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http://www.avocado.org/healthy-living/nutrition

Source: Avocado Nutrition Fact Label, California Avocado Commission. (2010). Nutrition. Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http://www.avocado.org/healthy-living/nutrition 

For more information, please check out these links:

Hass Avocado Board http://www.avocadocentral.com/

California Avocado Commission http://www.avocado.org/

How to Use Avocados:

I often purchase a bag of about 4 or 5 avocados or the grocery store sometimes offers a deal, such as 4 for $5. I find different ways to use and eat avocados. My favorite way to eat avocados is homemade guacamole (see my recipe below)! Add cut pieces of avocado to salads, wraps, or sandwiches. Or simply enjoy eating cut pieces of avocado alone!           

Nicole’s Guacamole Recipe-

Guacamole is one of the simplest, quickest, easiest snacks to make, especially if you are entertaining!

1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and mashed

1 large or 2 medium-small garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

½ lemon, juiced (OR Lime)

Salt and pepper to taste

Sometimes, I add fresh-diced tomato and onion.

Mix all ingredients in a small-medium bowl or container. To store for later use, use an airtight container and refrigerate. Once the avocado has been cut and exposed to the air, it can brown, just as other fruit would (apples). Lemon or lime juice is added to prevent ‘browning’ of the avocado.

For more amazing avocado recipes check out:

http://www.avocado.org/recipes

http://www.avocadocentral.com/recipes-and-entertaining

LEEKS

Leeks are part of the onion family. Like most dark green vegetables, leeks are packed with plenty of essential vitamins and minerals such as vitamin K, A, C, and B6, folate, manganese and iron (3).  Of course like all fruits and vegetables it’s a good source of fiber.

Reference:

3. NutritionData.com. (2009). Leeks, (bulb and lower leaf-portion), raw. Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2470/2

Check out:

“Top 10 Ways to Enjoy Leeks”

http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/?page_id=8433

Everyone should aim to consume more fruits and vegetables in their diet, as well as a variety of fruits and vegetables! They are low in total calories and packed with essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, fiber, phytonutrients and antioxidants. It is well known that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is important for health and disease prevention, particularly cancer preventative due to fruits and vegetables antioxidant content.

How are you consuming fruits and vegetables?