This recipe is from Robyn Youkilis' book, Go with Your Gut (published here with permission).
I know it’s not cool to talk about dieting and weight loss anymore in the happy holistic wellness land, but to be real, this is my secret “diet” soup. Why? Because that little ¾ cup of cashews combined with heaps of veggies will fill you up like nobody’s business. And because sometimes, even though we may know better, we find ourselves at the end of a pretty long line of not so great food choices and want to lose a couple of extra pounds that crept up on us. So this soup is it. All of the variations work perfectly. I don’t even have a favorite!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 5 cups chopped broccoli, cauliflower, or tomatoes
- 3 to 4 cups water (to cover vegetables)
- 2-3 teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Set cashews to soak in a bowl of water from 5 to 20 minutes then rinse and drain. 20 minutes is best but 5 minutes works, too!
In a large pot, warm the oil over medium heat.
Sauté the onion and garlic until they are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the veggie of choice, enough water to cover, the sea salt, and pepper. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes, until and the vegetables are tender and soft.
Transfer the soup to a blender (see Note), working in batches if necessary. Add the cashews. Blend until smooth.
Taste for seasonings and serve immediately, or let the soup cool. Cover and refrigerate it.
Notes
If you’re not using a Vitamix, wait for the soup to cool before blending. You can use a hand blender directly in the pot, too.