Chickpea & Vegetable Coconut Curry Soup

I absolutely LOVE Thai coconut soup.  And I have made it before many times, but now that I am heading the whole food road, I needed to come up with a version that was equally satisfying.  I think my first try was a success!  

I was at Trader Joes recently and picked up some of their Miso Ginger Broth, thinking it would be a great base for any Vegetarian soup.   Especially since many "veggie broths" leave much to be desired with flavor.   I was a little nervous to just throw everything in, but it has always worked for me in the past, so why not?  :-)  I need to take a picture and add that as well, but in the meantime here is the recipe.

Chickpea & Vegetable Coconut Curry Soup

• 1 can chickpeas
• 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp shredded fresh ginger
• 3 Tbsp Lime juice
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp mild yellow curry paste (MUST HAVE- but make sure its meat free)*
• 4 cups Trader Joes Miso Ginger Broth*  (or use vegetable stock and add Turmeric, Cumin, Coriander 1/4 Tsp ea.)      (Only use the herbs if not using Miso base)
• 1 can organic coconut milk
• 1 Bunch Cilantro
• 3 Green Onions
• 1 Fresh slicer Tomato
• 3 Drops Youngevity Lemongrass Essential Oil   (or if you have fresh lemongrass you can chop it into the soup)

Serve over Brown or White Rice w/ Chopped Cilantro and onions on top, and chunks of Fresh Tomato ( put in the soup)

Instructions

1. Salute Garlic and carrots in a bit of water or Vegetable broth, Cook until garlic becomes translucent
2. Add all but the last 4 ingredients
3. Turn heat up to medium-high. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add more liquid as needed.
4. Add 1 can of coconut milk. Bring back to a simmer for another 5 minutes.
5. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

You could add potatoes, cauliflower, or any vegetables you want really and "beef" up this soup, lol. (Thats kind of a funny expression in this new perspective.

*I'm not 100% positive that the Miso Ginger Broth is Vegan, but there are no ingredients I can see that are in conflict.  Same w/ the Curry Paste

One foot in front of the other.....

It's been about 4 months since I started the journey towards becoming a Vegan, using the WFPB, oil free guidelines.  From day 1, I knew I could be a vegetarian, so I immediately quit eating meat.  That was easy for me.  I like several vegetarian meals and already had some in my collection.   But I still couldn't imagine having bread or potatoes without butter and sour cream on them.   I tried Nutritional Yeast, and liked that right away, and felt like I could give up cheese.   But I was still having a bowl of cereal a couple times a week, with our delicious raw cows milk we've been getting from a friends farm.

One of my early WFPB meals.  Potato bar, veggies on the side, and Been & Cheese Tamale

I ate like this, doing my best for about 6 weeks.  But I still felt like I was weak, and would slip up in social gatherings, or if we went out to eat.  And I still wasnt' sure how committed I was.  I felt a little lost still, and wanting more info, and more understanding about how I should eat, and what the benefits were.  Plus I would eat good all day long, and then munch on Cheez-its in bed every night, like they were somehow "grandfathered" in to my diet, lol.  (Granted that is a step up from the M&M's I used keep by the bedside.)

So I decided to delve into the "study" of food, and I ordered several books.  I will just list them to start, and you can click on them to get more info:

"Discovering the Word of Wisdom" by Jane Birch
"The Starch Solution" by John McDougall
"The China Study" by Thomas Campbell
"Eat to Live" by Joel Fuhrman

The first one gives a great spiritual perspective and understand as to why God would want us to eat this way, as well as ideas for getting started and where to find resources and recipes.  Jane is extremely passionate about helping people to overcome their poor diet choices and reap the blessings of eating right.

The second one, Starch Solution, gives many statistics and incredible information about the effects of all these "bad foods" on the body.  Very motivational for sticking w/ the plan, and an enjoyable read.  Also contains tons of recipes in the back.

I have yet to finish reading the second ones, remember I am just starting my journey really.  I Just want to have  a place to document what i've learned and share it with others as I go.

I'm also an avid gardener, and have been doing an experiment with winter growing this year, and was able to harvest this whole bowl of greens from my pop up greenhouse in the snow.  So it was really motivating to eat fresh greens from my yard that whole week as part of my new lifestyle.

But the best thing I have going for me right now, hands down, is the support of my amazing husband.  He has always been willing to support me in what I feel we should be eating, but this time, I think he has surpassed me in his desire to eat clean.  He loves this new way of eating, and has fully embraced it.

Experimenting w/ Vegan Sushi.  

I have finally gotten to the point, this month where I am 100% Vegan.   After a great conversation w/ Jane Birch, I committed to myself to not eat butter for a week.   Well... it's been at least 2, and I have no desire to eat it anymore.  The craving is gone.   I still don't know what I'm going to do, if ever I get the chance to eat some hot bread out of the oven, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  The main thing is I am committed.  I am feeling better, and when I gave up the butter, I have finally started losing weight.  So I am excited to see where this journey will take me.  I can't wait to "run and not be weary, and walk an not faint."