I love to eat and enjoy cooking with vegetables, fruits, and lean meats. Over the years,
I’ve adjusted my diet several times to accommodate my food sensitivities and to address a variety of minor health issues with a nutritional intervention. Mark Mincolla, PhD, a nutritionist, has guided me on this path of healthy eating. When I was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, I also consulted with a dietician through Fresenius Kidney Care. At first, I went wild on checking out various foods—the amounts of potassium, phosphorous, and sodium. I found, though, that my greatest mistake was adding salt to my foods. I settled on eliminating added salts and decreasing the amount of protein in my diet. I have found ways of adjusting recipes to be salt-free and dairy-free. The following is one of my favorite soup recipes. It’s great to have on hand on a winter night.
Curried Vegetable Soup
Adapted from the book 100 Best Fresh Soups, p. 103
Sharon Foley’s version
½ cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 to 2 parsnips, diced
2 to 3 small turnips
1 apple, peeled, cored, chopped
1 Tbs mild curry powder
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
Juice of 1 or 2 lemons
1 can coconut milk
Pour the oil in the pan and add the chopped onions.
Sauté gently until soft but now brown.
Add the turnip, carrots, parsnips, and apple and continue to cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes
Stir in the curry powder until the vegetable are well coated, then pour in the stock and the water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste (I leave this step out) and add the lemon juice.
Process the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth.
Add the coconut milk and heat the soup through again till it almost comes to a boil again.
This makes about six to seven 2 cup servings. I freeze the servings in individual containers and then save them in Food Saver bags.
When reheating, you could add a little more coconut cream –or any other cream you like.
