Tortilla Soup

On our 8th anniversary, F and I spent the day at the Spa Claremont in Oakland, California. We wrapped up the day with dinner at the Paragon. I ordered the tortilla soup, pleased to find that it was vegan! It was one of the most delicious soups I've ever had, with a tomato based stock. I've been looking for a similar recipe ever since. If you have any to share, please do! Here's one that I am going to start with that I found here:

Vegan Tortilla Soup (Gluten Free)

4-5 corn tortillas (sugar free)
1 medium yellow or white onion
4 cloves garlic
4-5 tbsp olive oil
3-4 Serrano chilies
1-2 tomatoes
1/3 bunch cilantro
3 can pinto beans
1 small can tomato sauce
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups frozen corn
salt and pepper to taste

Cut tortillas into thin strips and fry up in olive oil. Once cooked set aside for later. Sauté garlic, onion and chili peppers in olive oil. Then add cilantro, tomato, and dash of salt and sauté. Then add vegetable broth, tomato sauce, beans, and corn. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 20-25 minutes. Top with yogurt or vegan sour cream and tortilla strips.

I'll try it if you will! Let me know how it goes.

I'm heading to the market today and will make this for dinner and report back. Love that the recipe is gluten free already, but I will leave off the yogurt and vegan sour cream. Vegan sour cream is typically made from processed soy products which are not at all healthy. Just because it's vegan doesn't mean it's healthy!

The Plan

I spent four months of working with an amazing nutritionist, Stacey at Five Point Wellness. Since then, I find myself revising recipes to include the great foods and superfoods that I have learned about. Foods such as coconut oil, goji berries, wheat grass, maca powder, acai, hemp and cacao nibs.

My diet currently consists of veggies (both land and ocean), fruit, eggs, fish, nuts and seeds, and grains including brown rice, quinoa, millet and buckwheat. What I don't eat is meat and poultry, white rice, white bread, dairy, soy, caffeine and gluten. Nutrition information seems to change on a daily basis, so please don't hold me to this :)

My day starts with a glass of warm lemon water. Next I blend two frozen wheat grass cubes with 8 oz of water and a splash of tangerine juice. It's so yummy and refreshing, and such a healthy way to start the day! I also take 4 vita lipotropic. Next up, it's a smoothie of schizandra & goji tea, cacao nibs, acai, maca powder, coconut oil, flax oil, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Sometimes I mix it up a bit with coconut water or coconut milk, berries, half a banana, or maybe some hemp protein powder. I incorporate exercise, dry brushing and probiotics into my day as well.

I intend to use this blog to post recipes that I like and to revise yummy recipes that have unhealthy ingredients. I'm hoping my readers will help me out with tips and suggestions. So please try these recipes and let me know what you think.