Smoky Vegan Split Pea Soup

For a flavorful fall or winter supper, ladle out steaming cups or bowls of smoky vegan split pea soup. It's hearty, delicious, nutrient rich, yet doesn't contain fat or cholesterol.

Prepare it when you know you'll be home for a few hours, whether that's on the weekend or early in the day. Let the soup simmer on the stove, while you work from home, do household tasks, read, jog on a treadmill, or watch TV. 

This recipe goes a long way. It serves at least eight people, and is so versatile. It's great for lunch, dinner, or even as a low-cal snack. Savor its flavor again during the week. This is a simple way to cut down on meal prep time, save energy, and money to boot.

Smoky vegan split pea soup is an economical meatless meal that tempts your taste buds, as 1 pound of organic dried split peas cost approximately $2.99 a pound. Conventional dried peas are approximately $1.99 a pound. Use the seasonings and veggies you already have on hand, and you can whip up a meal you and your brood will love for pennies on the dollar.

Smoky vegan split pea soup is a nutrition star. It fulfills a big chunk of the daily requirement for protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. This soup is a good source of fuel for your body without added fat. Leftovers freeze well, and eating it when its defrosted and heated prevents food waste too.

One Cup of Homemade Smoky Vegan Split Pea Serves Up:

*Hearty Taste from a Health Promoting Legume that's available throughout the year

*50 percent of the RDA of Vitamin A to help support eye health

*39 percent of Manganese, a mineral that helps maintain strong teeth and bones

*31 percent of B 1 (Thiamine), a b-complex vitamin that helps our bodies produce energy, supports the nervous system, and helps prevent digestive and memory problems

*23 percent of the RDA for B 5 (Pantothenic Acid), a b-complex vitamin that our bodies use to process carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids for healthy skin

*20 percent of the RDA for Potassium to help build muscle and process carbs for energy

*33 percent of the RDA of Protein at 7 grams per serving



*39 percent of the RDA of copper, a mineral that helps incorporate iron into red blood cells to prevent anemia, as well as plays a role to keep blood vessels, nerves, immune system and bones healthy

*Good Source of Soluble and Insoluble Fiber, at 8 grams per serving or 65 percent of the daily requirement. Fiber helps carry toxins out of the body, increases stool bulk, and prevents constipation and other digestive disorders

*A Complex Carbohydrate with approx. 40 carbs per cup. 



* Its glycemic index number is low, but if you want to decrease the glycemic index number further, replace the russet potato in the recipe with parsnip.

Note: Check out this link and scroll down to the section for vegetables to find the "pea" glycemic index number Glycemic Index Chart and Glycemic Load for 100 foods.

*Big flavor, yet is a Low Calorie Meal, at approximately 115 calories per cup

*A Non-fat Recipe that contains Zero Cholesterol

Now, on to the recipe...

Ingredients:

1 pound organic dried green split peas
8 cups water
2 medium chopped organic yellow onions
4 organic chopped carrots
3 stalks organic chopped celery
1/2 organic chopped zucchini
1 small organic chopped russet or sweet potato (lower the glycemic index rating and use chopped parsnip instead)
1 sprig fresh snipped organic basil or organic parsley
1 organic bay leaf
2 sprigs organic snipped oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano

4 cloves organic garlic that has been minced
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried organic thyme
1 teaspoon dried organic sage
2 teaspoons smoked paprika (this makes soup taste smoky without having to use any smoked meat)
1/2 teaspoon pink salt
4 teaspoons Braggs Liquid Aminos (or gluten free low sodium soy sauce)
optional ingredients: freshly minced dill, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh parsley, croutons 

Note: I always use organic ingredients when available, because organic means produce and seasonings aren’t genetically modified, aren't sprayed with chemicals, and aren't grown in soil that contains chemical fertilizers.


Note: No need to get overwhelmed by the long list of ingredients. All veggies can be chopped in a food processor. To keep additional prep simple, when herbs or spices mentioned above aren't in your pantry, use a substitute. Seasoning blends like 21 Seasoning Salute works well. Avoid trips to the market, and use what's in your house already. Incorporate veggies like shallots, leeks, scallions, mushrooms, red pepper, cabbage, turnip, and other varieties of squash. The more the merrier. When you add extra veggies, it makes the soup taste more full bodied and yummy. 

What to Do:

1. Soak split peas for at least 8 hours in enough water to cover by 2 inches. Use at least 6 cups of water, because spit peas will expand when soaked. Pour off liquid, pick out any grit that remains, and rinse well.

2. Cook peas in 8 cups of clean water on high until boiling. Add bay leaf, minced garlic cloves, and chopped onion. Lower heat to medium. Cook for one hour, stirring occasionally. 
3. Add the other dry spices and fresh veggies and lower to simmer. Cover and continue cooking, until peas and veggies are tender and partly mushy (anywhere from 1/2 hour to an hour). Don't forget to stir every 10 or so minutes to avoid soup from overflowing or sticking to bottom of the pot. If you decide to add additional veggies, use an extra cup of water for each veggie you include. Season accordingly. Add fresh snipped herbs a few minutes before you're ready to take the pot off the stove.
4. Remove soup pot from heat. Put on a cutting board or other heat resistant surface. Use an immersion blender or food processor to puree soup until it is blended to a consistency you like. 

In my house, we like thick yet smooth soup.

Smoky Vegan Split Pea Soup with Smoked Paprika and Basil Garnish

Serve it with gluten free flax seed crackers, or with a slice of toast with almond or peanut butter. At other times, we combine it with leftover rice, quinoa, or barley. We warm it up by pouring it directly into the soup, for a terrific one dish meal.

Enjoy the Homemade Goodness of Smoky Vegan Pea Soup, an unprocessed whole food with no additives or preservatives, no refined sugar, low sodium, and no harmful ingredients added to bulk it up. Your meal mates will be delighted by its lively taste and so will you!

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Here's the quote for today:

"I live on good soup, not on fine words."  Moliere

Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/soup.html

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Awesome Reasons to Eat Family Meals at Home

Life is often hectic, and filled with responsibilities. Nonetheless, the ritual of eating meals around the kitchen or dining room table can help you and your loved ones feel centered, nourished, and energized. Whether it’s your nuclear family, your life partner or roommate, or a group of congenial friends, eating meals at home together is salve for the spirit, and does wonders for wellness.

 A consistent habit of eating meals together bolsters everyone’s sense of well-being. According to data collected in the National Survey of Children’s Health, 48% of youth surveyed ate a meal together with their families every day during the previous week. Additional studies show that children who knew a lot about their family history, through family meals and other interactions, had a closer relationship to family members, higher self-esteem, were less likely to abuse alcohol and drugs, and had a greater sense of control over their own lives.

Gathering with folks to break bread is a relaxing, restorative social function. It’s a great time to put aside electronic devices and daily tasks temporarily. Partaking in regular family meals establishes a tradition of unity as well as provides an opportunity to hone communication skills. Mealtime talk demonstrates by example the “how-to” of polite, effective conversation. Each person involved will have the experience of taking turns to share the happenings of the day, light moments, and the joys and sorrows of being part of the human race.

Slow Roasted Black Eyed Peas, Roasted Carrots, Greens and Sprouts

Research indicates that home cooked meals reap mighty nutritional benefits. The USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) has found meals and snacks based on food prepared away from home contained more calories per meal than those based on at-home food. Away-from-home food was also higher in ingredients that Americans over-consume (sodium, sugar, and saturated fat) and lower in nutrients that Americans under consume (calcium, fiber, and iron).

Although it requires planning, know how, and time to assemble and serve a healthy meal at home, you and your family or friends can share responsibility for prepping meals, setting the table, and clean up. When you consciously choose to incorporate a variety of fresh produce, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans, and fruit into meals served at home, you and your loved ones will get back on the wellness track. Purchase these foods at the peak of freshness and you’ll get more of the body’s daily requirement for vitamins, protein, minerals, complex carbohydrates, unsaturated fats, fiber, water, and antioxidants. Menu planning and cooking food for oneself and others are positive life skills. It’s good training for both youngsters and oldsters. The first group grows up and the second may lose a partner through divorce or death. Both kinds of individuals often need to fend for themselves as they live on their own.  

You can design a more relaxing ambiance for healthy eating and good communication at home than in many restaurants. When you eat at a fast food place or even a moderately priced restaurant, more than likely you will be bombarded by loud music or offensive smells like excessive perfume or rancid cooking oils. Perhaps your serenity is disturbed by people at a nearby table, who shout into their cell phones or are accompanied by a crying baby.

At home, you can regulate the air conditioning or heat to your liking, you won’t get a rush job, or be served by ineffective or rude wait staff. Although there are no large-scale studies to show that it’s more cost effective to dine at home, I’ve found that if I plan ahead, buy sale items and in-season, local produce, and freeze what I can’t use for another meal, I save money and time shopping and cooking. An informal study I conducted indicates that all those interviewed do think it makes good sense to eat more meals at home. Here’s a link comparing time and money saving of a Fast Food Meal vs. a Home-cooked One.

If you eat at home, there’s no need to drive to an out of the way location or get tied up in traffic, before you can eat that meal. Even if you pick a restaurant that’s close-by, it’s hard to assure the cook doesn’t add too much oil, salt, sugar, or processed ingredients rather than serve a low sodium, low fat, whole food meal.

Family connections require attention to sustain them. Make it a point to eat at least one meal together daily, and you will automatically reserve a place in your busy schedule for shared time. Often, it’s the only time when you and your loved ones aren’t rushing to get somewhere else. Make family meals as uncomplicated as possible. To give them a festive flair, serve foods on dinner wear instead of paper plates. You don’t need a special occasion to use a tablecloth and cloth napkins. Decorate your home with flowers and candles to celebrate the next birthday, anniversary, graduation, or other special occasion, when you might have been tempted in the past to eat out. A delicious home cooked meal conveys caring and interest in the people you cook for.

When you and your family eat nourishing food at home, it broadcasts a positive message about warm sentiments and a passion for good health. For fun, gather individual family members together each week, when no one has to leave early. Stay in your pajamas, and each help prepare a meal that includes lean protein and complete carbohydrates, instead of fattening bacon, home fries, and eggs. Before too long, you’ll realize your clothing has gotten looser and it's much more cozy to stay put, than it is to drag yourself out in that rainstorm, heat, or other inclement weather to have a meal in a restaurant. Celebrate the joy of eating the earth’s bounty at home with family and friends. Nurture your body, mind, and spirit by entertaining and eating healthfully at home more often.

The quotation for today follows:

“To make changes like this more widespread we need action both cultural and political. The cultural lies in celebrating real food; raising our children in homes that don’t program them for fast-produced, eaten-on-the-run, high-calorie, low-nutrition junk; giving them the gift of appreciating the pleasures of nourishing one another and enjoying that nourishment together.” Mark Bittman

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