Complete Proteins

BBQ Veggie Pita Pizza

First Mondays of the month I participate in a  phone call with a dietitian paid for by my insurance. I would prefer in person nutrition classes and the like, but this is what my insurance pays for. It's a bit like having a life coach for health. At the end of each call she asks me to set goals. I said I should keep the same goals since I was not satisfied with my follow through from last month. But then I realized, I also want to focus on making sure that I am eating enough complete proteins. Since I am no longer eating beef and I have greatly reduced my cheese intake, she was concerned that I make sure I am getting enough protein. I think I have been, but it's possible that some of my recent fatigue and negative emotions have been related.

We discussed what a complete protein is. Many people have told me that I need to make sure I am getting enough protein, or complete proteins if I am reducing and/or removing meat and cheese from my dietary habits, but one friend explained it as such:

"Any combination of 2 or more of these food groups makes a complete protein:
seeds &  nuts
beans & legumes
whole grains
eggs & dairy"

My dietician basically confirmed, and added that of course it is easier to get complete protein by eating meat, eggs or dairy, but if I'm going to focus on vegetative matter to get my protein, the above list minus the eggs and dairy is right. She also mentioned that the only complete protein found yet in a non meat or dairy food is quinoa. Complete proteins apparently have to do with amino acid chains or some such. I tried to look it up on diabetes.com as she suggested but haven't found it yet. Still, complete proteins are not impossible or even that hard to attain without meat or dairy, so I can still continue my quest to see how I do on less meat (no beef) and at least 50% less cheese (which I think is much more than 50% less at this point) For example in today's breakfast I had both the protein that was available from the veggies and almond butter. I'm not sure if that's technically a complete protein, but it's definitely healthier than one or the other. If I had put the peanut butter on some whole wheat toast it would have met the dietitians requirements. It also would have doubled my carb intake for the day, so I chose to forgo the bread. Not sure if that was the best decision or not protein wise, but it was good for my blood sugar. I'll run things like that by the dietitian next time. I did however make sure to get complete proteins in my lunch by having both whole wheat in the pita, and cheese on it. Plus I had good fiber, added extra veggies, and if I had made the cheese vegan by making it out of nuts it would have been non dairy but still complete proteins.

 Update on cheese changes. I have been asking myself the question "Do I really need or want cheese with/on whatever I am eating?" as I planned, and that has greatly reduced my cheese intake. Plus, when I do eat cheese, I am starting to eat 1/2 as much. For example on today's pita pizza, I decided that since I do not have any vegan cheese around right now, I did indeed want cheese on my pizza. BUT I used 1/8 cup shredded cheese instead of 1/4 cup. Also, I added salad greens to my pita pizza for some added herbal flavor, and I really enjoyed it that way! The full recipe is below.

 BBQ Veggie Pita Pizza
Ingredients:
1/3 Red Bell Pepper (I ate the rest on the side raw which was delicious)
 1/2 heritage tomato
 1 roasted serrano chili pepper
 1 cup of salad greens (I used a basil arugula mix)
1 tablespoon bbq tomato sauce (home made)
1 whole wheat pita

Instructions:
Cut roasted chili pepper into small bits and mix into bbq sauce spreading evenly over pita chop 1/3 bell pepper and 1/2 tomato into bite sized chunks and spread around pita. Sprinkle 1 cup of salad greens over all the rest sprinkle 1/8 cup shredded cheese of your choice on top cook at 250 for 10 minutes (for crispy crust cook the pita for 10 minutes before adding toppings)

Later I may combine chickpeas and sesame seeds to make a complete protein and eat a snack of veggies and hummus. And for dinner I will have quinoa with roasted veggies and a side salad. For desert I am asking Patch to bring home bananas which I can try eating since apparently bananas are only a mild food intolerance and not a complete allergy as I had thought. I have a recipe I have been wanting to try out for chocolate banana brownies. Meat Free Monday should be a success!

Health Update

It's been a while since I blogged about my health or food. Sorry about that! I know I'm pretty inconsistent about when I blog here. But I had a really good appointment at my Endocrinologist last week, and wanted to share here about what changes I've made and the results.

Changes to my diet:
I have quit eating beef, been eating at least 5 green smoothies a week, and am still enjoying Meat Free Mondays almost every week (sometimes I forget it's Monday and then I do meat free Tuesday or what have you) Some weeks  I eat meat free several days a week, and when doing so I try to remember to eat whole protein sources. The dietary changes I have made have sometimes been sudden, such as quitting eating all the foods that came up on allergy and intolerance blood tests, and some have been more gradual such as reducing meat fat from my diet, and learning about healthy ways to eat more vegetables. Eating fruit has never been a problem for me. I love fruit, and if anything, I have to be careful not to eat too much fruit. I keep a close eye on my blood sugar when trying new things. I quit eating beef almost 2 weeks ago. So far, so good. Sometimes I have almost slipped up because I was not thinking about it and a burger seemed easy and sounded delicious, but then I remembered that beef is on my  list of things not to eat at all for at least one month. I had previously reduced beef to only being eaten every once in a while if I'm out at a restaurant, so remembering not to order beef when out is my new challenge. This week I started asking myself before eating cheese, do I really want this right now or is there a healthier replacement I could eat instead. Especially when I reach for an apple and cheese which I was eating every day for a while. Now I often eat an apple and peanut butter instead. Increased intake of cinnamon and sunflower seeds at the recommendation of a Natural medicine doc.

Changes medically:
I am no longer taking Lopid as it did not seem to be working. I also no longer take Glyburide as it lowered my blood sugar dangerously and was not helping anything. All with my Endocrinologists support. I am however taking Simvastatin (or something like that) and for a while had me on a 2nd cholesterol med as well but recently took me off that. I still take Metformin for my diabetes. He says it has also been shown to prevent some kinds of cancer, and since I have lumps on my thyroid, it's not good to lower those doses. I have been trying to do yoga every other day and cardio the other days, with Sundays off. I've started not working on orders on Sundays and only making orders 5 days a week, also. This means that on Sundays I still make something creative, but it's more enjoyable. I'm trying to figure out the best schedule for my health mentally, emotionally and physically. Time will tell, but full time work is still too much for me, that much is clear.

Results:
A1C is down to 5.6
Fasting Blood Glucose is usually 90 to 110 these days tho sometimes creeps up to 118 if I haven't chosen a proper "healthy snack" before bed
Cholesterol was so much better my doctor practically did a dance of joy and he took me off one of my cholesterol medicines to see what happens. I am hoping since I have been eating so well it will still be good.
Down from 245 to 229 since my last appointment
Down from a size 54 to 42 pants
Down from a 3x to 2x and sometimes 1x shirt

People have asked me why I am changing what I eat, "is it for health reasons or conscience reasons?" Really it is for both. Primarily, it is for health which has been my long time answer, but I am also very aware of the toll we take on the world around us, and believe that "every drop raises the ocean" or in other words, every baby step counts. So I have some reasons of conscience as well.  For example, by not eating beef and choosing to eat meat which comes from reputable sources, I am taking less of a toll on the world around me. I also am increasing the amount of attention I give to what I put into my body, and to me, this is an important part of improving my health and mind. Beef has been known to increase inflammatory response, and my body has a lot of problems related to inflammation, so I decided to try eating no beef for a month or two and see how my body feels. I suspect I will keep it up, or maybe I will only eat beef when it is a special cut of meat from a healthy, well treated animal or something. We will see. If I see health benefits, it will be worth changing for sure.

I have been watching the 2nd Forks Over Knives movie which is a bunch of interviews of experts which are about the health reasons to go meat free and which did not make it into the original Forks Over Knives movie, and it helped me solidify my decision to quit drinking milk and also reduce my cheese and yogurt intake. I watched the first movie some time ago, and have been gradually moving towards a diet free of meats and dairy since, but for me it is a slow change, not overnight. The second movie also made it clear that only 10% of my diet needs to be protein all of which can be found in plant sources which was a relief since I have been trying to figure out how much is enough. I highly recommend the movie, and their website has some delicious looking recipes I am looking forward to trying as well: http://www.forksoverknives.com/category/recipes/

I am really happy with the results of my choices so far. I will continue eating meat at this point, but may switch to being on only fish, fruits and vegetables in the not too distant future. Time will tell.

Comfort Foods the Healthier Way - Savory Recipes

What do you think of when you think of comfort food? What do you tend to reach for? I lean towards carbs and creamy things. It's been a hard couple of days, and I've been doing really good about not over indulging in foods that will make me sick and keeping to delicious healthy yumness. I'm pretty proud of me in fact. And the last couple of days have been really challenging. But here's some of the comfort foods I made, so that I could have guilt free yumness:

Carlie's Turkey Chili

Walnut Deep Dark Chocolate Fudge 

Coconut Milk Chocolate Bars (no bake)

Peanut Butter Caramel Dip (really good with the fudge on top of the last of last week's mango sorbet)

Almond Cookie Dough Truffles (covered in chocolate and frozen, not baked)

Chocolate Cookie Dough Dip & Dark Chocolate Chunks (no baking required)

And this morning I made Pumpkin Coconut Curry Soup with Coconut Macadamia Crunchies. SO GOOD! 

So I know, you must be thinking none of that sounds healthy Sean-Michael! And you're right it doesn't SOUND healthy. But trust me, they are all much healthier than they sound. Actually you don't have to trust me, just check out the recipes. I'm working on variations, and a group of my brave friends will be trying them all out, so the recipes I'm about to post are tentative and probably not exactly what they'll be in the end. But we enjoyed them as they are. I'm just a perfectionist and I like to tinker and tweek my recipes until they're just right.  Plus, I'm seriously considering writing a cook book some day for people who want recipes that are delicious while being healthy. For now, I've decided to perfect a few recipes I can give to friends and family for the holidays, and maybe even trade barter and sell locally. Stay tuned for more on that. Today I'm going to focus on the savory recipes out of the bunch. Please feel free to make them yourself and see how they turn out, and if you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Carlie's Turkey Chili is a long time favorite of ours. She likes to make extra because we all love it so much. It has a decent amount of protein, low carbs, and turkey is a low fat meat. It's a nice mild chili which is great with melted cheese on top. I like to use a Monterey Jack and Chedder mix. I don't have any photos of this, will try to remember to take one next time we eat it. In the mean time, here's the recipe: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1345488 ENJOY! 

Sent some to a friend for taste testing

Pumpkin Coconut Curry Soup which happens to be vegan. I just created this recipe this morning because I had seen a recipe for a curry soup but didn't have the ingredients. If I were going to change any one thing about the recipe it would be that I'd add a bit of lemon or lime, but I'm allergic to those, so I may try adding a bit of citric acid and see if that gives it some acidity. But if you're wanting a warm, comforting, creamy soup, give this one a shot and let me know what you think. Although Patch is not a pumpkin fan, and hates Curry (she says it smells like stinky feet) she ate this and said "Wow, that's actually pretty good!!" and then polished off her bowl. Here you go, give it a try and please let me know what you think.  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2238145 oh and I made these crunchies to sprinkle over the top with some chopped mint: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2238095

More on the rest of these recipes soon.

Quick breakfast

Overnight oats and sprouted quinoa in cinnamon apple flavor, with an apple pear aka Asian Pear and some string cheese. Quick n easy! Only down side, this had more carbs than I usually eat. Still within the range I was told I can have, but more than I shoot for. Still, super quick and easy. Gotta love overnight muesl!

Tomorrow I'm going to try some with sprouted wheat berries and raw protein added. I haven't decided on tomorrow's flavor yet, but I'm thinking strawberry sounds good.

What do you do for a quick and healthy breakfast when you have to run out the door or don't have the energy to make something when you first get up? Do you have any favorite meals you make the night before and eat for breakfast?

Meatless Mondays

Today is our first ever official Meatless Monday as a family. I'm a flexitarian, as in I eat some vegetarian and some carnivorous meals. Most days, I get at least one vegetarian meal. Recently at work, Patch asked their dietitian how she could lose weight and be at her healthiest, and told the dietitian about my current method of eating. The lady said "Do what he's doing" so Patch has started heading down the same path towards health I'm on. Now I'm no dietitian, so I plan to meet with a dietitian myself to make sure that we're getting all the necessary nutrients, but in the mean time we're basically following the DTOUR plan with some vegan or vegetarian meals mixed in, and a few of our standard favorites, or some new twists on old comfort food.

While on vacation, Patch and I agreed that we will start having vegetarian and vegan meals all day every Monday starting today. Carlie wasn't there and I can't remember if we shared this little gem with her, but the two of us are a go, and Carlie will either join in or not. Often if we prepare delicious food, everyone else eats it too, so maybe she'll start having some accidentally vegetarian days. I'll ask her tonight if she wants to try it out with us.

So here's what today's food adventures look like:

Breakfast: (serves 1)
Shredded Wheat spoon sized cereal, 1 cup
Almond Milk, unsweetened, original, 1.5 cups
Raw cashews, 1 oz
(Shredded wheat really soaks up the milk and I would have liked to put some berries on there too, but we were out)

Shopping trip! I looked up a couple of vegetarian meals, made a list of the ingredients plus a few salad fixins, and we went to Fresh and Easy where found everything on our list, most of it in the organic section. Put Vegetarian Chili on to cook after shopping for Dinner, it takes 3 to 6 hours to cook down to the correct consistency depending on method of cooking.

Snack: (serves 2)
1 head of Romaine Lettuce
1 cup arugula
2 oz pistachio nuts
1 stalk celery
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white balsamic

 Lunch: (serves 4)
Vegetarian Stir Fry
1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 cups water
1 head bok choy
1 can baby corn
1 can water chestnuts
1/2 cup raw cashews
3 baby sweet peppers (1 red, 1 orange, 1 yellow)
1/2 onion (chopped)
1 stalk celery
2 cups bean sprouts
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons seasoning sauce of choice

 Snack: (serves 2)
1 apple
1 whole grain bagel
4 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter

Dinner: (serves 8)
Vegan Chili (This smells amazing!)
2 cans sliced pear tomatoes, 28 oz each
1 can diced roasted red tomatoes, 15 oz (in basil sauce)
1 can tomato paste, 4 oz
1 can black beans, 15 oz (remove liquid)
1 can butter beans, 15 oz (remove liquid) 2 cans pinto beans,
15 oz (remove liquid)
1 medium sweet potato
2 cups diced celery
1 medium red onion
3 baby sweet peppers
1 tablespoon garlic
3 tablespoons chili powder
top with cheese if you're vegetarian, cheese substitute if you're vegan

Dessert: (serves 3)
6 whole grain fig cookies
12 large strawberries, sliced
6 tablespoons spray whipped cream (fat free)

Movie snack:
Kale Chips from 1 head of Kale, flavored to request (see previous entries for various recipes)

Obviously these are just lists of ingredients and not full recipes. If you would like to see the full recipes for lunch and dinner, please let me know and I'll write them out.

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Latte

Tips:
This is delicious and can be made completely vegan or not if you prefer. I made mine with coconut milk and highly recommend it.
Baker's chocolate may be bitter when eaten alone, but when shaved over a sweet drink or sweet whip cream, it is super delicious and really balances the drink well


Ingredients:
Two bags peppermint tea
4 oz hot water
Large glass full of ice
8 oz lowfat coconut milk
1 teaspoon agave
1 teaspoon Dark chocolate, shaved on microplane
Whip cream if desired (can be made vegan with coconut milk and powdered sugar)

Directions:
Brew tea in 4 oz water
Add 1 teaspoon agave
Shave a bit of dark bakers chocolate over it
Pour hot sweetened tea over ice
Add 8 oz coconut milk
Add whip cream if desired (vegan if you're so inclined)
Shave a bit more of dark chocolate over whip cream


How to make Vegan Whip Cream: http://www.organicauthority.com/eco-chic-table/how-to-make-the-easiest-delicious-recipe-vegan-whipped-cream.html

Orange Jicama Salad - Adding More Raw Vegan Foods to Our Plan

Hint: If you're just looking for the recipe, scroll down towards the end the next few paragraphs are about raw food and veganism.

Several years ago I went about 90% Raw. I remember the conversation with my doctor who thought raw meant I was eating raw meat. Even tho I had mentioned it was a form of veganism where foods are not cooked, unless you consider dehydrating and low temperatures to be cooking (which I do, to be honest)  At that time, I had a lot of issues around eating in this healthy, meat free way which was very confusing to me. As it turned out, I was eating tons of things that I'm allergic to. Carrots were in many recipes I was preparing, since they were a low cost filler for things like raw vegan burgers. The food was delicious, and I really enjoyed the creativity it allowed me, but between the hives, foggy thinking and low energy, my doctor told me to knock it off even after she knew what it was. She wasn't educated enough in it to even begin to guess at what was going wrong. If you are still wondering what exactly is Raw Food, here are some helpful links:
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianlifestyle/f/rawfoods.htm
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/popularhealthdiets/a/Raw_Food.htm
http://www.rawfoodlife.com/#axzz20p6qQC6E
http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/

These days I am a bit more tuned in to what my body likes and doesn't like as well as how to get protein out of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, so I've been moving back towards more and more vegetarian, vegan and/or raw meal preparation. I'm paying close attention to how my body responds to the meals, and making sure I get enough protein, which was one of the things my previous doctor felt was missing from my temporary Raw Food attempt.   http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/raw-food-diet/raw-nutrition/protein-sources-on-a-vegan-raw-food-diet/

Recently we got a box chock full of organic fruits and vegetables for $25. I don't want it to go bad, so I've been making sure we add it into meals and flat out plan meals around it. I think we'll eat it up quickly since all 3 of us have been increasing the amount of vegetables in our diet. Sometimes we'll make a whole meal which is vegan, and other times we'll mix and match like I did today for lunch putting a raw vegan salad along with a tuna melt and some kale chips on the side. About 440 calories, it was a great lunch! Here's the recipe for the salad:  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2174697 ENJOY!

What are your favorite raw and/or vegan recipes? If you like sharing healthy recipes, you might enjoy this group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/171662566292397/

A Veggie Meal Adventure with Milo

My best bud and "bro" came over today. We haven't hung out in a LONG time. We both didn't really realize how long until we started talking about our lives and realized there were things we didn't know had happened. Really major things.

But one thing hasn't changed. I still love cooking and being creative in the kitchen with my bro. It's always interesting, because we both have very different food issues.  You can check out his awesome blog , Vegan Meal Adventures at  http://keepingvegan.wordpress.com

Today's Veggie Meal Adventure Recipe:

Garden Veggie Adventure:
4 small white eggplants roughly chopped about 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 white onion chopped
1 small banana pepper minced
1 clove garlic minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon basil
1 dash of salt
1 dash of pepper

Mix all together, and bake at 425 for 15 minutes (If I could change anything about this I might add another pepper those are delicious! And another clove of garlic plus a can of tomatoe sauce could be a fun way to cook this up as well.

Quinoa Porridge:
1/2 cup quinoa
4 tablespoons flax seeds
1.5 cups water
boil then bring down to a medium low heat and cook while chopping and cooking vegetables (approximately 25 minutes until it reaches the porridge consistency you prefer

We spooned 1/2 on a plate for each of us, and about a ladeled the vegetable mixture on top. It was delicious and it is also great over polenta porridge or fried polenta coated in parmesan (or vegan parm) with almonds for a bit of added crunch.

It can be a completely vegan meal if you don't use cheese or substitute your own vegan cheeses

Pork Ribs and Mash with Salad

Tonight we are having guests over for dinner. We don't do that very often, but we wanted to spend some time with our friends, and they happen to be free on a day Patch has off. We ran to the store to make sure we had everything we needed, picked up a couple extra items, and it's going to be delicious. I'm preparing a slightly altered version of a recipe I got from a food magazine for the mashed potatoes and making a salad. Patch is cooking ribs, which were on sale, just in case there's not quite enough food to go around. Leftovers will be eaten I'm sure, so that's not a problem. We got some delicious organic sweet peppers and oranges which I plan to have in the salad along with some smoked gouda, so it should be delicious!  I'll upload pics as soon as I have them. Our friends brought strawberries and we had them over angel food cake for dessert since Patch didn't get a birthday cake. (well she had cupcakes, but apparently she wanted this instead)

Dinner by Teamwork

The problem with planning meals based on recipes in magazines or from health food sites is simple. They are not based on what is low cost and available locally.

The positive thing is, it gives us new ideas, encourages us to try new things and is really fun! Plus eating delicious healthy food is a good thing. Plus it gives us a chance to cook together or for each other. This one was dinner by teamwork. Patch took me to my favorite store where I bought the fruits, veggies and cherry preserves. Carlie bought the meat. Patch prepped the meal, and Carlie cooked it. Teamwork!

Tonight we had lamb rib chops with cherry sauce and salad. Patch and carlie had hash browns with theirs. I had cherry cider with mine which i like watered down 50/50 cuz otherwise its too strong.

It was delicious! And of course if you use terriaki sauce without gluten, it's gluten free, which is good for my gluten intolerant friends. I believe it was one of Rachel rays recipes and it us super easy. We just seasoned them with salt and pepper, mixed cherry preserves with terriaki and cooked them about a

Baking without eggs and yeast

Recently I have been feeling up to baking. Not every day mind you, but once or twice a week. I'm having another small surgery tomorrow so I suppose I won't be up to baking nor blogging for a while, so I thought today I would try futzing around with Milo's flaky vegan pizza crust and seeing how I did. I made a couple changes because I am not only allergic to eggs but intolerant of potato and potato starch is in most egg replacers you find out there. (or "egg product" itself, which just makes me laugh) so I have been getting creative with my baking recipes, and have found some I really enjoyed. A nice moist and fluffy Coffee Cake for one, YUM!

For Milo's Vegan Flake Pizza Crust recipe go here: http://keepingvegan.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/milos-vegan-flake-pizza-crust/

And here's the slightly altered recipe I made for whole wheat vegan pizza crust:
3 teaspoons of Xanthum Gum (or Guar Gum) 6 Tablespoons of water and 2 tablespoons pear sauce (place in airtight container and shake until fluffy/gummy this is my version of an egg replacer)
1/4 cup of oil
1/2 cup of soy, nut, or rice milk
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1/4 cup of rice flour
2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of oregano (optional)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)

1. In a small bowl mix together egg replacer mix, milk, and oil till it's the consistency of lightly whipped eggs.
2. In a larger bowl mix flours, baking powder, and salt (oregano and garlic too if wanted).
3. Add wet mix to dry mix. Knead for a bit then stretch out unto and oiled baking sheet.
4. Poke holes in crust with fork. Spread sauce or oil. Add toppings.
5. Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes.

Now I haven't quite figured out how to make that first light and fluffy coffee cake I made, because unfortunately it was the first thing I baked after recovering a bit from my last surgery and I was so tired out after making it that I didn't feel up to eating it let alone recording the recipe. The next time I made it, I did the best I could from memory and the resulting recipe can be found in my sparkpeople recipe box here: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1523101 which is also delicious and is inspired by a delicious low fat blueberry coffee cake recipe I found. I made some changes. Used whole wheat flour and switched up the sweetener, but it's pretty good. I think next time I make it I may use 1/2 the guar gum and use pear sauce (blended canned pears and pear juice) instead of the agave nectar.

I also tweaked Chef Meg's Orange Oatmeal Cookies a bit and got this recipe for citrus whole wheat oatmeal cookies which was pretty good, and REALLY good with semi dark chocolate chips!

It's tricky cooking breads without yeast. It won't raise, so how do you get it light and fluffy? I'm finding the right combination of baking soda, baking powder, and guar or xanthum gum in the mix seems to help. And pear sauce adds moistness like applesauce or banana would when used as egg replacement. Since I have a food intolerance to apples and bananas those don't work. It's a matter of playing around with each recipe to get the mixtures just right tho. When I get each recipe perfected I'll say so here. And let me know if you find a better way of mixing things up than I do in the mean time!

Happy baking!

Red Tomato and Bell Pepper Soup

I used to like the occasional tomato soup, and I love bell peppers, so the recipe sounded good except of course it had some things I was allergic to in it, and it was meant as a cold soup. I am not big on cold soups with onion in them, so I altered the recipe slightly, and we tried cooking it. YUM! I actually like this with all the veggies blended and run through the strainer, cuz then you can drink it like a hot cup of soup should be drunk on a winter lay a bed morning. But if you're wanting something to chew, prep and cook this as stated:

Ingredients

3 medium plum tomatoes
2 yellow bell peppers
1 small red onion
2 cloves minced garlic
3 cups tomato juice (low sodium)
1 1/2 cups non fat plain yogurt (dannon)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper


Directions

Chop vegetables, blend 1/2 vegetables and strain through fine strainer. Cook in a soup pot on medium for 10 minutes. Add remaining chopped vegetables. Can be served cool or hot. Delicous with shrimp if you're a seafood eater.

Number of Servings: 6

This soup was great as is, but also great all blended together, and then run through a strainer, and at one point we cooked up some sea food to go in it and that was delicious too since I"m a flexitarian not a vegetarian LOL but for those who are into veggies only, never fear, this is yummy and has a healthy supply of vitamin C for ya!

Let me know what you think!