Winter day soup

I had some leeks needing to be used up, some cauliflower that had sat in the fridge too long and some sweet potatoes that I was too tired of making chips from. So what does one do? Make a soup that's perfect for an evening that threw an unexpected winters mix at us.

What I had:

• 2 cups cauliflower florets
• 2 medium sweet potatoes cut into inch pieces
• 2 leeks, all the whites and an inch of the green parts chopped
• Coconut oil
• Cumin, salt and paprika to taste
• Parsley for garnish
• 4 chicken bullion cubes, in 4 cups boiling water
• 2 cups coconut water
• 1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

What I did:

• Heat up 2 tbsp coconut oil in a heavy skillet, add leeks till soft
• Add the cauliflower and sweet potato and pour the chicken broth in
• Let it simmer for 5 minutes, then add coconut milk and flakes
• Let this cook for 10 minutes till the vegetables are soft
• Transfer the entire thing to a blender and blend till almost liquid (I like some pieces in my soup for texture)
• Transfer back to skillet, add the spices to taste
• Serve with some cilantro 

When the 3 year old eats something without complaint, it's a big win for me!

Turkey hamburger soup

This soup is delicious and oh so good for you. It's filled with all kinds of vegetables and turkey, which is a great low fat meat. I got the original recipe form my nutritionist but tweaked it a little to our taste.

What I had:

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 large onion, minced
• 4 garlic cloves, coarsely grated
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 4 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch circles
• 1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 6 baby bok choy heads, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup cabbage, chopped
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp coconut amino acids (soy free gluten free soy sauce)
• sea salt and ground pepper to taste
• Sriracha

What I did:

•  In a large pot, heated the coconut oil till melted.
• Added the onions and garlic, cooked till onions were translucent.
• Added ground turkey and let it cook.
• Added the sweet potato, carrots and mushrooms with half the broth and let it cook for 15 minutes on medium heat.
• Added the remaining broth, bok choy, cabbage and the dry spices and give it a good mixing.
• Add the vinegar and amino acids and simmer for as long as you want till the vegetables are falling apart.
• Serve with a splash of Sriracha in each bowl.

It is sweet and fragrant and very good for you on a cold evening :)

I have also cooked it in the crock pot. After the turkey is cooked, I mixed all the ingredients and threw it in the crock pot, on low for 10 hrs. It was great that way too.

Slow cooker chicken chili

What I had:

• 2 pounds ground chicken, coarsely ground preferred
• 3 tablespoons chili powder, plus 2 teaspoons
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15-ounce) can small white beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (28-ounce) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 medium sweet potato (about 10 ounces), peeled and shredded
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes in 16 ounces of water
• 1/4 cup instant tapioca (recommended: Minute tapioca)
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce with seeds, chopped
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch ground cloves

What I did:

• Put chicken in crockpot and sprinkle the 3 tbsp chili powder on it. Add everything else, mix well.
• Cook on low for 7 hours.
•  Top with shredded cheese, raw onions and peppers.
• Enjoy on a cold evening!

It was delicious but I have a few notes after tasting: add a beer next time. Also up the number of adobos by a couple, and remove the salt completely.