CHILLED AVOCADO CUCUMBER SOUP

Winter is a great time to try new soup recipes. I was going to share some of my favorite soup recipes right after Christmas, but since I am now on a strict diet of juice, soups and smoothies for a period of time, it's a perfect time to share some great soups. While I love all of those things, it is easy to get bored with the same thing all the time.

Surgery was to remove a tumor in my jaw; this is the second time around. Two years ago, when the tumor first made itself known, the surgeon told me that while it was quite a rare type, it has a very high rate of recurrence. He was right, two years later it's back. I'm a 'get in and get it done' kind of gal, so 4 days before Christmas...well, I'll still cook Christmas dinner for family and friends, but I will be eating the 'soft side' of dinner.

If you've read previous posts, you know that I love to juice (in my Omega 8006 juicer) and blend (in my Vita-mix). One of my favorite smoothies is a Sweet Green Smoothie. It's a great way to get the super nutrition of kale and spinach, but in a sweet smoothie. Trust me, when you add all the ingredients I've listed, it doesn't taste like spinach! Try it, you may be surprised.

Juicing fresh fruits and veggies is another way to get super intense nutrition. A couple of my favorites are Mickey Mouse Juice  (when you look at it, you'll see why I call it that), and Carrot/Apple/Ginger . Poke around previous posts for some additional ideas as well.

Today's soup is a cold soup. I don't usually think of soup as being cold, but I'm trying to stay away from a lot of heat for a few days to help the inflammation in my jaw and cheek go down. I found quite a variety of Avocado soups online; some hot, some cold. I took ideas from several of them and put them together to make this version. It turned out AWESOME the first time. Note to self: this will be a great cold soup to serve at a brunch in the future!

The creaminess of the avocado and the yogurt in the recipe make it unnecessary to add sour cream or heavy cream. This is a much healthier version than most others I've found, yet tastes so thick, rich and creamy. YUM!

What You Need:

1 Cucumber (English or regular doesn't matter), peeled and diced

1 Avocado, pitted and scooped out

1/2 tsp grated Lemon Zest

1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro

1 Scallion (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped

1 Jalapeno, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 Cup Nonfat, Plain Yogurt

1 Cup Cold Water

1 1/2 tsp coarse Salt

1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper

1 Tblsp Fresh Lemon Juice

Directions:

Throw all ingredients into a blender and puree.

Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Serve as is or with garnish of cilantro and/or finely chopped Cucumber

So easy! So good!!

Do you have a favorite soup recipe? Please share and I will try it out!