Outdoor Central Oregon Issue 4 | April/May 2018 | Page 29

APR/MAY 2018 29 FOOD| SOUP, THE WINTER RECOVERY FUEL BY ALLY GALLOWAY, ACSM CPT, NASM FNS There is nothing better than coming home after a long day of playing outside in the winter and digging into a big bowl of something warm and comforting. Or maybe you want something tasty to throw into a thermos and take with you on your next snowy adventure. Either way, this easy, foolproof soup is a great go to for any winter occasion. The best part about this recipe is you can leave the crockpot on low while you head out for the day and it is all warm and almost ready for you when you get home after your back outdoor adventures! With the combination of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and healthy fat from the coconut milk and the potassium, B vitamins and manganese from the sweet potatoes; this soup is perfect recovery fuel. Add in other health components such as the antioxidant powers of allicin from the garlic and you have yourself an all around super food based soup to warm the body and soul. In a crock pot add the following ingredients:; 2 sweet potatoes, roughly chopped 1 Granny Smith apple, roughly chopped 1/2 of a white onion, roughly chopped 1 carrot, roughly chopped 2 cups of broth of your choice 2 cloves of garlic 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper Dash of black pepper Dash of salt (I don’t really measure the pepper or salt. I get a little crazy with the cayenne pepper and black pepper because I like it on the hot side so feel free to add as little or as much as you want! Also, no need to peel the apple or potatoes!! Just chop and go!) Cook on low for 7-8 hour or high for 3-4 hours. Once everything is cooked, transfer soup to a blender, blend together with 1/2 a can of full fat coconut milk! Serve and enjoy! Colorful Vegan By Kelly Maer Fruit & Veggie Platters I’ve been arranging these platters when I want to use up the homemade hummus or yogurt, plus it’s a great way to get our daily fruit and veg. Also great for a potluck or brunch gather- ing. If it looks appealing it’s more likely to be eaten! Hummus, Tofu, & Veggie Platter with tahini garlic dressing Make wraps out of this array and/ or arrange as a salad or veggie dip. Tofu (extra firm) is sliced and coated in tamari (a gluten-free, lower sodium soy sauce) & baked at 400F for 20 min. Tempeh also works great here. Tahini Garlic Dressing is a blend of: 1/3 cup water with 1 TBS miso paste, 2 TBS each of nutritional yeast flakes, sesame tahini, & lemon juice, 1 clove garlic & salt to taste Hummus spread (no oil added): 1 14 oz can chickpeas, 3 TBS chickpea liquid from the can, 3 TBS sesame tahini, 1.5 TBS fresh lemon juice, 2 cloves garlic (optional), + big pinch each of cumin & smoked paprika. I place the chickpeas in a bowl with the garlic & into the microwave 3 minutes, stirring half- way—a Minimalist Baker tip from the “5-minute microwave hummus” recipe found online. I use the “hummus in a blender” recipe from the Fat Free Vegan blog but make a smaller amount, using my immersion blender to blend. Comes out as a thick, chunky spread. Fruit Platter Fruit Platter with homemade cashew “yogurt” from Julie’s Lifestyle blog, frozen blueberries (can be warmed in the microwave and stirred into yogurt), sliced ba- nanas, oranges, and apples, raisins, cashews, almonds, dairy-free dark chocolate chips, medjool dates (be sure to remove pits). For the “yogurt”, I lightly modified the original recipe soaking 1 ¼ cups cashews overnight then draining the soaking water, placing the cashews in the blender along with ¾ cup water, 1 TBS maple syrup, 2 TBS lemon juice, a pinch of iodized sea salt, and ¼ tsp vanilla extract. This “yogurt” has a nice tangy flavor but without adding a probiotic requires no fermentation. Simply place into an airtight container and into fridge 3-5 days. Find The Colorful Vegan on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and https://colorfulvegan- food.wordpress.com