Last year my husband and I were on a raw food kick. We bought a great book called, “The Raw Food Detox Diet” by Natalia Rose - that is where I got this recipe. My husband and I have begun a slow journey of becoming healthier people. We are trying to regain ground for ourselves at the same time as we teach our children the many benefits of eating healthy. One of the main points in this book, “The Raw Food Detox Diet,” is that we need to eat in such a way that our meals will exit our bodies in a timely manner. But equally important, we want our food to give our bodies the maximum amount of nutrients possible. One of the ways we can do this is by not eating starchy foods and meats together as they take much longer to digest when eaten together. This recipe is a great, “quick exit meal,” not raw, but definitely a great source of nutrition and it tastes great. I will be sharing more thoughts about this book in later entries, so look forward to hearing more from me on the subject of the Raw Food Diet.

Ingredients:

• 8 large carrots, chopped
• 5 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 head broccoli, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1/2 medium onion
• Equal parts water and Pacific vegetable broth to cover vegetables (about 6 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups black, brown, red, or green lentils
• 3 teaspoons curry powder(or more to taste)
• 1 bunch cilanrtro, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Boil the vegetables, lentils, and curry powder in a large pot and simmer until the lentils and carrots are cooked through(about 45 minutes). Top with the cilantro or bay leaves, if desired. We served our soup with a delicious slab of Whole Wheat Cornbread, and lots of butter.

We had this soup two days in a row, the photo below is from the second night. We added some shredded sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, and a little fresh cilantro. We ate it with tortilla chips. This was a nice variation, the first night it was a little too spicy for the kids so the sour cream made it a little more mild for them.