Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Low Carb Curried Cauliflower Soup

Hello my friends, I have embarked on a new journey.  I am currently being treated by a doctor for Type 2 Diabetes.  My love for carbohydrates has gotten the best of me.  I have to change my ways and eating habits or I will die.  That is a sobering fact for someone who loves to cook and eat, and even write blogs about cooking and eating.  I've started on a low carb diet, and so far in the first week I have lost 15 lbs.  My sugar has come down, partially due to medicine, but it is due to the low-carb lifestyle.

I am conveying this very personal information to all of you because diabetes is a killer. Maybe you have been experiencing excessive thirst or numbness in your extremities, if you do, PLEASE consult a physician. I waited too long to see a doctor about it, but I will be okay and hope to reverse the diabetes diagnosis and it's effects.

My challenge now, is to learn to cook low-carb and make it tasty and flavorful. I have been researching low-carb recipes and coming up with some of my own. This recipe today is one of my favorites that I have created.  The entire pot of soup contains between 28 and 30 grams of carbs. It will serve 4 comfortably.  I estimate each serving to have around 7 - 8 carbohydrates in it,  and these are fairly large servings.  I love curry and wanted some soup the other night, something similar to mulligatawny. 

I hope you will enjoy this recipe, and keep coming back to my blog. I will be posting mostly low-carb recipes, but just to keep it interesting, I will throw something "normal" in every post or so, just to sate your cravings!  The ingredients with carbs have the number of carbs they add to the recipe listed behind them. Some dry spices do contain trace elements of carbohydrates in larger quantities, so add 2 grams of carbs for the entire amount of dry spices and herbs.  I have now edited this recipe since first publishing it to make it completely vegetarian.

Ingredients
1/2 cauliflower (diced or broken up) 9 gm
1/2 avocado (diced) 3 gm

4 green onions 4 gm
1 tbs minced garlic 4 gm
2 tbs Olive oil 0 gm

2 tbs coconut oil 0 gm

2 cups warm water


2  cups canned coconut milk 2 gm
4 tsp curry

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp clove

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves

1/2 cup RoTel 4 gm
1 tbs sriracha sauce
 0 gm

Total Effective Carbs = 26

Preparation
In a 3 to 4 qt Dutch oven on MED-HI, melt the coconut oil and add the olive oil. Break cauliflower into small florets, and sauté in the hot oils once they're very hot. Add the garlic, green onions, and cilantro. Stir well to avoid burning, now add all of your dry spices and herbs. 

Once the cauliflower and onions look tender, add the avocado to the pot. Stir to combine. After a few minutes of stirring, add your 2 cups of warm water. Now add your cashew milk, coconut milk, and stir well to distribute the spices into the liquids. 

Add your RoTel tomatoes, sriracha sauce, and give everything a good stir, and turn down to medium and let cook for 30 minutes. Now you can either use a potato masher, immersion blender, or dump everything into your food processor and obliterate it. Return the soup to the pot now that it has been puréed, stir well, cover, and turn down on LO. Garnish with sliced green onion tops, and let cook for 30 minutes.

Serve with naan bread or rice, but be aware that these add carbs. I garnished mine with roasted pepitas, (pumpkin seeds) or a dollop of sour cream.

8 comments:

  1. It's hard changing a diet and learning to eat a different life style. Good luck. Stay healthy.

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    1. Thanks JR, I can always depend on a friendly reply to my posts.If you like Indian food, you should try this.

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  2. There are a lot of great low carb Creole and Cajun recipes around. With your blog, you can bring awareness to it. Here is one site with some great recipes you can add your spin to: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_cajun_recipes_healthy_creole_recipes

    Good luck. Everyone here supports you, Tim. I can't wait to read what you have coming up.

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  3. This sounds great. Tim. I'm gonna make it��

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  4. Me and my husband have diabetes too. I staved it off for 15 years with diet but recently had to start metformin. My husband got it about 3 yrs ago just out of the blue. I'll be here reading your posts and look forward to your new recipes. Cook on and take care. Good job on the weight loss too.
    Lori

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  5. Low carb Cajun dishes are great for someone looking to watch what they eat but still enjoy it also. Thanks for the great recipe, I can't wait to try it.

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  6. I like vegetables in curry too. But I prefer not to puree the soup, I like to add variety of veggies like okra and eggplant. But never try avocado, this is a good idea. I think I will give it a try. My father has diabetes too. Actually with the help of medicine and take care of diet, no need to be too worried. :)

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  7. I'm more than a year behind your diagnosis..my 3 siblings all have diabetes and they play around with it by eating what they want then upping their meds. That is so unhealthy. Please check out LowCarbRN.com for some very good information. Also, check out Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis. Good luck.

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