Just yesterday I posted an article on NN’s FB page, written by Danielle Angel via Active Beat, called “10 Worst Breakfasts To Feed Your Child.” It was an interesting and eye opening article, and one I decided to show my 13 year old who has been begging me for a certain chocolate nut spread that “every other family but ours” gets to eat! The article said it is full of sugar and fat. Now personally, I do not mind the fat, because it is a healthy fat from nuts, (although it does contain palm oil, too) but I DO mind the sugar.
Some of my readers commented that they have seen recipes for this certain chocolate nut spread floating around on Pinterest, and then Jen from De Jong Dream House most graciously shared her recipe with us on the comment feed. I was so excited about it that I asked if I could share it with you all!
Jen’s husband Niels is a Dutch citizen, and she jokes that for the sake of her marriage, Nutella is a mainstay in their home. She says the “Dutchies” also put chocolate sprinkles on their sandwiches! Sounds like a fun bunch to me!
She also shares that her son has a milk allergy, so she came up with a sugar free, dairy free version of Nutella.
I can’t wait to show my daughter that we can make our own healthy version!
Want to know how to make it? Click the link below.
My local health food store makes a recipe similar to this that I love. The apple and curry go together so well, surprisingly! Eager to see how this tastes.
I don’t eat much dairy anymore, so I had been on a search for a dairy-free, creamy, broccoli soup. My sister-in-law also eats a plant based diet, and at a family gathering she brought the most amazing soup recipe. It was creamy and had layers of flavor, and I really couldn’t believe it was dairy free! When she shared the recipe with me, I saw that from Forks Over Knives Cookbook, which made me smile, as it was a recipe that had caught my eye and I had even marked the page of my Forks Over Knives cookbook.
This soup recipe starts like most of my other soup recipes, with chopped onion, celery and carrot. This mix from Trader Joes is reasonably priced and very convenient. I felt a little lazy and not in the mood for chopping, so I grabbed it.
Such pretty little layers!
Look how healthful these ingredients are! Bet you can’t guess what makes the soup creamy!
The bag of cashews became this creamy base thanks to my food processor. What a great trick for non-dairy eaters!
This recipe does take some chopping. I didn’t get to be lazy after all. My sister-in-law used frozen chopped broccoli in hers and honestly, I could not tell the difference.
I get way too excited seeing photos full of plant color. I get even more excited knowing I can get them into my body in the form of a delicious soup! The recipe calls for potatoes, I didn’t have any, so I used sweet potatoes instead. It slightly changed the color of our soup, but really added a nice flavor.
Cooking down the veggies.
Adding the cashews
Mix and cook down.
Puree using a hand held blender. I have this one by Cuisinart and I love it.
A hand held blender makes pureeing soups so easy and is much safer than trying to transfer hot soup to a blender! I love mine and use it all the time.
Delicious, creamy, full of flavor (Non-) Cream Of Broccoli Soup!
Cream Of Broccoli Soup
6 cups vegetable stock or bouillon
1 rounded cup raw cashews
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped
2 medium unpeeled potatoes, cubed
1 large head broccoli, including stem, chopped (about 4 Cups if you use frozen broccoli & stems)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1. Puree 1 cup of the vegetable stock with the cashews in a blender until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a large pot, cook the onion, celery, and carrot over medium heat in 1 cup of the vegetable stock for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, bell pepper, and potatoes and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the remaining 4 cups of vegetable stock and the broccoli, thyme, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer until the broccoli and potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the cashew mixture to the soup and stir until mixed. Remove the pot from heat and puree about half the soup, in small batches, until smooth. Return pureed soup to the pot and reheat, stirring well. Serve.
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Have you seen Forks Over Knives yet? It is a great film, one that really changed my views on food. Below is the trailer. I believe it is on Netflicks, or you can buy the DVD here.