Creamy tomato basil soup

I love soup.  I could eat it 365 days a year for at least lunch and dinner; I'd eat it for breakfast, too, if I could find a breakfast appropriate soup (as I'm typing it, I realize that I'm sure I could make egg drop soup breakfast appropriate).

On my last Whole30s, the soup I made was limited to chicken soup.  Good, old fashioned chicken soup, served with chunks of veggies and soup chicken for me; and with additional noodles for my hubby.  And this weird vegetable-turmeric-cashew soup, of which I was not a fan.  But I was craving a good, thick soup.  And so today, on a nearly 80 degree October day, I made creamy tomato basil soup!  Day one of Whole30 and I had this delicious soup to enjoy!

This soup gets its creaminess from coconut milk.  Absolutely no dairy.  So it's totally Whole30 acceptable -- and it happens to be vegan, too.  Full disclosure?  I made it with reduced fat coconut milk because that's what I had at home.  You might need to start with less of the regular fat stuff and then add to taste.

Whole30 Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Recipe by me

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp oil (avocado, olive) -- I used avocado
1/2 cup of diced onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 28 oz can crushed tomato (make sure there's no sugar added)
1/2 cup coconut milk
4-6 large basil leaves, washed and chiffonaded, plus more for serving
Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

Directions:

Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium heat.
Sautee onion in oil until transparent.
Add garlic and sautee, being sure not to burn it.

Add crushed tomato.
Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes
Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Add coconut milk, starting with 1/4 cup, and mix well.
Continue adding coconut milk until desired level of creaminess.
Add more salt and/or pepper if needed.
Mix in basil.

Variations:

If you prefer a chunkier soup, serve as is.
If you prefer a slightly chunky soup, remove 3/4 cup of soup.  Puree remaining soup with an immersion blender.  Add the reserved 3/4 cup soup back into the pot.
If you prefer a creamier soup, puree the entire pot with an immersion blender.

Serve with basil.

Snickerdoodle cashew coffee

I love coffee.  Like love, love, love it!  I'm not "addicted," I don't crave it, but I really like it.  I can go days without it, and while I'll be yawning in my patient's faces throughout the afternoon, I don't get headaches, and even recently switched to half-caf Americanos without any ill effects.  But I do LOVE the taste.  So yummy!

So when I came across this recipe for Snickerdoodle Cashew Coffee, I decided I had to try it.  I already put cinnamon and cashew milk in my coffee, so I figured it wasn't a huge change from my normal drink, but something told me I had to try it.  And since I'm not a pumpkin spice latte girl (I know, I know, what is wrong with me?!), I figured this might be a nice seasonal drink for me to try.  It did NOT disappoint!

And...I had all the ingredients on hand (I used salted cashew butter since that is what I had.  Shhh!).  I literally made this 10 minutes after I found the recipe!  I did doctor it up a little, though - no collagen peptides and skipped the cardamom, since it's not a spice that I particularly like.  I'm also pretty sure you could make this "pumpkin spice"-ified by adding pumpkin pie spice or subbing it for the cinnamon.  I'll leave that to you PSL girls (and guys) out there!

Snickerdoodle Cashew Coffee
Adapted from the Real Food Dietitians (click the link for the original recipe)
Serves 2, or one super huge caffeine fiend

Ingredients:

24 oz strongly brewed coffee (I made mine half-caf)
1 Tbsp coconut oil
2 Tbsp unsweetened, unsalted creamy cashew butter (I used salted).  Mine needed a little more for desired creaminess.
1/2 - 1 tsp ground cinnamon, or more to taste

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender (I used my immersion blender) and blend on high speed until frothy.
Pour into mugs and sprinkle with additional cinnamon, if desired.