Happy 2013! I know, I’m a day late. But yesterday was a wonderful relaxing day at home. I went for a run to break in my new shoes, played games, watched movies, and moved a couple of mountains completing house chores and taking down Christmas decorations. Thanks to the help of my mom, we had all the decorations cleared, ornaments packed up, and the tree out of the house in about an hour. The poor tree was so dry it was dropping chunks as we removed the lights, so we brought in the shop vac which made clean up much easier on the wood floors. But I already miss the Christmas tree, sigh. The cats camped out on our bed most of the day, I felt too guilty moving them to make it – yeah, let’s go with that.
And I came up with a reasonable list of resolutions and goals for 2013:
- Save a targeted amount of money.
- Become a more efficient and frugal shopper which goes along with saving money. Basically I want to stick to a grocery budget buying foods more incrementally and further minimize waste.
- Get back into yoga. I’ve taken yoga classes here and there, but never fully got into it as a form of exercise. I’d like to change that this year for a little calmness in my hectic fitness schedule and to become more flexible.
- Run at least 500 miles this year, assuming that an injury does not get in the way of course. :-)
- Continue my drive to minimize clutter and simplify my life to focus on what’s important.
- Get more massages.
- Be positive and nice more. The world could use more of that.
- Grow more sprouts.
- Use my juicer more.
Goals for the blog
- Discuss my exercise and fitness habits more.
- Create more healthy raw vegan versions of traditional recipes.
- Use my collection of raw vegan recipe books more and review them.
- To write more about my passion for veganism.
Okay, it’s kind of a long list, but not overwhelming. And tonight is a great time to start with this punchy curried carrot soup I created using dried cilantro. I’ve never worked with it before, but grabbed it for a recipe and have been obsessed with it since I have a heck of a time remembering to buy the fresh stuff lately.
Curried Carrot Soup
- 3 large carrots, chopped
- 1 tsp. curry powder
- 1 tsp. dried cilantro
- 1 tsp. dried chives
- 1 tsp. coconut oil
- dash of cayenne (optional for added spice)
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 cup water, as needed
Place all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend to a smooth and creamy texture. Makes 2 servings.
The color of the soup is a vibrant shade of orange with a thick and hearty texture that I found very filling.
The amount of tangy curry spice was perfect for me, not too spicy, but very flavorful.
But it’s still a lighter soup that would pair well with raw pate wraps, tempeh tots, or sauteed tofu in this case.
Great goals, and yummy soup!! And yep, I miss our Christmas tree too! The house always feels so empty without it! :-)
Thanks, the list is a bit long, but all things I want to improve on this year.
I was looking for something for lunch…something to use the last 4 carrots in my fridge. I knew I could count on you. But I tweaked it a bit and since it came out I thought I would share. I used 4 good sized carrots and 1 Gala apple, 1/4 cup hemp seeds, and eyeballed cumin and curry to my taste. I also added the nutritional yeast and lemon juice. I added water as needed. We loved it. Thank you for the inspiration!
Thanks for the update, your version sounds great too!