Here’s a quick recipe for a tasty and refreshing raw soup. I use a Vitamix; however, you should be able to use any strong blade or high power blender.

TIME: about 15 mins

INGREDIENTS FOR ONE 16 oz BOWL:

Cherry tomatoes (15)

Yellow Bell pepper (1 medium)

Fresh basil leaves (about 4 medium with thin stems)

Cucumber (“3” piece of medium cucumber)

Sun-Dried Tomato (1 slice)

Small drop of Extra Virgin olive oil (I don’t usually measure but less than half teaspoon)

Raw Agave (1-2 teaspoons to taste)

Rinse all of the ingredients. Pick green stem and tops off tomatoes and add to blender.  Gently cut the outside of the pepper from the top all the way around without cutting the green area. Open the pepper with your hands and work around the core so that you can pull it out with seeds intact. Discard the seeded core, remove any remaining seeds and add both halves of the yellow pepper to the blender.  (Note: Further chopping may be required for weaker blenders)

Add the cucumber, basil and olive oil. Blend slowly until there’s a liquid base. You may need to use the Tamper included with the Vitamix to push the peppers around the blade so that they can be chopped.  Add the sun-dried tomato and allow it to soak for at least one minute. Blend thoroughly until all ingredients are fully chopped.  Taste it and decide if you would like to add the Agave. Keep in mind that the Agave is very sweet. Add sparingly. More tomatoes or basil leaves can be added according to your liking. I usually adjust the amounts according to my daily taste preferences. Tomatoes add more natural sodium while basil adds natural sweetness.

I like to limit the number of foods eaten per meal, in order to avoid fermentation within my stomach. So, I only use three or less in recipes (not including spices). For those who prefer a heftier soup, avocado, Baby Bella mushrooms or red bell peppers would be excellent additions after blending this soup.

Enjoy!