Cold Spinach and Edamame Soup Topped with Tofu Sour Cream

Fall weather is very unpredictable in the Mid-Atlantic region. A few days ago we reached a whopping high of 45 degrees and today it is 75. This is the time of year when you never know if you will need sandals or boots. Food is just as difficult to plan with the variable temperatures. Because the weather was warm enough to have the windows open all day I decided to make cold soup as an appetizer tonight.

For those of you that read regularly you know that I am a bit obsessed with nutrition. I am always looking for ways to get more produce into our diet, and when it is raw produce that is even better. I have been trying to follow the principles in "Eat for Health" and "Life Over Cancer" for the last few months. We always seem to fall short on our raw food consumption. I love salads in the summer but when it is cold I am not interested in cold salad in the slightest. Taking advantage of the warmer weather tonight we had cold spinach and edamame soup.

I used almond milk in place of soymilk because that is what I have in the house. Raw cashews were added for richness and body to the soup. Garlic was added for a little sharpness in the background to round out the flavor. Lemon juice was added for acidity and to reduce the need for added sodium.

Cold Spinach and Edamame Soup Topped with Tofu Sour Cream
Serves 4

Ingredients:

10 cups baby spinach, well washed and drained
2 cups almond milk, unsweetened
½ cup raw cashews
½ clove garlic, peeled and smashed
½ cup edamame, out of the pod
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste
1 pinch dulse granules (or kosher salt)
1 pinch freshly ground white pepper
8 tablespoons tofu sour cream - reduced fat and salt
a few parsley sprigs for garnish - optional

Directions:

Combine everything but the tofu sour cream and parsley in the blender and process until completely smooth. Taste for salt and pepper and correct to your tastes. I am trying to reduce our sodium so I added dulse granules and a little white pepper. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

I served this is chilled bowls with a healthy dollop of tofu sour cream and a little parsley for garnish.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 147.59
Calories From Fat (54%) - 79.02

Total Fat - 9.22g
Saturated Fat - 1.19g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 226.53mg
Potassium - 707.3mg
Total Carbohydrates - 10.34g
Fiber - 3.69g
Sugar - 1.7g
Protein - 8.56g

Comments:

I liked this soup for its lightness. This is not a heavy “cream” soup. I intentionally held the level of cashews down to the minimum I thought necessary for proper mouth feel. My husband thought it was “good considering we are trying to hold the fat down”. The tofu sour cream is really necessary with this soup.

Nutritionally this soup is a winner. Each serving contains over 700mg of potassium, 7,000IU of vitamin A, 100mg of calcium, 200mcg of folate, 370mcg of vitamin K, and 160mg of phosphorus.

We had this soup for an appetizer with steamed broccoli and a veggie burger for dinner. All the items combined were more than enough food. In fact I was planning on dessert but we ran out of room. I will need to save room for dessert tomorrow instead.