And...What's So Great About Soup?  Well, I'm a lover of soups. Even though I am from sunny Southern California, I have been cooking soups for decades, throughout each season, but to be honest, there's nothing more appealing than a hearty soup when the weather starts to turn a little chilly.  The challenge I had, was, as a vegetarian since the mid 1960s, I realized that most soups from any store were going to be (for sure) chicken or beef based. 

That med me to start making my own vegetarian soups, and quite frankly, I made mostly vegan soups.  Dairy is not an ingredient that most people need in soups anyways, so I felt excited about experimenting with vegan based soups, unless they were milk based, and for me that was not appealing because quite frankly, I never liked milk.  

The biggest challenge we have, is to find the best 'base' for our soups.  Most complaints about vegan soups were bland.  However, I found that if I used a base of carrots/onions/celery by sweating them in a pan with a healthy oil like coconut oil, avocado oil or just adding a bit of salt and water to 'wet' the veggies, this is the beginning of a good tasting, rich soup. I cook down them for about 5 solid minutes on medium. Then I use a product called:  BETTER THAN BOUILLON (seasons vegetable base) Depending on the soup, I add the rest of the ingredients, whatever the are. and an fyi for you, this product is great because you can control the level of salt.

However, in this soup, it's completely different. This is a soup that is 'not' really a cooked soup, yet it's quite warm and will do the trick when the days start to becoming cooler, but it's full of the 'life-force' I speak so much about because 80% of it is not cooked.  

In my second Newsletter I went into depth, but in case you haven't read that particular newsletter or podcast, I'll share more with you today.

The NUMBER ONE reason why we are chronically constipated in this Country and others, is very simple. We do not eat enough water rich foods.

What are Water Rich Foods?

ALL fresh fruits and vegetables, greens, fresh herbs and some cooked foods.

For example, Watermelon is 95% water.  Celery is 93% water rich.  Pineapples, stone fruits and the like are all amost 90% water rich.

Greens, for example, like Parsley, Cilantro, Kale and Spinach have approximately 90% on average. Interestingly, Head Lettuce has 96% water and Romaine lettuces have

94% water.  Fesh herbs have 80% water, which is less, but for example, potatoes have about 80% water as well.

However, and this is a big however, once we "cook" potatoes herbs or greens, and even fruits, they can lose a significant amount of their natural mineral waters.

For example, if you boil potatoes, greens or veggies, you will lose up to 30% of their natural mineral waters.  Steaming works so much better.  This way, you lose about 10%

of its natural mineral water.

Here's an interesting statistic:  Chips, for example have 0.2% of natural water in them.  This tells us, then... 

WHY are water rich foods so important to us Humans?

Tired of guzzling countless glasses of boring water every day? There’s a better way to stay hydrated: choose water-rich foods for extra nutrients and fiber.

Consider that at birth, our bodies are about 75% water. As you age your cells dry up, holding about 50% water by age 50. What’s worse, your ability to sense thirst becomes less acute with age. By the time you feel thirsty, you may already be dehydrated.

Mount Saint Mary’s University Wellness Director Alison Halpern, a registered dietician, and certified health education specialist says fruits and veggies high in water content are especially good for hydration and combating symptoms including headaches, dizziness, dry skin, and nausea. “Water helps regulate your temperature, lubricate your joints and helps keep digestion flowing smoothly,” she says.

About 20% of an average person’s water intake comes from foods, though most Americans consume about half the suggested two cups of fruits and 2 1/2 cups of veggies per day. Most fruits and veggies range between 75% and 97% water, including cucumbers (96%), zucchini, celery, lettuces, radishes, tomatoes, cauliflower, spinach (all above 90%). Fruits such as watermelon, strawberries, grapefruit, cantaloupe, papaya, oranges, and apples have a bit less water content than the juiciest veggies, but they still provide nearly twice as much water than bread, which is only about 30% water. 

Here are five strategies to use water-rich veggies and fruit for better hydration:

1. Instead of reaching for a sports drink before or after exercise, grab an apple or chunks of watermelon, a superfood that also replenishes your calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium.

2. Muscle cramps can be your body’s signal that you’re dehydrated. Soak cucumber slices in apple cider vinegar for a quick home remedy, or try cantaloupe, which is high in potassium.

3. Air travel robs you of hydration, with airplane air as dry as the Sahara. Pack a baggie full of celery sticks or frozen grapes, which may help you resist the salty pretzels.

4. Long car ride ahead without time for bathroom breaks? Halpern recommends easy-to-carry veggie snacks, including slices of cucumbers or bell peppers.

5. Add frozen berries to your water for a boost of flavonoids, a type of antioxidant that reduces inflammation and may slow mental decline in the elderly. I like to make smoothies with frozen organic fruits 3 times a week. 

The Advantages of Eating Your Water

The question everyone must be asking right now, is....Why not just drink water? For one thing, fruits and veggies are more flavorful. “By eating water-rich produce in addition to drinking water, you get the added benefits of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients found in fruits and vegetables.” And you won't have to drink as MUCH water as recommended. Water is devoid of all vitamins, minerals and all nutrients.

Yes, water is vital to us.  No doubt. But do we really need to drink 1/2 of our body weight in ounces, every single day?  With me, I weigh 155 pounds and I am about 5'6".  That means I need to drink about 75 to 80 ounces of water daily, daily daily!  That's alot of water.  But if you diets are riddled with dried foods like chips, cookies, hot dogs, burgers, casseroles, mexican foods, indian foods and foods filled with salt, then we will NEED to drink this much water, because if we don't guess what happens?

#1. The body becomes very tired, lethargic and needing more and more stimulants to get through the day to bring back energy. And as you probably know, this is a false 'energy high.' Our bodies cannot tolerate these energy ups and downs.

2. Next, the body becomes constipated because it needs water in order for the digestive processes to be complete. If we don't have enough water in our foods, guess where the body gets the water from?  Yes, when the body becomes severely dehydrated, it will start to "rob" fluid from its own cells and tissues, particularly from the intracellular fluid compartment, to maintain essential functions like blood volume and circulation in the bloodstream, essentially prioritizing vital organs over other bodily tissues.

If you exercise vigorously, are recovering from illness, or take prescription medications, you’ll likely need to aim for higher levels just to stay properly hydrated. Iowa State University researchers found that mild dehydration—2% to 4% of body weight—can reduce endurance and muscle strength. The CDC reports that consuming too little fluids can lead to mental confusion, mood changes, kidney stones, and constipation, while other studies show links to UTIs, headaches, bad breath and other troubles.  Let's not forget how our vital organs, including our heart suffer from dehydration. 

That’s where water-rich foods can shine. Gulping a gallon of water may rush through your body, prompting multiple restroom visits. When you eat water-rich foods, the fluids move at a steadier pace, delivering essential nutrients and fiber that a soft drink or sports drink can’t match. And for athletes replacing fluids lost after a workout is the first priority. “Water-rich fruits and plain water are good choices to help refuel carbohydrates as well as rehydrate.”

Most people can enhance their health by adding more veggies to their diets, says Halpern. “The high water and fiber content in vegetables also help keep you full,” she explains.

Soups are KEY to bringing in more water rich foods!

If you eat a diet high in water-rich foods, you can generally drink less plain water than someone with a standard diet, as you're getting a significant portion of your hydration from food; experts recommend around 50% of your daily fluid intake should come from food, meaning you can potentially reduce your plain water intake by that amount depending on your diet composition. So that would mean, drink 50% less water throughout the day.

 

One of My Favorite "LIVING" soups.

Here's the Recipe!

Green is Good Blended Soup

Serves 2

 

2 medium golden Yukon potatoes (not peeled)

4 tablespoons tamari, coconut aminos or Bragg's Liquid Aminos

6 cloves garlic

1-inch piece ginger

1 small yellow onion, chopped

5-ounce bag baby spinach

2 celery ribs, diced

1/2 Haas avocado

1 can coconut milk*

2 to 3 tbsps. maple syrup

Salt & red pepper to taste

Garnish with minced parsley (no stems), chopped green. onions, roasted sunflower seeds

 

Why do I stress so much on "LIVING" foods? 

It's simple, but also hard to do consistently. That's why we need supportive people around us, we need education, motivation and inspiration.  This is precisely why I am doing this weekly work for you because I need the incentives sometimes too!  Life can be challenging, and we never know what we are going to wake up to, as life can always take strange turns. This can thrown us into a negative state of mind, as well as pull us into poor food choices.  I can remember when Jay and I were in a 5 year litigation fight to keep our Juiceman name and for Jay to continue his work here on Earth, our juicing habits which were very strong and quite integrated because more and more elusive. We usually juiced every single day before dinner or before breakfast. Because we were constantly in Los Angeles, we lost our ability to juice on a daily basis and only juiced on the weekends, which impacted our ability to really feel grounded, healthy and strong to endure these litigative struggles.  

This photograph below is a picture of the ebook I wrote entitled Living in the. Green Zone. I am offering it to you, free of charge. I want you to become more and more inspired, and many of us are on limited budgets or on disability.  I hope you enjoy it.

Just write to me and I will send you the link. :) Lindy716@gmail.com

Today I want to introduce one of my favorite living soups.  It's called Green is Good Living Green Soup.  All of it is 'alive' because I didn't cook the soup. The only part which is cooked are the potatoes. Once the soup is blended, I add the cooked potatoes on top of the soup, then finish off with some roasted sunflower seeds and some sprouted mung beans, which give it a really great crunch and great taste. 

This green soup is also incredibly healthy for us, and of course water rich too!  You can keep this soup in the refrigerator for 3 days, but no. more than that ok?  Living foods and primarily living soups are volatile as far as being vulnerable to bad bacteria.  Even if the soups are contained in a glass container, yes, and even if it's a vegan soup?  Yes.  We are big on fresh is best, and freshly made foods should be eaten when prepared, and as you may already know, that also means, fresh juicing.  We are not proponents of preserving our juices because they too develop bad bacteria as well.  However, juicing with a slow juicer will preserve the juices much longer than a fast juicer and can be stored in the fridge for about 2 days.

Why? 

Because there is quite a lot of fibers still in the juice which protects the juices, but not as much as we would like them to.  Please remember to drink your juices as soon as you can, and if you can't freezing them is the second best decision, but IF you do freeze them, make sure you put the frozen juices into the refrigerator to thaw out, do not put them onto the kitchen counter.  Fresh juices are quite volatile as I said, and yes, it's true, some people have become very ill from drinking old juices.

In my VIDEO, you'll see me prepare Green is Good Soup!  Hope you enjoy it. I certainly will. I'm hungry right now! 

Sending lots of healing love to you and your loved ones. :)

Linda Kordich

lindy716@gmail.com or theliquidprana@gmail.com

PS...this is the name of the excellent book I was speaking about in the Podcast!

"Your Body's Many Cries for Water" by Fereydoon Batmanghelid