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Last week after buying quite a few cheap avocados I was trying to think of some imaginative ways to use them. I love avocados and now that I’m really looking to increase the fat in my diet they have become a daily staple for me. In the cooler months I love making soups, and recently I have experimented with raw soups. This soup is semi raw / cooked, super easy and quick to make and tastes so refreshing on a warm summers day!

Chilled Summer Pea, Avocado and Mint Soup (serves 2, vegan)

• 2 cups of fresh or frozen peas (I used frozen so the soup was ready chilled)
• 1 ripe avocado
• 2 cups of unsweetened non dairy milk – I used kara coconut milk
• 2 sprigs of fresh mint – about 15 leaves, plus more for garnish
• Water to desired consistency (I used about 1/2 cup)
• Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth, gradually adding water until desired consistency is reached. Season with sea salt to taste. Enjoy immediately! It will keep refrigerated for a couple of days in a sealed container.

I enjoyed mine with a drizzle of hemp oil on top and some spicy raw flax crackers:

This soup is super creamy and has a mild sweetness from the peas. Its not a very savoury soup, but if you wanted something with a stronger flavour you could try adding some spices – I imagine cumin would be fabulous!

As I mentioned, this soup is jam packed with healthy fats from the avocado and coconut milk, however if you are watching your calorie intake then you could make a the following changes to the recipe:

• 1/2 an avocado instead of a whole one
• Water (but use the whole avocado still) or unsweetened almond milk instead of kara coconut milk or just one cup of the coconut milk + water 
• 3 servings instead of 2

I can’t vouch for how this version will taste, however the ‘full fat’ version really is super creamy so I think reducing the milk or avocado down shouldn’t hinder the texture too much and could  just make it more pleasant lighter soup. Even if you are watching your weight, please don’t fear the fats! Healthy fats like the fat in avocado and coconut milk are essential components of a healthy diet, they support the absorption of certain vitamins, are good for the skin, hair and nails and help to keep you feeling fuller for longer.

I thought that it would be useful to give different options for some of my recipes as I know I have a diverse range of readers, some of whom might be looking to lose weight, maintain weight or gain weight so I hope this has been useful!

I also love the colour of this soup! Its so beautiful, I think there is just something about eating natural green foods that instantly makes me feel good.

Have you tried a chilled soup before? Would you go for the full fat or the lower fat option of this?

Hi folks, hope you are having a super week! I’m having a really good week so far but I am looking forward to the weekend already, I need some serious chill time! Anyhoo, its Wednesday and time for WIAW! I do still love joining in and sharing a full day of eats, my blog started as a daily food diary and I think its fun to look at the way people eat on a day to day basis rather than just seeing the ‘highlights’ when they post recipes or weekly round ups.

As my post title suggests, these are my eats from last Friday! I had warm water with a squeeze of lemon, water and apple cider vinegar and then went to the gym. I did 5 minutes on the cross trainer to warm up, my strength plan which I will be sharing more on soon, and then 10 minutes of HIIT on the bike.

Before I’d left for the gym I’d made a pot of coffee and left it to cool so as soon as I got home I poured it over ice, added some vanilla stevia and a drop of unsweetened almond milk:

I drank that while I got showered and dressed and then made a green smoothie:

Its been ages since I had a green smoothie in a bowl like this for breakfast. At one time I used to eat a smoothie like this every day but recently I’ve been preferring them more basic and from a smoothie cup. This one contained kale, two apples, vanilla sun warrior, maca powder, omega oil, stevia, water and ice. I topped it with some Dorset Cereals High Fibre Flakes.

For lunch I had a bowl of my amazing chilled Pea, Avocado and Mint Soup with some home made raw juice pulp crackers on the side:

For a mid afternoon snack I had half a melon stuffed with a few of my raw almond, date and coconut balls plus a green tea:

I had the most amazing meal for dinner! In my Infinity Foods haul Birthday gift from my Aunt and Uncle, I’d received some Rose Harissa paste. I’d never tried it before but I opened the jar and had a smell and knew immediately that I would love it! I needed to use up some things from the fridge so I sautéed 2 big courgettes with some garlic in coconut oil then added half a tin of chickpeas and the harissa paste. I served that on top of some steamed greens and then added a drizzle of lemon tahini sauce:

To make the sauce I just combined some tahini, lemon juice and water. This meal was so delicious and took no time at all to make. Harissa will definitely be a regular in my kitchen from now on!

Before I’d put the dinner on I had mixed the last of a tub of full fat Greek yoghurt with a little almond milk to thin and some frozen blueberries. I’d left it in the freezer to chill, then took it out for a little dessert topped with sunbutter:

A bit later in the evening I was feeling peckish again so made a bowl of chocolate protein ice cream topped with raw cacao nibs and raw chocolate covered mulberries:

Hits the spot every time, I enjoyed that while James and I lay on a duvet on our living room floor watching movies :-)

Protein ice cream used to be a Friday night regular for me, I know some people that always have pizza on a Friday, something I think I need to start joining in on, although I did used to love a Friday night curry as well! Do you have a Friday night favourite meal or dessert?