Clean Green Soup with Kale Crumbs

My body needs a break. This usually happens after the holidays but this year I feel it a little more. Alas, I've resolved to listen to what my insides are saying; they seem to be grumbling about everything lately. I admit that I have a tendency (like most humans, I'd guess) to favor my taste buds over my gut, and now, like an attention starved child, my gut is acting up (again).  What can I say?  I love food. But, it's important for me to admit (in writing) that some foods don't love me :(  

It won't be easy but I am finally going to give my dear insides the break they deserve.  For 1 week I will avoid sugars, meat, wheat, cheese, coffee, alcohol and of course anything commercially processed. That's just to jumpstart the cleanse. 

The next step will require a little investigative work to figure out just what is not agreeing with me. A while back a doctor recommended that I avoid wheat because it causes inflammation. She said, while I don't have an allergy to wheat, I may have an intolerance. I only registered the "you don't have an allergy" part of what she was saying and never really tried to eliminate it from my recipe repertoire. So that's where I'll start. No wheat for a month. Next, I 'll say farewell to dairy for a month. And after that...we'll see, maybe I'll be cured!

My guess is I'm not alone with my tummy troubles. Let's face it, it's not always easy being an omnivore with a big appetite...nothing is off limits. I think the trick is, instead of focusing on the things you can't have, to celebrate all the great things you can still enjoy. And that brings me to the super healthy soup that I developed and devoured. It's vegan, gluten free, paleo and delicious! (*P.S. I know that almond pulp is kind of a weird ingredient but it's the byproduct of a batch of almond milk that I made. I will give you that recipe too but in the meantime just use gluten-free bread crumbs or try blanched slivered almonds instead)

 For the Soup:

1 head of organic broccoli, chopped 

a handful of organic spinach (optional)

1shallot, diced

4 cloves of garlic

3 cups of cooked white beans 

6 cups of vegetable stock 

1 Tablespoon olive oil (plus more for drizzling)

1/3 cup of organic light miso paste (or to taste)

Sea salt, to taste

Maldon salt for finishing (optional)

Juice of one lemon

For the Crunchy Kale Crumbs:

1/2 cup of toasted almond pulp*

4 leaves of organic kale, de-stemmed and torn 

a splash of lemon juice

sea salt to taste 

optional feta or parmesan cheese, to taste

Heat oven to 350, lay un-peeled garlic cloves on a sheet pan and roast for about 15 minutes or until soft in the middle.

In the meantime heat oil in a large pot and cook shallots until clear and tender, salt to taste. Add vegetable stock and broccoli, simmer on medium heat until broccoli is tender. Add spinach and turn heat to low, continue to simmer for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.

Remove garlic from oven and peel. With an immersion blender, food processor or blender puree the broccoli and stock mixture until smooth, adding the garlic. Add the white beans, a cup at a time, and blend, until smooth. Add miso paste,  lemon and salt to taste. Bring the soup back to a simmer (do not boil). 

Pulse almond pulp, kale, oil, salt and lemon juice in a food processor and crumble over each bowl of soup along with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of Maldon salt.