It’s getting cold out. The weather says -4°F for tonight. And I’m craving soup.
I had broccoli, cauliflower, and chicken in the refrigerator, so that’s the soup. A broccoli, cauliflower and chicken soup.
Creamy style.
But I prefer to not use a lot of dairy in my cooking, and try to eat a healthy diet. So what to use instead of heavy cream?
Brazil nuts.
I finely chopped one cup of brazil nuts with the Cuisinart. Then I soaked them in some warm water for 30 minutes, with enough water to make it look like cereal. I would have soaked them longer if I had planned ahead, but this was a last minute kind of meal.
They then went into the blender, and I added enough water so that when pureed it became the consistency of milk, as in from the carton at the grocery store.
Next, I poured small batches into a fine-meshed, colander. I used a spatula to press on the brazil nut pulp to squeeze as much liquid out of it as I could, collecting it into a bowl. Alternatively, you could use a cheesecloth.
And viola, brazil nut milk. You can make it thinner, like 1% milk, by adding more water while you’re pureeing it, or you can make it like half and half by adding less water.
Now, use it in place of cream or milk in your ‘cream based’ soup.
Have a friend or family member try it. They will definitely think it has dairy based cream in it. So make a bet, you’ll win.
And the best part is, is that Brazil nuts are high in selenium. The recommended daily allowance of selenium is 55 mcg, but I like to go by the ‘optimal’ value of 100-250 mcg daily. Did you know there is a whopping 544 mcg of selenium in just 6-8 brazil nuts!
Selenium does a number of things, but it’s especially good for helping the liver to detoxify, and decreasing inflammation, which are both very important in preventing many chronic diseases! As always there can be too much of a good thing and it is possible to take in too much selenium, so talk to your naturopathic doctor before you go on a diet of purely brazil nuts.
Bon Appetit!
