Carrot and Ginger Soup Recipe

I'm on a ketosis diet at the moment.  Don't judge.  It works for me and my doctor knows what's up, so I'm not doing anything that is going to hurt me.  Sometimes I just need a little help getting my hunger signals under control.

Anyway, what that means is that my diet consists entirely of protein shakes and non-starchy vegetables.  It's harder to find delicious things to eat when your diet is so limited.  Harder, but certainly not impossible.

Carrot & Ginger Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 lugs of olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
3 spring onions finely sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2kg (2.2 pounds) of carrots peeled and chopped
4 cups chicken stock (I use homemade chicken stock so sodium is at a minimum)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground ginger (or 1.5tbsp freshly grated ginger)
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp whole almonds

Instructions

In a medium saucepan over a low flame, heat your olive oil.  Add to the pan the garlic, spring onion and yellow onion and toss with a wooden spoon until glassy.

Add the carrots, giving them a good stir to coat them in the olive oil, garlic and onions and cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sprinkle in the nutmeg, ginger and pepper - stir for another minute or until fragrant.

Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the carrot is tender.  Remove from heat.

When the soup has cooled significantly, place into a blender with the almonds to puree (or use a stick blender).  Do not attempt to blend the soup while it is hot unless you're a masochist and you really love getting horrific burns and boiling soup on your eyeballs.  It isn't pleasant.

Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream, a garnish of chives and a sprinkling of pepper.  Goes nicely with a slice of lovely crusty bread.

For people trying to watch their waistline, this is also a really healthy dinner when served without sour cream or bread.

Per serving:

Calories		182.8
Total Fat		8.8 g
	Saturated Fat	1.0 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.5 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	5.9 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		499.1 mg
Potassium		740.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate		23.5 g
	Dietary Fiber	6.9 g
	Sugars	9.5 g
Protein		4.5 g