Coconut Cauliflower Chicken Soup

There are times when people have questioned me on WHY do I need to eat clean and be on a "diet". I find that really frustrating because when does wanting to live healthier = not wanting to enjoy life and food.

The word "diet" just means food that nourish self. Over the years, it seems to have become a weight lost mantra. Some comments I received was that I shouldn't be thinking of losing weight or that I am being too restrictive in my food choices.

On the other side though, I received heaps of positive comments about what I am doing. It's very encouraging to receive comments or notes that I am on the right track.

I am in a healthy weight range. I'm not over weight or underweight. I have a desire to have a lower body fat percentage- but that's got to do with increasing my lean muscle density and being stronger. In fact, my weight at some point or another have increased while I gained more muscle fibres then gone back to my usual weight again. However, I looked leaner, as of course muscle takes up less space than fat.

The important point to note is that I am not on a restrictive calorie meal plan. I.e- i eat whenever i feel hungry, I eat normally except I limit my treats to once a week, and avoid processed food as much as possible (including grains as they have gone through processing).

It is very liberating. For the first time, I'm not overly worried about my weight, but feel more confident in my clothes and how I carry myself. I'm not into being in the gym for hours, but focus on activities that I enjoy doing such as boxing, zumba and konga. I enjoy my coffees and fruits on most days and love my dark chocolate.

Being back to basics means we have less package food into our panty too. When we moved into our new home, I have more containers than food in my pantry. Now that was funny. Then I went on and bought unsweeten almond milk, curry paste without sugar and coconut milk in bulk. oops. :p

So I went on, and made this soup in bulk too (to make use of my freezer space of course). Totally loved it. It's so tasty and easy- in fact, it tastes a little like pea and ham soup. Now, ham is an interesting one. It is meat after all, but is it considered as processed? I think if I am totally strict and restrictive, I would have avoided it, but given that I am more of "moderation" and "do my best to avoid" and "90% good and 10% maybe in the grey area or not so good", I think it is fine. I do try to find those that does not use nitrate or too much sugar or uses ham off the bone so it has the least preservatives as much as possible.

This cauliflower soup is creamy and filling. I went for convenience and bought a roast chicken for added protein. It's my favourite quick protein fix by the way- roast chicken from the supermarkets!

Coconut Cauliflower Chicken Soup (serves 8-10)
3 piece of gammon ham diced
2 heads of cauliflower chopped
4 leeks chopped
1 bunch of celery chopped
1red onion chopped
2 tablespoon of mince garlic
1 roast chicken meat shredded
200 ml coconut cream
2 litre of chicken stock

Crack pepper and chill olive oil to serve if desired.

Start of sauté the ham till brown. Remove from pot. Brown onions and garlic, then cook all veges till slightly soft. Adding stock and bring it to a simmer for around 15 minutes or so. Cool for a few minutes, then blend the vegetables. Return soup to pot and simmer. Add chicken and ham back till it is cooked through-around 5 minutes. Then add coconut cream. Taste and season accordingly.

Ladle and serve with cracked pepper and chill olive oil if you like. :)