Recipes, Photography, Musings

Refreshing Cucumber Mint Soup

Cool off with this refreshing and invigorating cucumber mint soup. Cucumbers, mint, and lime juice are some of the coolest foods around.  When pureed with an avocado, some coconut milk, and spices, you get an amazingly flavorful and healthy chilled soup that has a lovely, creamy texture.

cucumber mint soup with pink vaseWith the outdoor temperature around here soaring this week, a cold soup is a perfect addition to any meal.  And it is so easy to make–just put the ingredients in a blender and blend! Then pour it into a container and let it chill!  This recipe is adapted from my husband’s favorite cookbook, Thrive Energy Cookbook by Brendan Brazier.  It is a plant-based, vegan recipe–great for building up the immune system and recharging the body with lots of wonderful nutrients. If you don’t like coconut milk, you can always substitute Greek yogurt to get the creamy texture without the subtle coconut taste.  I have gotten so I really like the coconut milk taste, and it feels good to have an alternative to dairy sometimes, though I still love my cheese and yogurt.

I made this soup a couple of times this week especially for my husband.  Like I mentioned, he loves the Thrive cookbook, and he loves all these super-healthy, plant-based recipes.  Since he is almost fully recovered from his knee surgery and enjoying doing more running and exercising outside, he is looking for food that will help his body renew and gain energy.  Our kids don’t love this soup, so it is in honor of my husband that I make it (though I like it a lot too).  In the busy hubbub of our days and our life right now, he doesn’t always get the special attention he got when we were first married.  He is my biggest supporter when it comes to me doing this blog, and he is awesome.

cucumber mint soup with pink vase 4Summer is fully, completely here.  We went swimming at a nearby lake last weekend.  Before we left for home, I went into the bathroom there to change out of my wet bathing suit. The changing room had an open-air courtyard and curtains across the individual changing stalls.  The wind came in through the open ceiling and was lightly blowing the curtains, not enough to compromise anyone’s privacy, but enough that the curtains were billowing gently in the breeze, creating a hushed, peaceful atmosphere.  It was such a serene setting, with the sun shining through the leaves in the open-air ceiling, and the curtains quietly flowing with the breeze.  Women from all walks of life were going in and out, and everyone was so peaceful and refreshed after cooling off in the lake.  I never expected to find this lovely setting in a public bathroom at a state park. It was a quiet oasis in the middle of a busy crowd, like time was standing still for a few minutes.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and can find some time for some peace in the middle of it all! Fiesta Friday is a happy space to visit too, and I plan to head over there soon. Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook and Colleen @ Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck are co-hosting this week.cucumber mint soup in hands 3cucumber mint soup spicescucumber mint soup on traycucumber mint soup in sun 2

Cucumber Mint Soup

  • Servings: 4-6
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Ingredients:

  • 3 medium cucumbers, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 small clove of garlic, minced
  • a small handful of fresh mint leaves, torn from the stems
  • a small handful of cilantro leaves, torn from the stems
  • 1 ripe avocado, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
  • 1 cup of coconut milk
  • a pinch of chili powder
  • fresh mint leaves for garnish

Directions:

Wash the vegetables and herbs. Peel and coarsely chop the cucumbers.  If they have big seeds, cut out the seedy parts before chopping.  Tear the mint and cilantro from their stems and peel and chop the avocado. Squeeze the lime juice. Place the cucumber, mint, cilantro, avocado and lime juice in a blender.  Add the cumin, sea salt, and pepper.  Puree all the ingredients.  Add the coconut milk and lightly blend to combine.  Add more salt, if desired.  Pour the soup into a container, cover it tightly, and chill for at least an hour.  Serve the soup cold as a side dish or a light lunch. Top with a pinch of chili powder (it looks pretty when swirled) and mint leaves if desired. This tastes great with tortilla chips! Enjoy!

 

21 Comments

  1. Abby

    This looks delicious! I’m trying it tonight. I’m going to put a few homemade croutons I happen to have on hand! Dinner!

    • Jenny

      Thanks, Abby! I hope you enjoy the soup! I think croutons would be great with it.?

  2. Karen Kline

    I will be making this as soon as possible! Yum. All my favorite things mixed up in a soup. Thanks!

    • Jenny

      Thanks, Karen! It is a great summer soup. I think you would really like it.?

  3. Amanda | What's Cooking

    I love this recipe. I don’t know how I missed that your husband loves the Thrive cookbook. I was just listening to Brandon brazier on the rich roll podcast today and really like what he’s about. I am currently leafing through the Plant Power Way and it’s brilliant. I’ll have to look at thrive. My husband is on board with reading more plants but cannot give up his animal protein. I’m making this soup! These books also inspired me to get my first blender. I splurged on a vitamix. We’ll see how it goes.

    • Jenny

      Thank you, Amanda! That is so cool that you heard Brendan Brazier on a podcast. I think you and your husband would like the Thrive book. I don’t want to be entirely plant based, but it sure is a great way to eat at least some of the time! Such great flavors in his recipes! I hope you enjoy the soup! ?

  4. Sarah 'n Spice

    An absolutely perfect soup for summer! Looks delish 🙂

    • Jenny

      Thank you, Sarah! It is really refreshing! 🙂

  5. nimmi

    wow the recipe sounds really unique and great.. waiting for Winter to try this awesome soup!!
    happy Fiesta Friday:)

    • Jenny

      Thank you, Nimmi! It is actually a great warm-weather soup because it is served cold, so it is very refreshing! 🙂

  6. Julie is Hostess At Heart

    This soup looks so light and refreshing!

    • Jenny

      Thank you, Julie! With it being so hot here this week, I can’t wait to make it again!

  7. Colleen

    I can only imagine how refreshing this soup must be…especially after a 103 degree day like today! Thanks for sharing on Fiesta Friday…and what a perfect time to share this cool-down summer treat!

    • Jenny

      Thank you, Colleen! This heat definitely demands some light and refreshing foods….:)

  8. FrugalHausfrau

    This sounds amazing, especially with all the hot weather we’ve been having! I’m going to have to check out that book – I could use some immune boosting recipes!

    • Jenny

      Thanks, Mollie! I think you would enjoy checking out the cookbook–it has all plant-based recipes and the ones I have tried have been very flavorful. Sometimes some of the ingredients are a little hard to find (at least for me), but not always, and I really do feel how healthy the recipes are. 🙂 While I could not eat this way all the time, I definitely like what I have tried! 🙂

      • FrugalHausfrau

        Who said, “Everything in moderation, including moderation!” 🙂

      • Jenny

        I like that!! 🙂

  9. Sheryl

    This soup looks yummy.

  10. CakePants

    The heat this summer is just unrelenting! I haven’t tried many (or maybe any…?) cold soup recipes, but it sounds just about perfect right now. I like that this one is even dairy-free! At first glance I had assumed it would involve cream or yogurt or something.

    • Jenny

      I know, this heat is really getting extreme! Salads and cold soups are all that sound good to me lately! I think you would enjoy this soup, and the coconut milk is really good in it. Take care and stay cool! I am not much of a fan of being in air conditioning, but today, it is really helpful. 🙂

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