Sweet Potato and Celery Soup
By: Susan Harr
Published: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 - 3:58pm

Ingredients




1 pound sweet potatoes
1 cup celery chopped
1 small onion chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sweet basil
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1 In a large soup pot add the olive and saute the vegetable about 3 minutes.  Add the bay leaves, basil and vegetable broth. 2 Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat and simmer 25-30 minutes until the vegetables are very soft. 3 Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool enough to place in a food processor. 4 Process until smooth and then reheat. 5 Add croutons if desired and some chopped fresh basil.

About


Sweet potatoes are a vegetable that is high in carotene and converts to Vitamin A in the body.  Beta carotene is considered a preventive for heart disease and some cancers.  While looking through my book shelves (I used to be a book seller so I have many, many books around my house)  for recipe ideas that pertain to high blood pressure and high cholesterol I found a book titled The Healing Foods and discovered this recipe.   Although I haven’t eaten any red meat or pork products for 40 years, my cholesterol is too high and  as  result I have high blood pressure.  Years ago, when I stopped eating meat I replaced it with cheese and other dairy products.  I have since come to learn that the body produces cholesterol naturally and some people produce too much so eating high cholesterol products can create a dangerous combination.  I have decided that at least once a week I will eat a totally vegan diet.  It  shouldn’t be too hard to do all the time once I can find a tasty alternative for dairy products.