Leeks

Leeks are something many people have heard of, but have no idea how to use or what they taste like. You can use leeks just like you would onions in a recipe, they are part of the allium family. They have a nice mild creamy taste and are great in blended soups.

They usually come in sets of 3 from the grocery store and have big long green tops on them. You can slice off the top 3-4 inches and throw that away or save the tips to use in vegetable stock along with any other cleaned vegetable trimmings.

How To Cut and Trim Leeks For Sautéing

Step 1: Cut off the very top of the leeks and set aside.

How To Cut, Trim And Chop Leeks For Sautéing Or In Recipes

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Step 2: Slice the leeks in half lengthwise.

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Step 3: Carefully wash in between each leaf of the leek. They usually have a lot of dirt trapped between the layers.

How To Cut And Chop Leeks For Sautéing and In Recipes

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Step 4: Take off the large outer layers.

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Slice off the dark green parts of the leeks and set those aside. You want to use the light green parts and the white parts only for your recipe.

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Step 5: Slice the light green parts and white parts like you would slice celery.

Now you are ready to cook your leeks, just like you would cooked diced onion. Just sauté it in a pan or pot with some vegetable broth and when they are soft you can add the rest of your ingredients and continue cooking your dish.

Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat To Live Anti Cancer Soup

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FTC Notice: This post contains affiliate links that go towards supporting the blog.

Holy mackerel this “Anti Cancer Soup” recipe makes a ton of soup! You can eat for a whole week off of this one recipe. I decided to try and document Dr. Fuhrman’s famous “Anti Cancer Soup” as it seemed like a fairly intensive recipe and I took it as a challenge to make a soup an entirely new way. For this recipe you’re going to need a good juicer that can handle juicing a lot of carrots and celery. This is the one I use, it’s a medium priced Breville juicer and it does the job.

I met Dr. Joel Fuhrman last February (2011) at Dr. John McDougall’s 3 Day Advanced Study Weekend and he mentioned in his lecture about chopping onions, cooking them and then blending them into the soup for some additional nutritional benefits on how everything combines together. I do NOT remember the exact processes going on, he had a very scientific explanation for this. I will have to watch the recording of the lecture again to get it straight. But all you need to know is, this soup is HEALTHY for you and highly recommended by Dr. Fuhrman as a nutrient dense soup that’s crammed with veggies. Might I just add that Dr. Fuhrman is totally ripped and in amazing shape and his “Disease Proof” diet is definitely working well for him. I saw some pictures of his wife and daughters and they are all very slim and quite beautiful too. He should be very proud to have such a happy and healthy family setting such a great example on a oil free plant based diet.

I just finished up a low fat vegan recipe book of my own called Comfort Soups To Keep You Warm, so I’ve made quite a bit of soup these past few months. I have actually nicknamed myself the “Vegan Soup Queen” I’ve made so much soup lol! Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s “Anti Cancer Soup” recipe comes from his book Eat To Live (which is actually less than $10 on Amazon right now so check it out.) One thing about this anti cancer soup is that you can definitely tell it was designed by a man without any need for great culinary skills. It is very simple in presentation as everything is pretty much just blended together, and it’s something that you start cooking while you continue to prep the rest of your veggies as you go. So this seems very practical, albeit because of the amount of soup this recipe makes it can be a bit of work. What I like most about Dr. Fuhrman’s recipes is that they are oil free and really healthy, so this is right up my alley and I am happy to be able to make his recipes without any major modifications.

Dr. Fuhrman recommends that you make a big pot of this once and then eat it for the rest of the week, or freeze portions of it. It does take much more time and effort than my other soup recipes, but it makes a ton of soup and if you’re only doing this once or twice a month on a Sunday afternoon it’s no big deal. Better yet, get a helper to help you prep the veggies and then you can relax in between cooking steps! I really wish I had had a helper… haha Since his “Anti Cancer Soup” is such a big recipe with so many ingredients I wanted to estimate the cost of making it. Now just FYI this is approximately what I paid in Canada at a discount grocery store in 2012, and none of these items were bought in bulk. If you live in the USA and/or buy in bulk it will probably be a bit cheaper. But if you buy all organic produce it will definitely cost more.

Split peas ~$0.50
Raw cashews ~$5
Onions ~$5
Zucchini ~$4
Carrots ~$3
Celery $2.60
Leeks $3.49
Mushrooms $4.50

Total Cost: ~ $28.09

Divided by 12 servings:

$2.34 a serving

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So when you divide the “Anti Cancer Soup” costs out by the number servings (and you will get at least 12 servings) it’s not too expensive. It’s a little less than the price of an organic canned soup and definitely less than buying lunch somewhere else. If I had to describe the taste of this anti cancer soup I would say that it mostly tastes like mild split peas with leeks and mushrooms. It’s not very strong tasting or in any way offensive. You can definitely eat it as is, or add some more herbs or spices to it. When I make soup I like to add things like thyme, bay leaves or other seasonings. I like really flavourful soups.

Now on to my step by step (with photos!) instructions on how to make this soup. My soup recipes have way less directions btw, I just wanted this to be clear as even I was scratching my head at all the steps when I made it the first time. It also looked very strange while cooking, so I didn’t want anyone else to be afraid or discouraged and not know what to expect! I took over 100 pictures of this recipe preparation! I hope you enjoy it. 🙂 Dr. Fuhrman also likes to add a cruciferous leafy green to his soup now too. So you can add a bunch or two of kale (stems removed) or collard greens if you desire.

Dr. Fuhrman’s Anti Cancer Soup (From Eat To Live) With A Low Fat Vegan Chef Twist

Total Time: 1 h 30 min

Serves 12

Ingredients:

1 cup dried split peas (green)

4 cups/1 L filtered water

4 large onions

4 large zucchinis or 8 small

3 medium leeks

leafy greens, broccoli or cauliflower (optional, about 2 bunches)

5 lbs./2.26 kg carrots

2 bunches of celery

1 cup raw cashews (un-roasted, unsalted)

1 lb/454 g mushrooms

2 tsp granulated garlic powder (his recipe has 2 tbsp VegiZest)

2 bay leaves (my addition)

1- 1 1/2 tsp Herbamare or salt (my addition)

Directions:

How To Make Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat To Live Anti Cancer Split Pea Mushroom Soup

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In a large 6 qt soup pot add 4 cups/1 L of water and the split peas and bring to a boil. Slice off the tops of the onions, shave off the roots and peel the outer skins and place them into the pot whole. (Update: Fuhrman now recommends cutting the onions up so their enzymes can react while cooking as this increases their nutrition.) Cover with a lid to start the steaming process. Once at a boil reduce heat to medium low.

How To Make Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat To Live Anti Cancer Soup

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Peel the zuchinnis, and place in the pot uncut. (If they are large cut them in half lengthwise). Cut the bottom roots off the leeks and slice them up the side so each leaf can be thoroughly washed, because leeks have lots of dirt hidden inside. (This is a good tip, I found a little worm in one of my leaves. Gross.) Cut off the top inch of the leeks and discard. Then place the entire leek (leaves uncut) into the pot and cover again.