Gazpacho - Aussie style. — Alternative Ageing

I know this isn't brilliant for anyone living in the Northern Hemisphere at the moment, but I just had to share this delicious cold soup/smoothie recipe with you because of the amazing veg available here in Byron Bay.... all grown locally, from the Farmer's Market, all organic and just a joy to use for gazpacho, especially as I am doing a detox at the moment. (Blog on that coming soon.) And just look at the shape of this cucumber - the EU wouldn't allow one of those to be sold in the UK!

Lovely fresh produce for gazpacho, from Byron Bay Farmers Market, Australia.

I have featured a gazpacho recipe before, but this is one with an Australian twist, using what's available locally and in season. This is a fabulous, nutritious "soup", especially if you're fasting, detoxing or doing the 5:2 diet as it's only about 100 calories......but only in a hot climate. If you're doing the 5:2 or fasting in a cold climate, you might find my ratatouille recipe a good alternative. It's nice and filling, low calorie and very healthy.

INGREDIENTS - ALL FINELY DICED

I large cucumber

A ton of fresh tomatoes - I didn't even weight them

2 sticks of celery

2 green chillies

1 red pepper

2 spring onions

2 cloves of garlic

Seasoning

Just throw the lot into a large blender, add a bit of liquid, a dash of olive oil & cider vinegar and whizz it all up. That's it. Too easy, as they say here! I then added some raw, beetroot & cumin crackers to add a little crunch, 'cause I'm enjoying a natural, 'living' diet as much as possible while I'm here, especially after the Christmas excesses.