Last week was the first week of eating all dairy/soy/gluten free. I sat down and poured over two trusty recipe books, highlighted the dinners that seemed the most doable, not outside of our comfort zone, affordable. And it was a roaring success.

I want to share this Coconut Curry Veggie recipe for two reasons- one? It is so tasty. Warm, comforting, filling, healthy, and super delish. And two? It came together in about half an hour/less. And if there is one huge shift with this lifestyle of eating, it is the Prep Time component. I go to bed each night (mostly) with dinner for the following day already being prepped. Whether that means beans are soaking, or meat is thawing, the convenience foods are gone, so prep is the name of the game. But, this meal is a zero night before/morning of prep. Just throw it together in your pot and you are set. I served it over red quinoa, the suggestion was over rice but we prefer quinoa. But, in all honesty, this soup could stand alone no problem. It was so tasty and even the littlest got in on the action and was eating the veggies as quickly as we could lay them down for her!

 Whole Life Nutrition- Coconut Vegetable Curry with chickpeas

Serves Four;

2 T coconut oil or olive oil

1 T finely chopped fresh ginger

1.5 t cumin seeds (I used ground cumin)

1 t black mustard seeds (I omitted these but I am sure it would be even better with them)

3 small red potatoes cubed

3 medium carrots diced

.5 t turmeric

2 t coriander

1 T curry powder

1 T tomato paste

1 can coconut milk

1/4-1/2 cup water

2 small zucchini diced

1 cup frozen peas

2 cups cooked chickpeas

2 t sea salt

1/2 cup cilantro

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add ginger, cumin seeds, and black mustard seeds; cook for 1-2 min, or until the seeds begin to “pop”.

2. Add potatoes, carrots, turmeric, coriander, and curry powder. Stir well and continue to cook for another minute or so. Add the tomato paste, coconut milk, water; stir well.

3. Simmer, covered, for 5-10min until potatoes and carrots are almost done, but still a little crisp (this took a little longer for us, closer to 20min). Add zucchini, peas, chickpeas, sea salt; cover the pot and simmer till veggies are tender, about another 6-7min. Remove from eat and stir in chopped cilantro.