Curried Cucumber Buttermilk Soup

This refreshing soup is a recipe from my upcoming cookbook Eating Y our Way to Healthy Living: If I Can Do It So Can You. Years in the making this is my personal story of how I lost 17 % of my body weight and how I kept it off long term. It is also a how to guide for anyone to do what I did. Finally there are 185 recipes all loaded with flavor and good nutrition. My recipes are proof that good eating goes hand in hand with healthy eating.

If you're thinking about making lifestyle changes that's great. Here are a couple of tips to guide you on your way to better health. First don't look at this eating plan as a diet for a month or two so you can look good at your college reunion or get into your bathing suit. It's a lifestyle change that you will be living with for the rest of your life. That's why it's very important that you find an eating plan and an exercise plan that works for you. You should be eating foods you love and finding an exercise program that you enjoy so you can stay with it long term.

Other tips for success are:

• Have realistic goals and start with small achievable steps.
• Tell people about your diet and enlist their help.
• Dwell on your successes and not your failures.
• Accept the fact this will take hard work and some sacrifice on your part.
• Reward yourself with non food related treats for a job well done.

Start keeping a food journal and write down everything you eat in a day. This will help you to see what you're eating and how you can improve. Find a friend or family member to be your cheerleader and exercise buddy. You can encourage each other plus it's good to have another person that you're accountable to.

Curried Cucumber Buttermilk Soup
The inspiration for this cold and refreshing cucumber buttermilk soup came from Veselka's, a Ukrainian restaurant in the East Village in New York. I was there on a hot summer day, and the soup was perfect. I couldn't wait to get home to make it. You'll love this when it's hot and muggy outside.

• 2 large cucumbers, peeled, quartered lengthwise, seeded and cut into chunks
• 1 large bunch fresh dillweed, a few leaves reserved for garnish
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1/2 cup non-fat buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups plain low fat yogurt
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 3-5 drops hot red-pepper sauce
• 1 1/4 cups low salt chicken broth

Follow these directions:

1. Chop the dillweed, onion, and cucumber in a food processor until finely chopped but not pureed. In a bowl whisk the buttermilk with 1 cup of the yogurt, curry powder, salt, white pepper, and hot pepper sauce. Whisk in the cucumber mixture and the stock. Refrigerate the soup at least one hour. Serve in chilled bows; garnish each bowl with a dollop of the remaining yogurt and a little dillweed. Serves 6.