Why Are Soups Good for Digestion?
If you're like me and you like knowing the why behind things, let's chat about how soups can help your gut be healthy and happy.
Soups are cooked. Cooked foods are typically more gentle on your system than raw foods, especially when it comes to vegetables. The cooking/heating process breaks down the cell walls and makes it easier for your digestive system to break down the food.Soups are “chewed”. This really relates to pureed soups (like this Ginger & Turmeric Carrot Soup) as these soups have been completely pureed before you eat them. The benefit of eating pureed food is that you don't have to “chew” it. The food is already broken down once it hits your stomach, so it can easily mix with your digestive juices and move through your intestines more gently.(Vegan) soups are nutritious. In addition to them being easy to digest, most the time, soups are made from nutrient-dense ingredients like herbs, spices, vegetables, and beans. Because the soup is full of those nutrients AND that it's easy to digest, your body is able to absorb more of those nutrients into your system.
Ginger & Turmeric Carrot Soup
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil 1 leek
cleaned and sliced 1 cup chopped fennel
3 cups chopped carrots
1 cup chopped butternut squash
2 garlic cloves ,
Minced1 tablespoon grated ginger (about 2" piece)
1 tablespoon organic turmeric powder Salt & pepper to taste
3 cups low sodium vegetable broth ( or chicken bone broth)
One 14.5 oz can of coconut milk
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven or saucepan. Add the fennel, leeks, carrots, and squash. Saute for 3 - 5 minutes until the veggies start to soften. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, salt, and pepper, and saute for a few more minutes. Add the broth and coconut milk. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Once the soup is cooked, add it to a blender and blend until creamy. You could also use an immersion blender. Taste and adjust seasonings to your taste. Serve immediately with a dollop of coconut yogurt and enjoy!
Golden Cauliflower Puree
Produce 1 Carrot 3 lbs Cauliflower, whole 1 1/2 tsp Coriander 6 Garlic cloves, medium 1 tsp Ginger, ground 1 Green onion tops 1 Yellow onion, large
Canned Goods 6 cups Vegetable broth
Baking & Spices 1/4 tsp Black pepper 1 tsp Cinnamon 1 3/4 tsp Kosher salt 1 Paprika 1 tsp Turmeric
Cut the cauliflower into florets (here’s our trick for doing it!). Throw it together with garlic, olive oil and salt, then roast it until lightly charred in a 450 degree oven.Meanwhile, in a soup pot saute onion and carrot, then add vegetable broth and Moroccan-style spices: cumin, coriander, ginger, turmeric, and cinnamon.Once the cauliflower is done, add it to the pot and blend it into a silky puree using an immersion blender. Or, you can transfer it to a standard blender.For the garnish, a bit of the roasted cauliflower, green onion tips and a bit of olive oil.
This vegan soup is pretty simple to put together, full of nutrients, and gluten-free too. It’s also helpful to have an immersion blender for this cauliflower soup recipe: then you can puree the soup right in the pot you cooked it in!
Kabocha Squash Soup with Sunflower Seed Cream
Ingredients:
-For the Soup-
1 kabocha squash (around 3-4 lbs.)
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 medium-sized carrot
½ small onion
3 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp. maple syrupSalt, pepper and olive oil as needed
-For the Sunflower Seed Cream
½ cup raw sunflower seeds
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp cinnamon½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp coriander
1/3 cup water
Salt, to taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut your squash in half, and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and stringy parts (much like how you clean out a pumpkin). Sprinkle the cut halves with salt and pepper. Crush and remove the skin from the garlic cloves. Add a little oil to the bottom of a baking dish, and place the garlic and squash in the pan. Cook for 45-60 minutes, until the squash is soft and can be easily pierced with a fork.In the meantime, set the sunflower seeds in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 or more minutes to soften them. Strain them, and add them to a blender, along with the water, lemon juice and spices, and blend until it is smooth, soft, and creamy. Set aside.Dice the half onion and roughly chop the carrots. In a pot, sauté the vegetables in olive oil for a few minutes before adding the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer, cooking until the carrots are tender.Once the squash is cooked, remove from the oven and allow it to cool enough to handle. Scrape the squash away from the skin, and put the cooked squash directly into the simmering soup along with the garlic. Add the maple syrup and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth (alternatively, you can blend in batches in a standing blender or food processor). Season to taste.Assemble the soup by pouring a ladle of the squash soup in a bowl, and topping with a scoop of the sunflower seed cream- you can try and spiral it if you’re feeling ambitious, but it tastes just as good plopped on top. Enjoy warm.
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