Happy Monday, Friends. Today, I’m going to share one of my all-time favorite tips for staying full, staying trim, staying healthy and detoxing throughout the year—“SOUPING”. That’s right…not fasting, not juicing, not starving! We are going to slurp ourselves skinny! Did you know that on average, the normal person gains between five and eight pounds over the holiday season? We will not let that happen to us!
I’ve been “souping” for over 30 years. It all began when I moved to London in 1988 and I learned how to make soup from my mother-in-law. It seemed magical to me that she could put all these veggies and some protein together in one pot, add water, let it simmer for 30-45 minutes and presto – a delicious, filling, satisfying and “moreish” (British for keep on wanting more and more and more) meal was born!
The nutritionist in me began researching and I found countless studies showing that eating soup as a precursor to any meal would reduce total calorie intake per meal by 20 percent! Over the course of a year, that’s a lot of calories! I’m also a big fan of soup in between meals. Soup is the perfect healthy alternative to other snacking and it’s a really great way to keep full and satisfied between meals without consuming a lot of calories!
I started “souping” myself and saw my body change right away. This wasn’t like anything I’d done before. Juicing always kept me starving, fasting for me was just never an option and smoothies always seemed so full of sugar (“good” sugar albeit) but also never fully satisfying. I was so impressed with how I felt and the results that I was seeing from “souping” that I later even created a “detox soup” weight loss plan for an exclusive sports club in NYC. Everyone on my program lost weight and no one on my program went hungry!
Here’s what I love about soup…Soup “flushes” out your system. It’s FULL of fiber so it keeps you regular, it really FILLS you up and keeps you satiated for hours, it’s rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and if you make it right, it contains a great amount of protein, no carbs, and lots of the greens we need. Soup is easy! Experiment with soup. The possibilities are endless. Unless you are adding unnecessary salt/sodium to your soup, you really can’t mess it up.
An added little tip for making soup, I am obsessed with my hand (immersion) blender. I use it when making all of my soups—you literally just stick it into your pot of cooked soup and blend away! It’s so much easier than transferring everything from a blender to the pot! I have this one….but I really think any hand blender would do.
At my house, I make at least 2 soups a week! I freeze some but really soup can last in the refrigerator for five to six days. Knowing that I always have fresh soup on hand for me and my family really prevents us from reaching for other things that may not be as healthy for us.
I also totally recommend a soup detox day. I usually do this every Sunday. I cook up several different soups and on Sunday’s that’s all I eat. Even in the summer, I crave soup. Think gazpacho!
Today, I’m going to share a few of my favorite soup recipes. The first is so satisfying, so filling, and the perfect comfort food for this time of year.
ROASTED ACORN SQUASH SOUP
1 large acorn squash
3 large carrots
1 large Spanish (yellow) onion
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon liquid aminos
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried sage
8 cups of water
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Place the squash on a baking sheet, cut side up. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until soft. Set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, scoop out the insides and set aside in a bowl
Meanwhile, peel the carrots and chop into 1” to 2” chunks. Set aside.
Peel the onion and garlic. Cut the onion into rough ½” to 1” pieces. Chop the garlic finely. Warm the oil in a 6 to 8 quart pot over medium heat. Add the onion and the garlic and cook, stirring often for about 15 minutes, or until the onion turns light brown. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time as necessary to prevent burning.
Add the carrots, bay leaf, salt or aminos, rosemary, sage, and water. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, or until the carrots have softened. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the cooked squash.
Puree in a blender or food processer fitted with the chopping blade, or use an immersion blender directly in the pot. Blend or process until creamy and medium-thick. Return to the pot, add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice and simmer for 15 minutes longer. Serve hot or warm. (Makes 8 servings, 65 calories per serving)
This next recipe is a recipe I make several times a month and all year long. My family loves it, I love it and I really feel like I’m doing something good for my body when I eat it.
CHUNKY MIXED VEGETABLE SOUP
1 large zucchini
2 ribs celery
1 medium red bell pepper
1 medium turnip
1 medium parsnip
2 gloves garlic
1 large Spanish (yellow) onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bag (1 pound) baby carrots
1 can (15 ounces) chopped or whole tomatoes. Must be salt free
2 tablespoons liquid aminos
8-10 cups of boiling water
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
I cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
Ground black pepper to taste
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Chop the zucchini and celery into 1” pieces. Remove the seeds from the bell pepper and cut into pieces. Set aside.
Peel the turnip and parsnip. Chop each into 1” pieces. Set aside.
Peel the garlic and onion. Chop the garlic roughly. Cut the onion into ¼” pieces. Warm the oil in a 6-to-8 quart pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes or until the onion just starts to brown. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time to prevent burning.
Add the zucchini, celery, bell pepper, turnip, parsnip, baby carrots, tomatoes (with juice), aminos, water, cumin, paprika, basil, and black pepper to taste. Simmer over low heat for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up whole tomatoes. Immersion blend to break up or simply leave chunky. More water can be added if the soup seems too thick.
Serve hot. Transfer cooled leftovers into covered containers and store in the refrigerator or freezer. (Make 8 servings. 108 calories per serving)
The last recipe I’m sharing is my go-to detox soup. It’s surprisingly flavorful, totally guilt free and can be made all year. I tend to make huge batches of this in the summer when zucchini is fresh and in season, freeze it and enjoy it all year long.
SIMPLE PUREED ZUCHINI SOUP
2 medium onions
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
4 medium zucchini
3-4 cups of water
½ teaspoon of salt. (For those of you who really feel like you need the salt and don’t have a problem retaining it. I tend to leave out the salt when making this for myself and my family).
1 teaspoon cumin
Ground pepper to taste
Nutritional yeast for added flavor
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Trim, halve, peel, and chop the onion. Since the soup gets pureed, there’s no need to be too precise about the chopping.
Heat a medium pot over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onion and the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and tender, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, trim and chop the zucchini. Add the zucchini and water to the onion. Raise the heat to bring everything to a boil, and then reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer and cook, stirring occasionally to keep things from settling too much, until the zucchini is very tender, about 15 minutes. Add the cumin.
If you have a hand-held immersion blender, this is a great time to pull it out and put it to use. Blend the soup until it’s extremely smooth. No hand-held immersion blender? Blend the soup in a blender or food processor until very smooth (at least 1 minute per batch to make sure it’s well and truly puréed); return the soup to the pot. Add pepper to taste.
Serve the soup hot with a sprinkle of pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
I love and live by my daily soups and I hope you do too. Try incorporating a few into your meal plan each week, try my Sunday soup “detox” day and I promise you will see results. Remember small, smart changes to your everyday diet can make a big impact on your waistline. Happy Slurping!
