I love soup and could probably enjoy it every day and never get bored – which explains why I have so many wonderful soup recipes for you in my books.
Soup is the ultimate in healthy Keto-Green eating. (Try my Keto-Green® Shake as part of your Keto-Green nutrition plan!) Keto-green soup can be made with pureed veggies blended with alkalizing bone broth. It’s naturally low in carbohydrates and calories. Its high-water content keeps you full and hydrated too. It actually stops the cells in your stomach from producing the hunger hormone ghrelin, which means it helps turn off your appetite. And soup is packed with fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals, depending on the mix of vegetables you use.
If you’re a soup-lover like me, science is in our corner! An ever-growing body of studies (like this one) say that consuming soup:
- Reduces your risk of obesity.
- Helps you keep your weight in check – and is thus a great tool for fat loss and maintenance. When you feel slim and sexy, you feel great about yourself, which contributes to positive emotional and mental health as well. Soup has an indirect but powerful impact on body image and self-confidence.
- Curbs your caloric intake. In a fascinating Penn State study, for example, chicken-and-rice soup eaters ate 26 percent fewer calories than those who ate chicken and rice in casserole form. (Here’s my delicious keto-green Chicken-rice soup recipe!)
- Trims your “waist circumference” – meaning it fights stubborn belly fat we seem to put on in menopause.
- Decreases inflammation (especially gazpacho-type soups because of their high vitamin C content – an anti-inflammatory nutrient). Soup is healing!
- Lowers blood pressure (kudos again for gazpacho, credited in research as a hypertension fighter).
- Improves your gut health, especially when your soup is loaded up with broccoli. Broccoli helps pump up the good bacteria in your gut.
You and I are approaching the perfect time of year to enjoy hot steaming bowls of soups with fall and winter about to be in full swing. Some soups to try: Easy Tomato Soup and Thai Coconut Soup from The Hormone Fix; and 30-Minute Keto-Green Soup, Curried Cabbage Keto-Green Soup, Keto-Green Gazpacho (served cold!), Not Your Mama’s Cabbage Soup from Keto-Green 16.
I adore making homemade soups, like those above, not only because they have more flavor than canned soups, but because you control what goes in them, avoiding too much sodium, preservatives, and additives. Plus, the commercial soup cans may be lined with bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that stimulates estrogen receptors and has been linked to breast cancer.
What’s more, there is something so loving and nurturing about serving homemade soup to your family and loved ones!
Here are my suggestions for creating the best soups ever:
- Keep Keto Bone Broth (or Alkalinizing Broth) on hand for your soup base. Bone broth is a simple stock made from animal or fish bones, cooked over many hours. Studies have shown that the longer you cook the broth (more than eight hours is best), the more minerals that are extracted from the bones.
Bone broth is very alkalizing and supportive of balanced hormones and overall health. It helps with digestion, joint function, skin and hair health (thanks to its collagen content), immunity, and virtually every other function in the body. It’s also high in magnesium, which most of us are deficient in, and calcium, important for strong bones. It also doesn’t hurt, either, that bone broth helps you release those unhealthy pounds.
- Toss in vegetables of all kinds, including greens, for a “souper-healthy” vegetable soup. Leftover veggies are perfect soup-mates.
- Make a faux cream soup by pureeing vegetables - especially detoxifying cruciferous vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower – and mix the puree with some of your broth. Yummy and very filling!
- Don’t forget to spice up your soup. Ginger is a fantastic spice for digestive health, and turmeric is an inflammation fighter.
- Turn soup into a one-dish meal by adding in lean proteins, chicken or vegan proteins such as beans or lentils.
Speaking of chicken, we already know that the “chicken soup cure” for colds and flu is no myth. Research has found that chicken soup inhibits the movement of “neutrophils,” the most common white cell in the blood. They tend to increase in response to inflammation and infection. Inhibiting neutrophils helps reduce the symptoms of upper respiratory illnesses.
And, chicken soup really is actually good for the soul. Experiments show that, as a comfort food, it helps alleviate loneliness!
- If you make too much soup, or live on your own – not to worry! Divide your leftover soup into small containers and freeze. They are great to take to work as lunch.
Homemade soup is definitely one of the best dishes to add to your body to nourish and care for it. Making soup at home with nutrition-packed foods, health-boosting spices, and alkalinizing broth is a great way to bring slimming, healthier meals to your lunch and dinner table!
