When I don’t feel good I want soup and I always whip up some Feelin’ the Healin’ soup – a light broth with lots of healing power. I believe strongly in the healing power of food. And not just soul healing comfort food* or the holiday meals around the table with friends and family. I believe in the power of what’s in our food.
It’s no big deal and not going to get me a cookbook contract. Most of us throw things together that taste good. But I like to take it step further and really make my food work for me. Not just nourish but heal. I think about it all the time. What did my kids eat for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner? How much protein? How is their blood sugar? How many fruits and other carbs did they get? Did someone complain of headache, stomach ache or runny nose. What can I do to make them to make them feel better?
I don’t have a set list of ingredients instead the recipe is based on healing properties.
Today’s soup (based on what I had in the fridge) and most of this stuff I always have around
Feelin' the Healin'
Garlic – said to have fungicidal, antiseptic, tonic and parasiticidal properties (just crack whole clove with the back of a knife and toss in)
Ginger – said to act as analgesic, antibacterial, anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiseptic, antispasmodic, aperitive, aphrodisiac, astringent, carminative, cephalic, cholagogue, diaphoretic, digestant, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, laxative, rubefacient, stimulant, stomachic, tonic, vasodilator. (FYI – I keep ginger in the freezer and shave thin slices into broth)
Red pepper flakes/cayenne/peppers – synergistic ingredient in various tonics, laxatives, sedatives, and hay fever remedies. (I put enough in so you feel it and your nose runs)
Sweet potato – anti-inflammatory properties, Vit A, Vit C and Vit K
Bok choy (pak choi) – contain thiocynates that help fight cancer and heart disease as well and Vit A and Vit C (I always have some kind of greens around and they always make it into my soups, the more the merrier, greens are a great sources of vitamins and minerals)
carrots – Vit A
bulgur – a healthy fibre with little sugar makes for a nicer “filler” (rye, wheatberries, and sometimes for kids I might use pasta)
organic chicken stock was my base
I love to add fennel (good for stomach issues – supposed to promote function of liver, kidney and spleen) if I have it around.
I LOVE Mountain Rose Herbs for dried herbs, teas and essential oils.
I find www.nutritiondata.com useful for quick breakdown of what’s in my food.
*My comfort food is egg rolls. My mom learned how to make them from scratch from a neighbor in Saudi. She taught me. Know, especially for Christmas Eve, we make up a huge batch. My girls now sit down and help up wrap. And my sister-in-law has joined in. There is nothing more comforting!
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