Dr Seuss Soup (AIP Friendly)

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.”― Dr. Seuss

I love Dr Seuss.

My Mum tells a story of when I was a toddler. From an early age, I was super passionate about books. Still am. Apparently, back then, after dinner and dressed in my red dressing gown, I would run into my bedroom, in the dark (toddlers can’t reach light switches!), and somehow always manage to pick up my very favouritist, ‘Green Eggs and Ham‘ by Dr Seuss.

And, I love him still.

I love both his wisdom and his sense of the ridiculous. Spike Milligan appeals to me for a similar reason. So does Eddie Izzard, although – it must be said – in a slightly different way.

Now that I’ve reintroduced eggs, I can literally still enjoy my green eggs, too. That is, scrambled eggs jam-packed with herby goodness. And, a side of happy bacon, of course!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…” ― Dr. Seuss, ‘Oh, The Places You’ll Go!’

I’ve recently discovered I have scary-low cortisol levels. It seems all this worrying about worrying that I’ve mentioned to you in past posts has finally caught up with me. It’s resulted in a pretty severe level of adrenal fatigue which now requires some serious attention. No doubt I’ll share more about this with you in the future (because, damn! It’s hard!), but today, I bring it up because of my tendency to skip lunch.

That’s an issue because, when you have irregular hormones, managing your blood sugar is über-important.

Many people who skip a meal, skip breakfast. Not me. I know just how important breakfast is.

But I am guilty of forgetting lunch. Or, grabbing a snack instead of a meal. And, that means I don’t eat particularly consciously, either.

When I really looked at what I was eating, I found that my breakfasts and dinners were nutrient-dense and bang on target for me in terms of health. But, if I was being honest with myself, my lunches weren’t so great. I’d slipped into a bad habit of scoffing down a few nuts and a piece of fruit at my desk, more often than not.

My AIP mantra of happy protein + veggies + broth + fermented foods kind of slips at lunch time.

And that’s just not going to cut it!

So I’m currently on a mission to change that. And, like all things Autoimmune Protocol and whole foods-related, this takes a little planning…

If you’re anything like me, cooking yourself a nutrient-dense meal for one from scratch in the middle of the day rates right up there with doing taxes. I can think of a million things I’d rather do.

So the answer is to have something ready to go. Something tasty and inviting and nutrient-dense.

And, the logical choice for this time of year in Australia or New Zealand is soup.

I have wonderful memories of sitting around the table as a family on weekends supping on the Galloping Gourmet’s Root Vegetable Soup. Of course, back then it would be served with slices of hot Vogels toast – a Kiwi staple! – dripping in butter. No more Vogels for this girl.

While I still love my root veggie soups, I’m keen to cram as many leafy greens as I can into my diet at the moment. I want to super-charge my immune system and give my adrenals every opportunity to heal.

Enter my Dr Seuss soup!

This soup is about as nutrient-dense as it gets. It’s a great way to get more gut-healing bone broth into your diet. And, it is full of a variety of vegetables offering a great selection of micro-nutrients, too. The parsnip adds a sweetness that offsets some of that ‘green-ness’, too.

You can eat it as is, or make a hearty meal of it by adding some happy protein. LM is partial to a couple of 100% pork sausages in his.

I do find that it needs quite a bit of salt to really maximise the flavour. But, as with all things cooking related, taste as you go.

This soup makes enough for me to have a really decent serve every day for a week. I like a thick, almost ‘chewy’ soup, but by all means, throw in some more broth if you’d like yours to be a little more ‘runny’!

Dr Seuss Soup (AIP Friendly)

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Inspired by a recipe from Zenbelly

Author: Joanna Frankham

Recipe type: Soups and Salads

Serves: 6 - 8

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons happy fat (I used lard)
• 2 large parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 large leeks, thoroughly washed and roughly sliced
• 2 heads of broccoli, washed and chopped into florets
• 6 large cloves garlic
• 4 cups (1 litre) chicken bone broth
• 1 bunch silver-beet or chard, washed and roughly chopped
• Salt

Method

1. Pop a large stock pot ver a medium heat and melt your fat. Throw in the parsnip and leeks. Stir well and sauté for about five minutes.
2. Throw in the broccoli and garlic. Sauté for a further five minutes.
3. Pour in your bone broth. Bring to a simmer and then reduce temperature to low. Leave the vegetables to cook through - about fifteen minutes.
4. Throw in your chopped silver-beet. Pop on the lid, turn off the heat and allow the greens to wilt.
5. In your blender or food processor, puree the broth and vegetables in batches.
6. Pour back into the pot. Check for seasoning and salt according to taste.

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E N J O Y !

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” ― Dr. Seuss