I make these soup enhancers out of strongly flavored greens from spring and fall garden. I use mustard greens, kales, arugula, and broccoli leaves. These soup enhancers go well in just about any soup, pot roast, or other dish that could use a flavor boost.
Place the greens and water in a blender, food processor, or in a wide mouth jar for an immersion blender.
Finely chop the greens with your choice appliance.
Fill the ice cube tray with greens. Add any excess water to the green filled cubes. Adding the excess water will allow you to remove the green cubes easier from the ice cube tray.
Freeze over night.
Remove the green cubes from the ice cube tray and move to an air tight container in the freezer or toss in any smoothie, soup, pot roast, or other dish that you want to add extra flavor and vitamins to.
Compared with other legumes, lentils require much less cooking time. They are rich in in minerals, two of the B vitamins, protein, and high in fiber. They readily absorb the flavors of the dish they are cooked in and so are versatile. This simple soup is delicious and comforting. We like to eat it with some properly prepared corn bread and plenty of butter. Another nice way to serve it is poured over some cooked rice.
Pour the lentils into a colander, rinse them, and pour into a non-reactive bowl. Cover the lentils with plenty of filtered water.
Add 2 Tablespoons raw vinegar, lemon juice or live whey. Cover and let soak for 24 hours.
When you are ready to assemble the soup, drain and rinse the lentils. Pour them into a large saucepan.
Add the stock, onion, potato, celery, bay leaves, and olive oil.
Add enough filtered water to cover the lentils by at least 2 inches. (As the soup simmers, check occasionally to make sure there is enough liquid.)
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1/2 - 1 hour, until the lentils are very tender.
Add the salt just prior to serving. Remove bay leaves.
This soup reheats and freezes well. Some in our family like to add a little hot sauce to this.
From my family cookbook, an adaptable, simple but hearty soup. Perfect for a lunch, delightful with a hearty bread and salad.
In a stockpot put ground beef, cover with stock or water. Heat to a simmer and cook meat, breaking it into bit sized chunks as it cooks.
Add seasonings, tomatoes and frozen veggies. Add any desired optional ingredients.
Simmer until cooked/heated through 20-30 minutes maximum.
Serve with sourdough bread or salad or just as a hearty lunch
I love broccoli and beef in anything so I brought the two together in this simple soup! Chinese 5-spice powder adds a unique new flavor if you’re bored with salt and herb varieties of soups – especially on GAPS.
This makes a large pot of soup since we always like leftovers. Please note that the ginger and garlic is rough chopped. There is no need for minced perfection in this soup! I also use the broccoli stems because I hate waste. I peel them if they seem too tough to cook or digest easily.
Bring broth and stew meat to a boil and then lower to a rolling simmer. Let the beef cook for about an hour, checking to see that it’s cooked completely. You can also slow simmer it longer if your stew meat is tough and you’d like it to become more tender.
Add the coconut aminos, sesame oil, 5 spice, ginger, garlic and broccoli and bring it back to a boil.
Cook 3-5 minutes until the broccoli is soft enough to easily pierce with a fork, but still green.
Dish up and add mint and cilantro to each bowl.
Enjoy!
This hearty soup is made with venison and a variety of vegetables. You may substitute beef or lamb.
In a small bowl, combine the whole wheat flour and yogurt. Cover the bowl and let it sit on the counter for at least 7 hours.
Mince the green onion and garlic.
In a heavy-bottomed soup pot or cast iron Dutch oven, melt the butter and olive oil together on medium/low heat. Add the onion and garlic.
Saute, stirring, for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Peel and slice the carrots thinly. Add to the pot.
Remove the stems from the kale and then chop the kale, chard and cabbage. Add to the pot.
Cut up the canned venison and add to the pot.
Add the stock. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Stirring quickly, gradually add the soaked flour to the soup. Simmer, stirring, for 1 minute.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve. This freezes well.
* If using fresh meat, brown it in a little lard or other healthy fat before adding to the soup. Add enough water to barely cover the meat, cover and simmer for 1 - 2 hours or until the meat is very tender.
This version of tomato soup is filling and nourishing. I use basil that I preserve in the refrigerator in raw apple cider vinegar (http://eatnourishing.com/recipe/preserved-fresh-genovese-basil/), but fresh basil will do admirably. Warm homemade muffins make this a complete meal, or served as a soup course, sprinkled with a few homemade croutons, it is very nice as well.
Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pan.
Saute the onions and garlic on medium/low heat, stirring constantly, until soft.
Add tomatoes, chicken stock, pepper, basil and salt. Simmer for 1/2 hour.
Add the milk and either using a stick blender or a stand blender, blend until smooth.
Serve. Makes about 1/2 gallon of soup.
Like so many dishes, this is best the next day. It freezes well also.
This soup is savory, satisfying and versatile. Add more or less of the ingredients listed and of course you may adapt it to what you have on hand.
In a heavy-bottomed soup kettle or cast iron Dutch oven, combine the neck bones, onion, garlic, carrots, kelp and celery.
Cover with filtered water. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Allow to simmer for 2 hours.
Let it cool for a little while and then strain through a clean cotton cloth.
Pick the meat off the bones and reserve.
Return stock to kettle and add the meat, cubed potatoes, cabbage, riced mashed potatoes and salt.
Simmer for 30 minutes and then serve.
This freezes well.
Before our family’s food conversion, our favorite fast food stop was a side of Wendy’s chili with french fries dunked in for good measure. It was hearty and fast — but far from nourishing. If you want to serve your family a dish that’s even more delicious and nutritious — but just as easy! — as drive-thru fare, this is the ultimate crockpot chili recipe you are looking for.
In a large crockpot, combine ingredients, stirring well.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours until flavors have melded together.
IN A HURRY? Cook on the stove top for 45 minutes until simmering.
MAKING EXTRA? Freeze in meal-size portions for an instant lunch or one-pot-dinner.
FOR GAPS: use only white navy beans.
BEAN TIP: Cook large batches of beans and freeze in two-cup increments in your freezer. You can’t beat the price of these “instant cans”!
This soup is so easy! Throw together some veggies, ham, broth and spices…and voila! Paleo-friendly, GAPS-approved, perfect for kids or quick lunches.
Saute the onions and peppers in coconut oil until translucent. Add the mushrooms and celery. Continue cooking for four minutes.
Add the ham and enough chicken stock to cover.
Add spices and lemon juice - I basically went with some slightly spicy, chipotle/southwestern combination. Feel free to make your own edits.
Simmer until the good smells have brought everyone to the kitchen.
Vegetarian chili — a healthy comfort food for anyone fasting from animal products or if you’ve run out of grass-finished ground beef and still want a yummy bowl of chili! This vegetarian chili with red peppers will keep you warm on the coldest of days.
Prepare the beans. Soak red kidney beans overnight in an acidic medium. Then, drain, rinse and add to large pot. Add 2 cups of water and some asafoetida powder (helps make digestion easier) and bring to a boil. Skim off any scum that rises to the surface. Then, turn to medium-low heat and cook for an hour and half to two hours till soft. Add more boiled water if the liquid runs low throughout cooking.
Prepare chili concoction. While the beans are cooking, warm a tablespoon of ghee (or olive oil) in a separate large pot over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and saute for a few seconds. Add the chopped onions and garlic, and once translucent and fragrant, add the red peppers, jalapeño pepper, oregano, and cinnamon. Sauté over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Turn off heat and wait for beans to cook.
Boil filtered water. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a teapot or separate pot.
Mix the beans into the chili mixture. Drain the beans and add them to the mixture above, saute for a minute and then add enough of the boiled water to cover the mixture. Mix in 6 tablespoons of tomato paste, and stir until well incorporated. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or so until the flavors have incorporated thoroughly and the sauce has thickened a bit.
Adjust thickness of soup. If mixture becomes too thick, add some more boiled water to lighten it up.
Add parsley, salt and pepper. Just before turning off the heat, add some fresh chopped parsley to the soup and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep boiling for a couple of minutes and turn off the heat.
Add more condiments to individual plates. Right before serving, add fresh lemon or lime juice, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and more salt, pepper and olive oil — all according to taste.
Rich and creamy, this soup is a meal in and of itself.
In a large saucepan, melt butter and saute garlic and ginger for about 1 min. Add coconut milk, stock, carrots , red pepper flakes and saffron. Let simmer for about 10 mins or until carrots are soft. Add shrimp and simmer until shrimp are pink. Stir in lime juice and serve.
Canned tomato soup and grilled cheese. It was a staple on rainy summer days in elementary school, or snow days in the winter. It’s been a long time since I’ve had any sort of tomato soup, but this adult version put the canned tomato soup of my childhood to shame.
Preheat the broiler. Place the red pepper halves, onions and garlic cut side down (with liberal use of evoo), in a baking pan and broil 4 to 5 inches from heat until the skins are black and blistered, about 8 minutes. Let cool, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes.
In a 3- to 4-quart pan over medium heat, simmer tomatoes, along with their juices, and the paprika. Bring to a low simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.
In a blender or food processor, purée the soup in small batches until smooth. Return purée to the pan and stir in broth and lemon juice. Stir over medium heat until hot. Season with salt and pepper to taste.