Creamy Asparagus Cleansing Soup

Meal Prep + Recipes

Creamy Asparagus Cleansing Soup

makes 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes

WHAT YOU NEED:

  • 1 ½ LBS asparagus, trimmed
  • 1 TB butter
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 ¼ C low-sodium chicken broth
  • Sea salt + red pepper flakes, to taste
  • ½ tsp lemon juice
  • ½ C cream from the top of a coconut milk can
  • Optional: Parmesan cheese, to top

TO MAKE:

  • Cut asparagus into ½-inch pieces.
  • Cook onion + garlic in the butter over medium heat – cook until tender- about 7-8 minutes. Add asparagus and cook 5 more minutes.
  • Stir in the chicken broth, cover, + let simmer 10-15 minutes or until asparagus is softened.
  • Using a hand blender or a countertop blender (you may need to blend in batches)- puree soup until smooth. Stir in the coconut cream, salt + pepper flakes, + lemon juice.
  • Top with Parmesan if you like or any other toppings like: grilled whole grain bread “croutons,” heart-healthy hemp hearts, or anything you think sounds good!

HEALTH BENEFITS OF ASPARAGUS:

  • Being low in calories, but high in water content + has fiber, it fills you up with nutrients and keeping you fuller, longer.
  • The fiber content helps improve digestion. The vegetable also acts like a diuretic. (Hence your green + stinky potty time after eating.)
  • Asparagus is low in calories, but bursting with nutrients like A, C, E, + K, folate, fiber, potassium, iron, zinc and riboflavin. The most prevalent vitamin is K, an essential nutrient involved in blood clotting and bone health.
  • Asparagus is particularly high in the flavonoids quercetin, isorhamnetin and kaempferol. These substances have been found to have blood pressure-lowering, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anticancer effects in a number of studies.
  • Asparagus is high in folate (vitamin B9), an important nutrient that helps reduce the risk of neural tube defects during pregnancy.
  • Thanks to potassium, it helps lower blood pressure.

White Bean, Italian Chicken Sausage, + Kale Soup

Meal Prep + Recipes

White Bean, Italian Chicken Sausage, + Kale Soup

makes 4 main meal sized servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes

WHAT YOU NEED:

  • 1 LB spicy or mild Italian sausage, casing removed as-needed + crumbled
  • 1 sweet onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1, 28 oz can white beans, drained
  • 4 C low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 heavy dashes of Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
  • 2 C shredded kale or baby kale
  • Sea salt & pepper, to taste
  • Optional: parmesan cheese, to top

TO MAKE:

  1. Cook the crumbled sausage in a large soup/stock pot over medium heat for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through. Meanwhile, prep the other ingredients.

  2. Transfer the sausage to a plate.

  3. Add the onion to the pot and sauté it for 3-5 minutes or until it’s softened and starting to lightly brown. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

  4. Add the beans, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and rosemary. Stir well, scraping the bottom.

  5. Take the pot off the stove. Using an immersion/stick blender, purée the soup. I like to leave some beans whole. You can also use a potato masher if you don’t have an immersion blender or a normal blender, in turns, if you want it smoother.

  6. Return the sausage to the pot. Increase the heat to high + bring to a boil- cover, reduce the heat to a summer, cook for 15-20 minutes so the soup thickens.

  7. Stir in the kale and let it wilt – season with salt + pepper as-needed.

Coconut Curry Thai Chicken Soup

Meal Prep + Recipes

Coconut Curry Thai Chicken Soup

makes 4-6 servings

WHAT YOU NEED:

FOR THE SOUP:

  • 2, 14 oz cans organic coconut milk
  • 1 large TB red Thai curry paste
  • large handful of cilantro, coarsely chopped
  • 2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced or quick tip: buy a rotisserie chicken + hand-shred it
  • 2 C low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 carrot, shredded
  • 2 stalks of lemon grass, halved lengthwise- if you cannot source it, you can use 1 TB lemongrsass paste
  • 2 TB fish sauce
  • 2 limes, zested + then juiced
  • 1-inch ginger, minced

TOPPINGS:

  • Large handful bean sprouts
  • 1 C optional prepared cauliflower “rice’ or
  • 1 bunch of cilantro leaves, to top
  • 3 green onions, thinly sliced
  • Dashes of liquid aminos

TO MAKE:

  1. Take the “fat” or solid from the top of the coconut milk cans  and place it into a large stockpot over medium-high heat- let it melt.  Add in the the curry paste + stir for a few minutes until it begins to sizzle.
  2. Add the cilantro and chicken (if not rotisserie chicken) + sauté until the chicken is cooked through-about 5-6 minutes.
  3. Add the liquid from 1 can of the coconut milk and the rest of the 2nd can with the chicken broth, carrot, lemon grass, fish sauce, + both the lime zest and juice. Grate or place minced ginger into the pot- simmer for 20 minutes.
  4. If you choose to put in cauliflower rice or rice noodles, stir them in gently. Remove from the heat and toss in the bean sprouts- let soften for 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro, remove the lemongrass stalks if you used fresh lemongrass, put a few dashes of liquid minos if you’d like, + begin to serve with toppings of your choosing.

Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup

Meal Prep + Recipes

Thai Coconut + Shrimp Soup

makes 8 servings

What You Need:

  • 1 LB shrimp, no tails + deveined
  • 1 TB avocado oil
  • 3, 13.5 oz cans coconut milk
  • 2 TB ginger, minced
  • 1 TB lemongrass, pureed or minced
  • 2 tsp red curry paste
  • 3 TB fish sauce
  • 1 TB brown sugar
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
  • cilantro, chopped
  • 2 TB lime juice
  • 2 cup shiitake mushrooms, cleaned + stems removed
  • 2 cups shredded purple cabbage or bean sprouts

To Make:

  1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
  2. Cook and stir the ginger, lemongrass, and curry paste in the heated oil for 1 minute.
  3. Slowly pour the chicken broth over the mixture, stirring continually.
  4. Stir in the fish sauce and brown sugar; simmer for 15 minutes.
  5. Stir in the coconut milk and mushrooms; cook and stir until the mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes.
  6. Add the shrimp; cook until no longer translucent about 5 minutes.
  7. Stir in the lime juice.
  8. Garnish with cilantro.

Read my buying guide for shrimp + get another tasty shrimp recipe