Soups are more than just a great option for warming up on a cold night. Soups are versatile and allow you to be creative. You can mix any ingredients you like and create your own meal in minutes.
Soups can warm your soul as well as your stomach while delivering many essential and beneficial nutrients in one single meal. Eating healthy couldn’t get any simpler.
Whether you are looking to eat healthier or you follow a strict Paleo or gluten-free diet, this soup offers essential nutrients and great taste. The perfect combination of sweet and savory spices and the healthy and earthy richness of this soup keeps your favor all year long, and not just when it’s cold outside.
Ingredients:
5 ounces baby spinach
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ½ pound chopped mushrooms
½ pound finely diced shallots
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon Allspice
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
Fresh lime juice, to taste
Directions:
Heat three tablespoons of the butter in a large pot over a medium to high heat, and add half the mushrooms and half the shallots. Stir occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated, and the mushrooms are browned.
Put the browned mushrooms and shallots into a bowl and repeat this step again with the remaining butter, mushrooms, and shallots.
Put all mushrooms back in the pot and stir in the tomato paste, thyme, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon. Cook this mixture for about one minute, or until it becomes fragrant.
Stir in five cups of water, salt, and pepper and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Cook gently for twenty minutes, then stir in the baby spinach. Let this cook until it is wilted.
Purée the soup in a blender or food processor, mixing in the lime juice to taste. If you desire a thinner soup, you can add more water at this point. This is also a good time to adjust the taste by adding more seasoning. Serve.
The ingredients of this soup offer more than flavor. Spinach is a healthy vegetable full of nutrients and each of the spices used to deliver their own essential health benefits.
Once you know just what this soup can do for you, it will be a regular item on your menu.
Spinach
This leafy green is full of phytonutrients, potassium, manganese, iron, calcium, folate, and vitamins A, B6, and C. By promoting antioxidant capacity, nutrients in spinach can help reduce typical oxidative stress. Potassium supports brain health by promoting proper circulation for healthy cognition, concentration, and neural activity.
Along with the potassium and folate, the low sodium content in spinach helps you maintain healthy blood pressure to support overall heart health. Spinach is also high in vitamin K, which helps your body properly utilize calcium within the bone matrix to support healthy bone mineralization and density.
Cinnamon
The antioxidant capacity of this spice allows it to support your health. By helping to reduce typical oxidative stress, cinnamon helps promote healthy cellular aging. These compounds also possess the ability to support immune health by reducing unwanted immune responses.
Cinnamon also contains compounds that help maintain healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels to promote healthy heart function. By keeping your cholesterol levels within normal range, you can promote healthy blood pressure and circulatory health, too.
Coriander
From the same plant that gives us cilantro, coriander is a great addition to any dish.
This flavorful herb helps support pancreatic activity and the proper utilization of glucose in the body. This promotes healthy blood sugar levels and proper metabolic health.
Coriander also supports muscle health, specifically digestive muscles, which support healthy bowel movements. This helps to support gut activity, so the body will be able to eliminate waste efficiently, reducing common digestive issues and promoting abdominal comfort.
Cumin
Commonly used in Asian and Latin American cuisine, cumin boasts a strong flavor and a host of health benefits. It is particularly beneficial for digestive health. Thymol, a compound found in cumin, promotes bile production. By ensuring food is properly digested, broken down, and absorbed, thymol helps reduce occasional indigestion, gas, and bloating.
Cumin is also rich in iron, which also supports your immunity. Additional compounds in cumin support healthy mucus production, allowing it to be coughed up normally and removed from obstructing the respiratory pathways to promote lung and immune health.
This soup is an example of the many combinations you can create to warm you up and support overall health. Soups are full of flavor and nutrients and are the easiest way to get essential nutrients your body needs for optimal function. As part of a healthy lifestyle, with a balanced diet and regular exercise, soups like this can keep your body warm, your taste buds happy, and your health on point.
