Browsing Tag

Bone Broth

Healthy Body

How I Cured A Cold In 5 Days With 5 Food Medicines and No Drugs

August 25, 2016

AppleCiderVinegarforColds

I have something really embarrassing to tell you.

I, Healthy Stacey, got sick.  

I’m talking runny nose, a throat so swollen it hurt to swallow, dead tired but couldn’t sleep because I stayed up all night long hacking up a lung sick.

I know, I know. But you’re so “Healthy.” How did you get sick? (I’m imagining this in the voice of Adam Sandler, followed by “Hoobidy doobidy.”)

Well, I’ve narrowed it down to either the potentially germ-infested blanket I took from the flight attendant on my way to Mexico or the fact that I got stuck in a torrential downpour on my way to the yoga class that I couldn’t miss, and instead stayed sopping wet through every Chaturanga Dandasana.  

That’s neither here nor there. The point is, I got sick, and then I got better WITHOUT taking any drugs.

I’ve never been a big fan of Tylenol Cold & Flu, Robitussin Cough Syrup or any of the other hard-hitting OTC drugs out there. They make me super drowsy and I hate to think what other side effects they’re having on my body. Oh. And as far as I know (correct me if I’m wrong), cough and cold remedies do not shorten or cure illnesses; they just ease the symptoms along the way. But in doing so, they take a lot more processing from my liver than, say, a spoonful of raw honey would.  

So if I can reduce my symptoms in other more natural ways that don’t make me drowsy, don’t tax my liver AND actually make my immune system stronger for the future, then I’m all for it.

If you take them, I get it. No judgment. Promise. I just decided that me being sick would be a perfect opportunity to do a little self-experimenting for you guys.  

The Experiment: Kick this sucker without meds – just immune-boosting food and supplements, and see how long it takes.   

I dug a box of Tylenol Cold & Flu out of the medicince cabinet and put it on the counter. Partly as an "in case of emergency – pull this lever," but also as an extra boost of motivation. Challenge: accepted.

Here’s how it went down.

Day 1.
Throat is feeling swollen. I can feel something coming on. But it’s not full-blown quite yet. At this point I didn’t know what it was, but I knew that the first thing I needed to drink was bone broth.

Food Medicine # 1: Bone Broth

Bone Broth for colds

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Bone broth is a magical elixir. Simmering the bones of healthy animals releases nutrients and healing compounds that you could NOT get just from eating the meat.

Moreover, whatever foods you add to the broth will be better digested and absorbed into your system. So for my special Get Better Bone Broth, I added a few key nutrients also known to help immunity.

Garlic for its immune-boosting, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory effects. Ginger and cayenne because they are warming to your system and help relieve congestion.

Get Better Bone Broth Recipe:

  • 1 cup of homemade bone broth – see recipe here.
  • 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 clove of garlic, chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

  1. Heat up bone broth and coconut oil (I do 1:30 in the microwave, in a mug)
  2. Mix in your sea salt, garlic and cayenne pepper.
  3. Drink up and repeat every day until you feel better (2 times a day if you’re up for it!)

When your throat is hurting, you can’t get enough liquids in your system. Not only does it feel good on the throat, it helps loosen congestion. So on this first day, I was always drinking something – whether it be broth, water or my homemade Kick In the Pants Tea made with my good friend ACV.

Food Medicine #2: Apple Cider Vinegar

Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple Cider Vinegar. It may be acidic, but it actually helps to alkalize our overly acidic bodies. A body that is more alkaline will be better at fighting off colds.

I started taking this concoction years ago when I first found out about the benefits of ACV and it’s never steered me wrong. You’ll see that I’ve used a lot of the ingredients I used in my Get Better Bone Broth for the same reasons (with the addition of lemon for its anti-viral benefits and raw honey for its antioxidant, antimicrobial, throat-soothing benefits, and because it makes EVERYTHING taste better). But this tonic is a little more accessible for those of you who aren’t quite ready to hop on the bone broth bandwagon.

Kick In The Pants Tea

Apple Cider Vinegar Tea

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup hot water
  • 1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar (I like the Bragg’s brand)
  • 1 clove of garlic, chopped
  • ½ freshly squeezed lemon
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ½-1 teaspoon raw honey

Directions:

  1. Boil water in tea kettle
  2. Add all other ingredients into your mug
  3. Pour hot water on top and stir

Day 2.
I get a horrible night’s sleep and my throat feels more swollen the next day. I double up on the bone broth (which feels like heaven on my throat; with just one sip I feel the swelling going down and the sinus pressure easing up).

I supplement my broth drinking with Breathe Easy Tea from Traditional Medicinals. (Another favorite for swollen glands and sore throats is Throat Coat, I just didn’t have any on hand).

That night, I decided I needed something to ensure that I would sleep through the night. Enter saffron.

Food Medicine # 2: Saffron

Saffron to make tea with

You know that spice that comes with your spice kit that kind of looks like red spider legs? That’s saffron. It’s apparently the most expensive spice in the world. That's why they only give you a little bit in each jar. But the thing is, you don’t need much to get it to work. This stuff is powerful.

Yes, I already had some from a spice kit that was gifted to me so, for me, there was no cost. But I looked it up on The Spice House Chicago website, and saw that you can get it by the gram for $12.08. And a gram is plenty for this purpose.

Saffron spice is produced from the saffron crocus flower (Crocus sativus) and it is actually the insides of the flower that catches the pollen. Among its MANY other benefits (used for asthma, cough, loosening of phlegm, gas, depression, Alzheimer’s, dry skin, PMS symptoms, fertility, and more) it has also been shown to have mild sedative properties. Meaning, when you drink this stuff, and put your head on that fluffy pillow, it hits you. Or at least it did for me. I felt instantly relaxed and lulled to sleep.

After a lot of searching around the internet, I came across about nine different people all claiming that they had “the best” way to make saffron tea. So I threw up my hands and just decided to do my own thing.

Using full fat coconut milk (real milk would be even better because it has tryptophan in it, but I didn’t have that), cinnamon for its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant qualities, raw honey for its antioxidant, antimicrobial and throat-soothing benefits and cardamom (I’m sure it has benefits too, but I just thought it would taste good with it), I created “the best” Saffron Sleepy Tea.

Saffron Sleepy Tea

Saffron tea for insomnia

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup of water
  • 1 cup of full-fat coconut milk or whole milk (ideally grass-fed)
  • 7-10 strands of saffron
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon cardamom
  • ½ teaspoon raw honey

Directions:

  1. Boil ½ cup of water in a pot on the stove
  2. Add saffron and cover pot for 10 minutes
  3. Now add milk, cinnamon and cardamom and turn heat up to medium
  4. Stir until warm
  5. Add in honey
  6. Pour into a mug and sip, repeat and go to sleep.

Day 3.
The snot tap has turned on. The swollen throat has finally released itself and the nose is running like crazy. I have a love-hate relationship with this part. I know that the release of all the fluid means that it’s all coming out and I’m on my way to getting better. But it’s still a disgusting snotty drip.

Quick Defense from Gaia Herbs

My good friend (and supplement superstar), Monica, recommends to me a product called Quick Defense from Gaia Herbs. She says it works like a charm if you take it at the onset of symptoms. A little too late for that, but I figure, it couldn’t hurt and it offered a lot of immune-boosting benefits.

Food Medicine #3: Green Drink

Green Vibrance Powder Mix

Like magic, my Green Vibrance just happened to arrive in the mail that day. I had ordered it a week or so ago as an addition to my Fertility Diet. Again, this came highly recommended to me from my supplement superstar up there. Monica recommends it to everybody she knows because of its high quality ingredients and the marked difference she feels in her energy levels when she takes it in the morning. One of her friends who suffered from a lower immunity started taking it per Monica’s recommendation and found a huge difference. In fact, it’s only when she stops drinking it that she gets sick again.

Hmmm. Fertility food AND immune booster. What is this stuff?

Well, in a really small nutshell, it’s a greens powder. But the makers of this particular product have gone to town with the types (and high concentrations) of nutrients they've packed into each scoop. Organic kale sprouts, organic broccoli sprouts, organic spirulina, chlorella, organic beet juice, organic parsley, organic spinach, organic carrot, green bean, zucchini and Rockweed sea vegetable are just the beginning. It also offers a host of other supplements to support digestion, bone strength, circulation, liver and immunity. It’s kind of like taking a multi-vitamin, a green smoothie and NZT all in one. Just kidding about the NZT (5 Gold Stars to anybody who can name this movie reference in the comments).

What I love about this, is that it takes out a lot of the thought that goes into smoothie making. I personally like to add a lot of extra boosts to my smoothies beyond the greens and the fruits. But not everybody has the money or the patience for that. Especially when sick.

Sicko Smoothie:

Green Smoothie For Colds

Ingredients:

  • 1 scoop of Green Vibrance
  • 1 inch of turmeric root
  • Dash of pepper
  • 1 inch of ginger root
  • 1 teaspoon bee pollen
  • 2 scoops of Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
  • Frozen pineapple
  • Almond Milk/Coconut Water (I mix the two together)
  • Optional: Superfood toppings becasue it makes it fun to drink (I used my favorite Superfood Crumble from Elemental Superfoods)

Directions:

  1. Put almond milk/coconut water in a high speed blender
  2. Add in Collagen Peptides and Green Vibrance
  3. Add in remaining ingredients
  4. Pulverize until smooth
  5. Add toppings
  6. Drink up, breathe in, breath out, feel better!

Day 4.
Feeling better today. Nose is still running, but the glands in the throat feel back to normal and I can see the end of the rainbow. Last night, I did some extreme self-care. Meaning, I put all my energy into myself – and put everything else on hold.

Food Medicine #4: Homemade Soup (with a side of Self-Care)

Self-care. It's a real thing. Seriously. When you take care of yourself first, everything else falls into place.

I don't do it very often. It usually takes extreme cases like me being sick for it to happen. So I went to town. I canceled plans with friends. I slowly and gently cleaned up things that I no longer needed and replaced batteries to a clock that stopped ticking years ago. I put my favorite men on Spotify (Sinatra and Mayer) and watched girly, cheesy movies without shame. I nestled into my rattiest but softest sweat pants. And, finally, I made myself this very special soup just for me.

Dreamy Creamy Carrot Soup

Paleo Carrot Broth Soup

Ingredients:

  • 2 carrots
  • 1 teaspoon ghee
  • 1 inch of turmeric root
  • 1 inch of ginger root
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1/3 can of full fat coconut milk
  • 1 cup of homemade bone broth
  • Sea Salt
  • Pepper
  • Optional toppings: Crispy chicken and chopped scallions

Directions:

  1. Peel and chop carrots
  2. Saute in ghee for 5 minutes-ish, until softened and a little browned
  3. Heat bone broth up on stove, bringing to a simmer over medium heat
  4. Stir in remaining ingredients
  5. Pour in high speed blender and pulverize until smooth
  6. Add toppings of your choice (I happened to have leftover chicken that I sautéed in more ghee until it was crispy, plus a dash of chopped scallions to add a bite)

Day 5.
I feel SO much better. I literally woke up, inhaled through my nose, and clapped my hands because I could smell again! My friends, I swear, I felt better than I did before the cold even began.

I still start my day with Gaia Quick Defense and a cup of bone broth for good measure. Then make another Green Vibrance smoothie for breakfast. I stare at the Tylenol Cold & Flu that has been sitting on the counter just in case of an emergency, and stuffed it back in the back of the cabinet where it belonged. Then did a little happy dance because DAMN, I’m good.

Alrighy folks, what do you do when you get sick? Do you feel the same way I do about OTC medicine? Or are you all about it and want to prove me wrong? Bring it on. Comment below.

Much Love,

HealthyStaceySignature

p.s. The links I provied are affiliate links. But because my Amazon Affiliate account lay inactive for too long, they've kicked me out. They may work in the future, so I still feel like I should let y'all know. Hot mess. I know.

p.s.s. Pin this baby! You know you'll need it come Cold & Flu season!

Natural Cold Cures

Recipes

Top 4 Bone Broth Benefits + Bone Broth Breakfast Drink Recipe

July 7, 2016

 

BoneBrothBenefitsDrinking bone broth has major health benefits. Like, crazy, amazing how-have-I-never-tried-this-before health benefits. But I gotta tell you, in the beginning, I really didn't want to hop on the broth bandwagon.

I try very hard to make paleo approachable for myself, and for you, my readers. Because if something is too hard or out of reach, I'm not going to keep doing it, you're not going to keep doing it, and we all lose. My guess is that when you hear bone broth, you think laborious, extreme, and a little odd, right? 

Here were my initial thoughts: SIMMER BONES?! WHA? WHY? THAT WILL TAKE LIKE A MILLION YEARS.

But I'm also one of these people that will try anything. And sometimes, when I try it, I can't get enough of it. Can you guess what happened next?

Well, I'm sitting here writing a blog post about my fantastic experience with it, so you can imagine, it went well.

As always, let’s start with the why.

Why are we drinking bones?
There are a ton of nutrients in bones, marrow, skin, feet, tendons and ligaments that we can’t get by eating the meat. But you CAN simmer the bones and bits in a crock pot for a couple of days to get these babies to release their healing compounds.

What are their healing compounds?
Proline
Glycine
Glutamine
Minerals in forms that your body can easily absorb, i.e. Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Silicon, Sulphur

Okay, okay. WHAT CAN IT DO FOR ME?

Reduce Joint Pain and Inflammation
It almost makes TOO much sense. Drinking broth from healthy bones will help strengthen your own bones. Duh! All of that cartilage that you’ve lost over the years – either through general wear and tear or from hard-core soccer/basketball/volleyball/insert high-impact-sport-here injuries, can benefit greatly from readily absorbable collagen and gelatin. (Kari Ferguson, you soccer stud – if you are reading this, I am talking to you 🙂 )

Make Your Stomach Happy
Eating “healthy food” can only help you if your body can absorb it properly. Otherwise, you’re not getting near the amount of nutrients from that kale salad or salmon and asparagus dinner that you should be getting. Bone broth is very easy for your body to digest and absorb. Why? Because it has collagen in it. Which plays really nice with your GI tract and your colon. So the more you drink bone broth, the more it heals the digestive tract, and the better it can take in nutrients from other food.

Prettier Skin, Hair and Nails
You’ve heard of collagen before. You know. The stuff that helps reduce wrinkles, decrease puffiness, and helps grow nails and hair. You can buy it in little fancy jars for a lot of money or you can go to a plastic surgeon to get it injected in your face. OR you can drink it in bone broth.

Immune System Booster
Remember up there when I said it was good for your digestion? For that same reason, it’s an awesome supporter of the immune system. When your food isn’t digested properly (happens more often than you think), undigested particles from food leak into the bloodstream where the immune system detects them. It freaks out and starts attacking healthy tissue and inflames the body. Good gut health = good immune system = less colds, flu and overall sicknesses.

That's not it. There is more. Lots more. Because everything listed above affects other areas of the body. Your stomach is connected to your brain is connected to your emotions. You fix one thing, you fix another. But I thought I'd stop there for today so we can get on to the good stuff.

BoneBrothBenefits_Recipe

My Experience with Bone Broth
The first time I made it, it was really a result of just cooking a whole chicken and the bones were already in my Crock Pot. So I Googled the heck out of it, obsessed over whether I was doing it right, over-thought it, as usual, but eventually ended up with 4 jars of gelatin-like broth for my freezer. I didn't really know what to do with it yet, so I do what I always do when I'm overwhelmed, I put it in my freezer.

Well, a rainy day came. A dull, hungover, stomach-ache, swollen gland, kind of day. Ya. Ugh. I remembered the broth in the freezer and decided to go for it. Every symptom that it has been shown to help, I had. So down the hatch it went, and the results were pretty amazing.

  • My throat immediately felt soothed for the first time that day.
  • My sinuses finally gave it a rest from their inflamed state.
  • I slept like a baby that night.
  • After day two of broth-drinking, my digestion was finally back to normal and that cold that I thought was coming, never arrived.

*Note: I drank about 5 cups over the two days because I wasn't feeling well. This is more than you'd need on a regular basis.

From that moment on, I used it as my emergency medicine. Only if I was sick was it worth making it.

Low and behold, a few weeks later, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. This time, not because I was sick, but because my muscles were uber sore from a particularly hard workout that included lots of hand stand push ups and pull ups. Broth is supposed to be good for joint pain and muscle aches, right? YUP.

  • It was like I had put muscle relaxer on all the sore parts, but better.
  • I was better the next day, when usually after a workout like that, my muscles are sore for at least two days.

Now, I've crossed over. I am officially a regular morning broth drinker. I figure, why not be preventive? This stuff is AWESOME. Attack the cold, stomach ache or joint ache before they've even really started. A totally in-tact digestive system. Stronger nails and longer hair. Plus, it's also shown to be one of the foods that are ideal for fertility. And you all know how I love my Fertility Food :). What's not to like? And the best part is, it's not nearly as difficult as everybody makes it out to be.

I've spelled it out for you in 9 steps below and given you my tips and notes along the way. But please do one thing for me? If you decide to make it, do it the simplest way possible just to try it. If you want to get more complicated after that, go for it. But all you really need is bones + water + 24-48 hours. Set it on low on your Crock Pot and walk away. Seriously. It's NOT THAT COMPLICATED.

BoneBrothBenefits

Things I’ve Learned After My 17th Try of Making Broth

  1. Most people will tell you to skim the stuff off as you go. You can do this if you want to, but why skim as I go if I’m just going to strain it all out at the end anyway? Seems like unnecessary work to me.
  2. I made making the broth part of my bi-weekly routine. Every other week, I make a big batch (using the recipe below), so I never have to scramble to make it when I really need it. I keep most of it in the freezer so I don't feel forced to use it immediately, and keep one jar in the refrigerator so it's defrosted and ready to drink.
  3. You DON’T have to cook an animal to get the bones. Just go to the freezer section near produce or your local butcher and ask for leftover bones. They always have bones. And they will always sell them to you for cheap. I do recommend sticking to places like Whole Foods or a butcher you can trust to have healthy, grass-fed, GMO-free animals. Remember, the animal you eat matters. If it was healthy, it’s bones will be healthy.
  4. That said, as you cook, make sure to save your bones as you go! I keep them in a freezer bag and just add to it every time we cook chicken drumsticks or steak.
  5. In order to keep the jars from exploding in the freezer (this happened to me multiple times until my husband kindly explained to me the concept of physics), you don’t want to fill the jars all the way to the top. You also don’t want to close the jar top all the way when you first put it in there (you can go back later and screw it tighter). Because liquid expands as it freezes, it WILL expand the glass until it can’t hold it anymore. Eesh.

Alrighty boys and girls. Now it's time to actually show you how to make this golden tonic. But I'm not just going to leave you with a broth how-to. I'm going to leave you with a recipe for how you can actually enjoy it as your morning drink (AFTER coffee, of course).

You ready for the recipe? Let’s do it.

Like what you read today? See those cute little social shapes underneath this post? They're for sharing! Click one to post to Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or comment right here on the blog. I would love to hear from you.

Can't get enough of all this healthy stuff? Then sign up for the newsletter where it says "Enter Your Email" at the top of this page. Too much of a commitment? That's cool. I also have a sweet Facebook page, deep-thoughted Twitter page, food-pornish Instagram handle, and recipe-filled Pinterest page.

Much Love,

HealthyStaceySignature

SOURCES:

Why Broth is Beautiful: Essential Roles for Proline, Glycine and Gelatin

 

BoneBrothBenefits_Recipe
Bone Broth + Breakfast Broth Recipe
Print Recipe
I invented this Breakfast Broth recipe after realizing that I wanted to incorporate Bone Broth into my morning routine. However, I needed to make the gelatin-like substance a little more appetizing first thing in the morning. So I added some pizazz and came up with this beauty. A little spicy, a little sweet, super satiating, and of course, ridiculously good for you.
BoneBrothBenefits_Recipe
Bone Broth + Breakfast Broth Recipe
Print Recipe
I invented this Breakfast Broth recipe after realizing that I wanted to incorporate Bone Broth into my morning routine. However, I needed to make the gelatin-like substance a little more appetizing first thing in the morning. So I added some pizazz and came up with this beauty. A little spicy, a little sweet, super satiating, and of course, ridiculously good for you.
Ingredients
  • 2 Pounds Bones Beef, Chicken, Whatever you can get your hands on
  • 2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Crock Pot-Full Of Water Enough to cover the bones
Sweet & Spicy Breakfast Broth
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Put bones in your Crock Pot
  2. Pour Apple Cider Vinegar over the bones
  3. Fill up pot with enough water to just cover the bones
  4. Put Crock Pot on low for 48 hours
  5. Strain the broth through a strainer or a funnel
  6. Pour into jars, leaving 1-2 inches of space at the top
  7. Put jars in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight
  8. Scoop the fat off the top of the jars
  9. Put in freezer until you are ready to use (I keep one jar in my fridge at a time that's defrosted and ready to go)
Breakfast Bone Broth Recipe
  1. Scoop 1 cup of bone broth into a mug
    BoneBrothBenefits_Recipe
  2. Add a spoonful of coconut oil
  3. Sprinkle in turmeric, cayenne, pepper and sea salt
  4. Heat in microwave for 1 minute and 20 seconds
  5. Add in a tablespoon of Vital Proteins collagen and raw honey
  6. Stir it up and sip it up!
Share this Recipe
Powered byWP Ultimate Recipe

Cooking Without Thinking + Sweet Potato Carrot Soup Recipe

June 3, 2015

I made the most perfect meal last week. It was rich and creamy, a little sweet, a little savory. So robust, each sip hit every single craving spot – from tongue to tummy.

But my favorite part about this dish is that I made it with absolutely no recipe.

OrangeSoupInPot

On the train ride home from work, I had this mad craving for something soothing and comforting. I knew there wasn’t much in my refrigerator but leftover bone broth and a few odds and ends.

As soon as I walked in my apartment and opened the refrigerator door, it became clear: I would make soup.

It didn’t matter that it was May 26th and nice enough outside for light jackets and open-toed shoes. After a stressful day in freezing cold air-conditioned office, the very best thing for me would be soup.

And the ingredients to that soup would not come from a Pin, a cookbook or a blog. It would simply be determined by my cravings. I start to pull out leftovers from the shelves and scrape the bottom of the produce drawer…

Carrots. Sweet potatoes. Pumpkin. Turmeric.  

IMG_3576

Everything was turning up orange. The color of comfort in my book. Reminds me of fall candles, the summer sun and warm ooey gooeyness.

I got to work. I turned on Boys II Men (don't judge). And I didn't think too much.

I roasted the carrots so they could match the texture of the already roasted soft sweet potatoes. I found half an onion, chopped it up, and sautéed it in ghee on the bottom of my big silver soup pot. I sliced and diced up my turmeric root, tossed it in with the onions, and not soon after added the broth. As soon as the carrots were starting to soften, I swept them in the bowl too, along with their orange sweet potato counterpart.

Stir the pot. Set to simmer. And a look through the spice cabinet for any last minute additions. Paprika for smoke, cayenne for spice. A little hot red to add to the orange. And last but not least, a dash of salt and a few grinds of pepper.

And for the big finish. I removed the pan from the burner. Sat it on an upside-down plate. And waited impatiently for it to cool. As good as it would be just as it was. I knew nothing could beat the taste of blending every ingredient together to create one big, complex, hearty soup.

IMG_3578

So as soon as I deemed it ready, I carefully poured it in my food processor and pulverized it till the colors turned one bright sunset-orange. The end result? The just-enough-spice, more-than-enough layers of smooth and creamy, richest, fullest soup I have ever, ever had.

Now I’m not naïve enough to think that this soup was an “It’s so easy” dish. I hate when people tell me that and it’s so obviously time-consuming or complicated. And I don't say this to toot my own horn and declare my awesomenss in the kitchen. It was just that, in the midst of all this slicing and dicing, sautéing and roasting, I realized that this effortless cooking dance was only the result of years of practice. A culmination of reading recipe after recipe, Googling, pinning, researching, watching, asking, and prepping my kitchen with “odds and ends” that I’m guessing most people don’t have (turmeric root, anyone? Anyone?).

This soup never would have been easy or enjoyable for me to make 3 years, 2 years or even 1 year ago. But I’ll be damned if I didn’t revel in every single moment of it on that sunny, nice-enough-outside 26th of May.

Because that’s the day, I realized I can really cook. 

Wherever you are in your cooking journey, I beg you to try your version of my comfort soup. Drop the recipe book, put down your Pinterest and just cook. You never know. You just might surprise yourself.

Orange Comfort Soup

IMG_3582

I give you this recipe as a jumping off point. But I strongly encourage you to replace the ingredients with whatever you have in your refrigerator and suit it to your own tastes. That's the beauty of soup. Chop it up, roast it up, toss it in, pulverize it and cross your fingers. Yes, it could be complete crap. Or it could be delicious… 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 Carrots
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 already roasted sweet potato
  • Turmeric root
  • 1 tablespoon pureed pumpkin
  • 3 cups of bone broth
  • 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
  • Ghee
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • pinch of cayenne
  • Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Dice up carrots into approximately 1 inch pieces.
  3. Drizzle or roll in coconut oil.
  4. Roast for 20 minutes.
  5. Note: If you're sweet potatoes aren't already roasted, you'll want to do start them first because they will take the longest (approximately 45 minutes).
  6. Saute chopped onion in ghee for approximately 5 minutes, or until the onions just begin to become translucent.
  7. Toss in sliced turmeric and saute another 1-2 minutes.
  8. Pour in bone broth and stir.
  9. Add roasted sweet potatoes, roasted carrots, paprika, cayenne and salt and pepper.
  10. Let it simmer for 5-10 mintues.
  11. Remove from heat and let cool.
  12. Pour soup into a food processor and pulverize until smooth and creamy.
  13. Enjoy every spoonful because you deserve it.

 

I want to hear from you guys! Have you seen yourselves grow in the kitchen? Or at least had that moment where everything came together perfectly? Does anybody else feel liberated by going recipe-less? Comment below!