Delicious and easy cleansing cabbage soup
A delicious and easy cleansing cabbage soup - perfect for promoting good health during the winter months.
I recently learned that February is a cleansing month.
I don’t mean like “national cleansing month” or anything like that.
I mean it’s something that actually happens to the body around this time of year.
Temperatures have bottomed out and begin to rise, and the body shifts its focus from building insulating fats to releasing them to embrace the warmer weather ahead.
So cool, right?
And, you can help facilitate this with the foods you eat.
Even cooler.
Once I discovered this, I became very intrigued and got into it.
I did deep dives into spices and vegetables in season that can help cleanse the body, thought about food combinations, flavor, and spent a lot of time in the kitchen testing all of my ideas.
I came up with some great stuff. Even more stuff that was…well…not so great.
The best of all was this cleansing cabbage soup.
Made with ginger, garlic carrots, celery, cabbage, lime and a few delicious garnishes, this soup is as delicious as it is good for you. It’s insane.
Here’s everything I love about it.
Healthwise…
It’s a cleansing soup, so obviously it does A LOT.
It’s designed to facilitate the body’s natural desire to cleanse this time of year. If you don’t care about that, it also happens to be very healing soup, so a great option if anyone in your house is feeling under the weather.
Cabbage seems so basic, but it’s quite powerful. In terms of detoxing, it has a dual effect: as a diuretic it helps rid the body of excess liquids, carrying toxins along with it. And being a cruciferous vegetable means it’s sulfur-rich and helps your liver break down toxins so they can be removed from the body more easily. So yes to cabbage!
Ginger does the body a lot of good, especially when it come to elimination. It stimulates digestion, making it easier to expel waste and it also stimulates sweating! There’s A LOT of ginger in this soup.
Garlic is another detoxifying food. It’s antiviral, anti-bacteria, and contains minerals and compounds believed to cleanse the liver and flush toxins out.
-Lime is one of my favorite foods, and GREAT for cleansing purposes too since they’re a diuretic, will help prevent mucous build up and stimulate the liver to cleanse toxins too. I use limes in everything - soups, stews, smoothies, water, on fruit, and basically any way I can.
A couple of helpful tips…
Lots of good stuff on this front.
It’s ready to eat in twenty minutes.
The ingredients are very basic and easy to find
It stays good in the fridge for up to 5 days and manages to get more flavorful the longer it sits.
It is very potent. If you’re sick, this soup will go a long way in helping you heal. I had two cold patients living with me this week and can confirm this soup has magical healing powers. A bit spicy (and vegetable-y) for my son, but it gave my husband life.
If you’re into cleansing and want to help your body do it naturally this time of year, sick and in need of some warmth and nourishment to help you heal, or just love a soup - you’ve got to give this a try.
Check out the full recipe below. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Cleansing cabbage soup
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Yields: 4-6 servings
Ingredients:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 head of Napa cabbage
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups filtered water
1-2 green onions, chopped
1 lime, juiced (about 1/4 of a lime per serving of soup)
Garnishes: cilantro, black and white sesame seeds
Directions
Place a medium pot or dutch oven on medium heat. Add oil, then ginger, garlic, celery, carrots and salt. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until vegetables sweat. Stir often to prevent vegetables from browning/getting burnt.
Then, add your cabbage, stock and water. Increase heat to bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cover. Let it cook for about 15 minutes (until carrots feel tender).
While your soup is doing its thing prep the rest: chop your onions and cilantro, cut the lime into wedges.
Remove soup from heat. Transfer to bowls, top with a squeeze of lime, onions, cilantro and sesame seeds. Stir in additional salt, to taste.
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