Overcome Your Gut + Digestive Issues With Ancestral Nutrition
Minestrone Soup
Lately I’ve been thinking about the famous Hippocrates quote, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” This timeless quote offers wisdom that we can greatly benefit from today. I think choosing food that will nourish and fuel your body is of the upmost importance when it comes to the question: what to eat? When you approach eating with the mindset to fuel your body, it is easier to make healthy decisions.
Will potato chips and cookies fuel my body more or will a homemade veggie and bean soup? The soup has a lot more nutrients and is much closer to the way our ancestors ate. This modern world offers so many quick, easy, and tempting options for food, but so much quality and nutrition is sacrificed. When we take the time to prepare dinners for ourselves and loved ones, we can ensure that we are getting healthy balanced meals.
When filling our bodies with lots of veggies and whole foods, we provide the necessary nutrients to sustain and maintain are bodies. So many chronic diseases and major health issues like obesity and diabetes have been linked to a poor diet. Therefore making healthy choices about the food we eat acts as a preventative medicine, decreasing the chances of obtaining these diseases and health issues.
When following this approach, there is far less demand for medicine, since you are regularly taking care of your body. I find this to be a more sustainable and enjoyable way to live. Feeding your body nutrient dense fresh food doesn’t only promote a healthy future, but creates a healthy present. You get what you give. So if you give your body good food, it will return the favor with the gifts of more energy, clearer skin, a stronger immune system, stronger muscles, less fat, and much more.
This idea segues nicely into todays recipe. Today I have a nice hearty balanced minestrone soup recipe for you. Full of veggies, beans, and pasta; this minestrone soup aligns well with the idea of using food as medicine and as fuel for your body. While the parmesan is one of my favorite parts of this meal, you can definitely leave it out for a dairy free version. This soup can also easily be made gluten free by using gluten free pasta. The first time I made this was for a gluten free friend so I used the gluten free pasta in the picture below and it turned out great! Anyways I hope you, your family, and friends enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
With love from my kitchen to yours,
Kayley
P.S. If you want to make your own broth, check out my bone broth recipe or my vegetable broth recipe!
Minestrone Soup
AuthorKayley O'BrienTotal time will decrease to 30 minutes if using a pressure cooker.
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a pressure cooker or large pot. Once hot, add onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, and mushrooms. Saute for a few minutes, stirring vegetables occasionally. Then add the kidney beans, canned tomato, parsley, garlic, kale, vegetable broth, some thyme or oregano (you can add more to taste later), and bayleaves. Stir well.
If using a pressure cooker secure lid and bring to a steam over high heat. Once steaming, reduce heat to medium and cook for 3 minutes. Then bring your pressure cooker to the sink, run cool water over the lid, and release the pressure.
If using a pot, cover with the lid and bring to boil. Then reduce heat to medium-high and cook covered for about 20-30 minutes, until the vegetables are fully cooked and fork tender.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Once done, drain and set aside.
Once the soup is done, stir in the drained pasta and season with salt, pepper, and more thyme or oregano (if needed). Also remove the bay leaves from the soup. Divid soup amongst bowls and garnish with parsley and parmesan. Serve with a side of extra parmesan and enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a pressure cooker or large pot. Once hot, add onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, and mushrooms. Saute for a few minutes, stirring vegetables occasionally. Then add the kidney beans, canned tomato, parsley, garlic, kale, vegetable broth, some thyme or oregano (you can add more to taste later), and bayleaves. Stir well.
If using a pressure cooker secure lid and bring to a steam over high heat. Once steaming, reduce heat to medium and cook for 3 minutes. Then bring your pressure cooker to the sink, run cool water over the lid, and release the pressure.
If using a pot, cover with the lid and bring to boil. Then reduce heat to medium-high and cook covered for about 20-30 minutes, until the vegetables are fully cooked and fork tender.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Once done, drain and set aside.
Once the soup is done, stir in the drained pasta and season with salt, pepper, and more thyme or oregano (if needed). Also remove the bay leaves from the soup. Divid soup amongst bowls and garnish with parsley and parmesan. Serve with a side of extra parmesan and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition:
|
Ingredients |
Cals |
Fat |
Carbs |
Protein |
|
1/2 tbsp sunflower oil |
60 |
7g |
0g |
0g |
|
1 large onion (130g) |
57 |
0.3g |
13.2g |
1.8g |
|
1 1/2 potatoes (260g) |
241.5 |
0.3g |
55.5g |
6.4g |
|
3 carrots (190g) |
79.2 |
0.4g |
18.2g |
1.8g |
|
3 celery ribs (101g) |
16.5 |
0.2g |
3.2g |
0.8g |
|
1 zucchini (217g) |
33 |
0.8g |
5.8g |
2.5g |
|
1 1/2 cups sliced crimin mushrooms (108g) |
24 |
0.1g |
4.7g |
2.7g |
|
32 oz can tomatoes |
150 |
0g |
30g |
6g |
|
15 oz an kidney beans |
371 |
1.5g |
67g |
25g |
|
1 bunch kale (130g) |
36 |
0.5g |
7.3g |
2.5g |
|
4 1/2 cups vegetable broth |
58.5 |
0.7g |
9.9g |
2.3g |
|
2 cups dry gluten free pasta shells (8 oz) |
840 |
8g |
172g |
20g |
|
6 tbsp parmesan |
126 |
8.4g |
4.2g |
8.4g |
|
Total (4 servings) |
2092.7 |
28.2g |
391g |
80.2g |
|
1 serving |
523.2 |
7.1g |
97.8g |
20.1g |
(1, 2, 3)
Notes:
- Nutrition is based on the products I use. I provide a nutrition table so that you can quickly check to see if your food products match or so that you can easily calculate the nutrition for any changes you want to make to the recipe. I think this helps if you have very specific diet goals and/or fitness and/or health goals. I also wanted you to be able to see exactly where I get the numbers for my nutrition facts so that you can see that they are reliable and learn more about macro breakdowns of food.
- Also I only calculate 1/2 tbsp of oil even though I use 1 tbsp because a lot of the oil gets stuck to the pan
Works Cited
1. Nutritionix. Gladson. https://www.nutritionix.com/ Accessed 21 January 2019.
2. “Nutrition Label of Canned Tomatoes.” Muir Glen Organics. Berkeley, CA. 2019.
3. “Nutrition Label of Pasta.” Delallo. Italy. 2019.
About Kayley
Kayley is a certified gut health nutrition coach who helps people to overcome their chronic gut and digestive issues at the root using the principles of ancestral nutrition and holistic health. (Continue Reading Here)
