Did you know one of the most powerful things you can do for your digestion is switch out your usual morning meal for “breakfast soup”?
It may sound crazy… or perhaps it doesn’t, if you’ve ever been to an acupuncturist who stressed the importance of warm, cooked foods for digestion and hormones.
Well, this year I FINALLY listened to my acu and started one radical change to my diet: “pregaming” breakfast with BREAKFAST SOUP. And not just any soup. Nick’s Spleen-Qi-Strengthening, Digestive-Fire-Boosting Butternut Squash Soup. This recipe revs up metabolism and digestion and contains yellow/orange foods and warming herbs that strengthen “Spleen Qi” and expel “dampness” (bloating, flatulence – think gut dysbiosis and sluggishness of body and mind).
Breakfast Soup
PREP TIME
20 minCOOK TIME
1 hr 30TOTAL TIME
1 hr 50SERVES
8Ingredients
- 2 medium-large butternut squash
- 3 acorn squash
- 3lbs carrots
- 3 x 32oz containers of chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 yellow onion
- 5 cloves of fresh garlic OR store-bought minced garlic
- 2 x 1 inch knobs of ginger OR store-bought minced ginger
- 1-2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tsp nutmeg
- 1 extra dash of cinnamon optional
- 2 tsp black pepper
- olive oil at various steps
- sea salt at various steps
Directions (makes a huge batch!)
- Prep the squash: wash, cut tops and bottoms off, cut length wise, scoop out seeds.
- Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil over the squash and massage to coat evenly.
- After coating with olive oil, take 1-2 tbsp of brown sugar along with salt to taste, and sprinkle all over squash. Massage again to distribute evenly.
- Place squash on oven safe pan and roast at 375 degrees for 1 hour (cook time depends on size of squash, may need more or less – squash will pierce easily with fork when cooked fully).
- While squash is in the oven, prep your other vegetables. Wash, peel, roughly chop carrots. Chop garlic if not using store-bought. Roughly chop ginger if not using store-bought. Roughly chop onion.
- Once squash is cooked, take out of oven and let cool while you get the base of the soup started.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a stock pot and toss in onion; let sauté for 3-5 minutes. Toss in garlic and ginger and let sauté for 2-3 minutes. Toss in carrots for 2 minutes.
- Pour in chicken or vegetable stock and toss in seasonings (nutmeg, black pepper, salt, cinnamon).
- Leave on medium heat and let cook for ~15min until the squash fully cools.
- Peel the cooked squash, and add into the soup. Mix and let everything cook together on medium heat until carrots are tender.
- Using an immersion blender (or a traditional blender in batches), blend soup until silky smooth. Enjoy! Store in tightly lidded mason jars.
