I start making this soup every year when the temps start to drop, and make sure we have it at least a couple times a week until spring comes around. I recommend cooking a big batch and freezing half in 1-serving size containers for convenience. It also makes a great breakfast! It’s super easy to make- get a big crockpot or slow cooker, add all the ingredients, cover it with water (I usually fill my crockpot to the top as I like brothy soups), turn it on, go about your day, and come back to yummy homemade immune-boosting soup! All of the ingredients are immune-boosters and also taste delicious together. I’ve found it’s best to layer the foods with meats on bottom (drizzle a small amount of oil in first), then potatoes/onions/carrots, then the leafy greens on top. Whenever possible use organic ingredients. I cook it on High for 3-5 hours or Low for 5-8 hours. It’s impossible to mess this soup up! If you’re feeling adventurous, top it with fresh avocado before serving.
Base:
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Optional |
| 1 sweet potato, chopped to bite size chunks | 1-5 large kale leaves, ribs removed, either sliced thinly or ripped to bite size chunks | 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped | 1 can drained/rinsed beans (navy beans, cannellini beans, pinto beans, chick peas…) |
| Handful new/red potatoes, halved or quartered | “…” w/ swiss chard leaves | 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped | 1 can drained diced (or any style) tomatoes |
| 2 parsnips, chopped | “…” w/ collard greens | 1-3 dried smoked chipotle peppers (note: remove before serving) | |
| Extra carrots | A few handfuls of spinach (note: add at end/before serving or they will completely break down) | 1 cup cooked whole grain (rice, barley, quinoa, etc.), added at the end before serving |
Homemade Coconut Milk Yogurt:
3 Cans of full fat Coconut milk
1-7 oz box of organic creamed Coconut
4 capsules of *probiotics (*do not use saccharomyces boullardi, this will make the yogurt smell yeasty!)
Place the 4 containers in a hot water bath in a large pot for 10-15 minutes to soften the fat. Shake the cans and open the containers, and empty all of the milk and cream into a blender along with emptying the 4 capsules of probiotics into the milk. Blend together. Pour mixture into a large glass bowl.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 170 degrees, and turn off as soon as it reaches that temp. Turn on the oven light.
Place the mixture in the back of the oven near the light. Lightly lay a cover over the bowl and allow it to sit for 12 hours, stir and allow to sit for another 12 hours. At this point, taste the yogurt mixture to see if it is to your liking. You can continue to ferment for up to 36 hours, the longer you let it sit the more tart it will be. Once it has arrived at the desired taste, remove from the over, stir again, cover and put in the fridge.
The mixture will cool into a very thick, custardy yogurt. You can add fruit to it and blend. Also great with ground flax seeds, hemp hearts, nuts and seeds. You can experiment with adding some vanilla to the mixture after removing from the oven prior to chilling.
Probiotics: We use either IFlora by sedona labs which we carry at the office, or PB-8. Make sure whatever you have doesn’t have Saccromyces in the mix.
In a bowl combine:
In a separate bowl combine:
Combine ingredients together fully. Press into a 12 x 12 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into squares. These can be stored at room temperature.
This pie is a variation of the recipe I learned from my grandmother when I was a young budding baker. Pies traditionally contain sugar, but the apples are very sweet of their own accord. Combined with the cinnamon and ginger, you get a wonderfully warm and savory pie with the sweetness from the apples and cinnamon. Enjoy after any holiday meal, and feel good about it! You can also use a gluten free crust and a gluten free flour (almond, millet, quinoa) in the making of the pie.
Slice the apples and put in a large bowl. Slowly add the cinnamon and ginger to taste, and make sure that they are well incorporated into the apple mixture. Coat the apple mixture with flour to ensure that the juices are not too runny. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and place 5 tabs of butter around the top of the pile. Cover with the top crust, pinching the edges together all the way around. With a fork poke holes around the top of the crust to vent the steam as it cooks. You can do a wash with egg white or milk if desired.
Bake at 350 for 40-60 minutes, until the crust is browned and the apples are soft when pierced with a knife. Enjoy!