How about making an anti-inflammatory soup for your dinner?
An all-new season of winter has arrived. Everyone can feel the chill in the air and the beginning of winter. The cold weather has made my joints more achy than usual. Changes in nutrition are one easy approach to combating this. Therefore, I believe this is the perfect time to experiment with healthy anti-inflammatory vegetable soup recipes.
But let’s first understand the nutritional value of vegetable soups that help to combat inflammation.
Is soup good for inflammation?
Is vegetable soup anti-inflammatory?
This question might bother you: are soups anti-inflammatory or not? According to research, vegetable soups reduce inflammation-creating factors and act as a useful health tonic to control inflammation in the body.
Why anti-inflammatory vegetable soup?
Soups are a terrific way to add some spice and heat to your winter meals because they often contain more cooked veggies. It is due to the fact that vegetables have abundant nutrients like folic acid, fiber, and vitamin C.
Therefore, consuming more vegetables leads to improved health. As an added bonus, it also helps alleviate gas and abdominal pain. It’s because a diet high in vegetables, healthy fats, and spices can help reduce intestinal stress and inflammation.
It’s high time to rebalance my gut health. It is because I am not a diet saint and, during the last few months, I left plenty of wiggle room for diet cheating. And all the high-calorie, fried, processed food triggered inflammation in my body. That led to more inflammation and pain in the body.
What the heck to get back to healthy living? Now I want to redeem myself, and soups are the best way to finally be on a fast recovery track. A bowl of anti-inflammatory soup saves us from many problems,
I am sharing my favorite anti-inflammatory diet soup recipes with you. Also, these five delicious anti-inflammatory vegetable soup recipes can help you lose weight and reduce inflammation.
Basic Ingredients used in Anti-inflammatory Vegetable Soup Recipes
The basic ingredients to make these anti-inflammatory soup recipes are easily available in your kitchen.
Oil
You can use olive oil, coconut oil, butter, ghee, or any other vegetable oil available in your kitchen.
Vegetables
All vegetables have their own benefits. But onions, garlic, ginger, and turmeric are staples of every anti-inflammatory soup recipe. Moreover, we will use carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, pumpkin, celery, mushroom, leafy green spinach, chard, watercress, leek, and tomatoes. It is best to keep at least 2 vegetables on your weekly grocery list. In this way, you can keep a check on your diet.
Spices
Spices add a boosting flavor to your soup and increase the medicinal effects too. I love adding cinnamon, black cardamom, clove, bay leaves, chili flakes, black pepper, white pepper, cumin, thyme, and basil for additional flavor and antioxidants. You can choose the best spices you think will make you feel good.
Bone Broth
You can use any broth that is suitable for your health. The taste of this soup is based on the quality and taste of the broth. I like and prefer bone broth and always make it over the weekend to use it throughout the week.
Vegetable Broth
But vegetable broth is also a tasty and healthy food staple. You can either make it with food scraps or with whole vegetables. It works both ways. You can use this condiment in many recipes and as a replacement for chicken or meat broth.
So follow the instructions below to make your own vegetable broth or bone broth.
How to Make Vegetable Broth for an anti-inflammatory diet soup?
Ingredients
Onion 3 medium
Celery 3 sticks
Garlic 8-10
carrot 5 medium
Turmeric root or powder
Ginger 1inch
Tomatoes 3-4
Parsely 2-3 sprigs
Bay leaves 2-3
Rosemary handful of fresh leaves
Salt
Black pepper
Directions
Frankly, there are various options for making vegetable broth but I like to stay away from cruciferous veggies. So we will start with washing all the ingredients thoroughly and let it roast for about half an hour in the oven Then cook it on the stovetop while adding 2 liters of water. Add in salt and black pepper, bay leaves, and cloves. Let it simmer on the stovetop for 1 hr. Finally, let it cool, strain the vegetables and use your broth in the soup.
Bone Broth
Though the vegetable stock is very tasty and healthy;I mostly use bone broth in anti-inflammatory soup recipes. Bone broth has more health-promoting elements per serving than regular soup stock does. In particular, bone broth is rich in anti-inflammatory and painkilling substances which are helpful to reduce joint’s and body pain.
Here is the authentic recipe for making homemade, healthy bone broth.
Beef, mutton, chicken, and turkey bones are all good options for making broth. Whether it’s for use in soups or veggie stir-fries, I usually have a bag of frozen bone broth on hand.
Ingredients for Bone Broth
Beef bones (Choose the best quality marrowbones, feet, knuckles, and joints (1.5 kg))
Ginger pieces, 1 inch
Bay leaves 3
Turmeric root 1-2 inch
Cinnamon sticks, 2 long
Black cardamom 1
Green Cardamom 2
Cloves 6-8
Star anise 1-2
Black peppercorn 1 tbsp.
Cumin 1 tbsp
Fennel seeds 2 tbsp
Onion 2 medium
Salt to taste
Directions for making Bone Broth
Once I’ve gathered all the ingredients, I begin by blanching the bones to make broth. It will get rid of any bad smells and clean out the bones.
In the beginning, wash all the bones and put them in a big pot. The bones should be simmered for 10–15 minutes once the water has come to a boil. The bones are then strained through a stainer and re-immersed in clean water to make a golden, powerful broth.
I’ve tried many different ways to make bone broth. After blanching, you can proceed with roasting in the oven for up to 30 minutes. It will enhance the flavors of bone broth. But for less effort, you can roast vegetables in the same pot on the stovetop too.
In a large pot, melt two tablespoons of ghee, olive oil, or any neutral oil. After that, cook the bones for 8 to 10 minutes over medium-high heat, occasionally tossing them. Then, pour in three to four liters of water and the spices, and simmer for eight to ten hours. You can get the most juice and nutrients out of the bones this way.
Vegetable Soup for Colds and Immunity-boosting
Even though this vegetable soup is healthy, the taste is more important. We’ll prepare it such that it has the best flavor possible and is enticing enough for everyone in the house to eat it. Just a few more minutes, and you’ll be surprised by how good it tastes.
Ingredients For Anti Inflammatory Vegetable soup
Olive oil 1 tbsp.
Onion 1 finely chopped
garlic cloves chopped, 2
Red Bell pepper 1 chopped
Carrot 2 medium
Potato 1- 2 medium chopped
Medium-sized carrots 2 chopped
cauliflower florets 1cup
stalk celery 1chopped
Fresh ginger 1 inch
Fresh turmeric root ½ inch or ¼ tsp powdered dry
Black pepper ground ¼ tsp
Red chili flakes ¼ tsp
4 cups homemade bone broth or vegetable broth
2 cups water
2 tbsp chopped cilantro or parsley
salt 1tsp
black pepper 1/2 tsp
Directions
The choice of vegetables used in this soup depends upon how you like it. Start with cleaning, washing, and chopping off onion, garlic, potatoes, cauliflower, bell pepper, and carrots in your desired size.
Take 1 tbsp olive oil and saute onion for 1-2 minutes, add garlic and fry it for 30 seconds, then add bell pepper, potato, cauliflower, carrots, and celery sticks with turmeric and chili flakes to cook for 1-2 minutes on medium flames.
It’s time to add bone broth and water. Let the vegetables simmer for 30 minutes until the vegetables become soft and chewy. In the end, add salt, black pepper, and white vinegar for a tangy flavor. Serve hot!
Anti-inflammatory effects of Vegetable Soup made with Turmeric
First of all, bone broth is a very healthy drink. According to research studies, bone broth is rich in amino acids that have super-inflammatory properties. Bone broth boosts our immune system to perform better and fight inflammation-triggering elements in the body.
Turmeric is one of the super spices that heals the body. I remember my grandmother used to apply turmeric on wounds. The healing was faster than medicines that are used now. We are evolving our ways of treating health issues with tablets. But the natural ingredients we have access to are far better than any other supplements. So, I always keep turmeric roots at home for making turmeric tea or anti-inflammatory soups.
Capsaicin in red bell pepper improves the overall cardiovascular health of the body. It has a sweet flavor and is high in antioxidants which makes us healthy. Similarly, piperine in black pepper helps in fighting inflammation in the body. Moreover, phytochemicals in carrots can potentially improve our health.
2- Anti-inflammatory Vegetable Soup Recipe with Pumpkin
Pumpkin is a versatile, nutritious, and therapeutic vegetable that is highly popular in several countries and regions of the world including Mexico, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and European, Asian, and African countries. According to research, it possesses antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and anti-ulcerative properties. Therefore, we will use this nutrient-packed vegetable in anti-inflammatory vegetable soup recipes.
Ingredients for making Anti-inflammatory Pumpkin Soup
Olive oil/ butter 1 tbsp
Pumpkin ½ kg or 1.1 pounds ( washed, cut into square pieces, steamed/canned)
Onion 1 medium (cut into pieces)
Garlic cloves 2
Cloves 2
Bone broth 2 cups
Salt 1tsp
Black Pepper ½ tsp
White pepper ¼ tsp
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon
Milk ½ cup
Heavy cream ½ cup (optional)
Directions
I mostly use canned pumpkins and that is much easier to handle. But for fresh pumpkins, peel off the skin and remove the seeds. Then cut it into small pieces.
Steam these pieces in the vegetable streamer for 10- 15 minutes.
Let it cool for 3-5 minutes and puree it with milk for further use.
Next, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and cook the onions for 1 minute. Once the onions have become translucent, add the garlic along with the broth and pumpkin puree.
Now add salt, black pepper, white pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Now simmer the soup for 15 minutes.
Blend all ingredients with a hand blender for a smooth consistency.
Adjust salt and pepper and here you go.
For a healthier version, I use milk in this recipe. But for the tastier version, you can add cream in the end.
Serve this thick, creamy, sweet-flavored soup with croutons.
3- Creamy Immunity Booster Mushroom Soup made with Bone Broth
We all know that age and a bad diet can make it harder for the body to heal and fight inflammation. Therefore, we need intelligent preventive measures to maintain health and battle inflammation. One way is to make anti-inflammatory vegetable soup recipes.
Can you picture yourself enjoying a bowl of hot, creamy mushroom soup with pieces of mushroom so tender they virtually dissolve in your mouth? Packed with garlic, onions, and herbs, but not overpowering so as to take away from the mushrooms’ natural flavor.
Ingredients for Making anti-inflammatory Vegetable soup with Mushroom
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Chopped Fresh Mushroom ½ pond
Onion 2 chopped
Garlic chopped 3 cloves
3 cups bone broth
Heavy cream ½ cup/ milk 1 cup/ ½ cup almond milk
Salt 1 tsp
Pepper 1/2 tsp
Thyme to sprinkle
Directions
First, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Cook the onions for about 2 minutes, and then add the garlic. In just a minute, its pleasant aroma will fill the air. After that, toss in the mushrooms and stir-fry them for another 7 minutes.
Then, add broth made from bones or vegetable stock.
Let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Adjust the salt and pepper and add thyme for more flavor. Take out a few mushroom pieces to use as a garnish
After that switch off the flame and add heavy cream, regular milk, or almond milk.
Soups made with heavy cream can be blended immediately; those made with milk require more cooking time.
Almond milk is my go-to because of its creamy texture, nutty flavor, and high nutritional value. After adding milk, simmer the soup for 8 minutes.
Combine using a hand blender and process until smooth. I like my soup a bit chunky and always blend on low speed.
Finally, serve it with mushroom chunks and thyme and parsley on the top.
Anti-inflammatory Vegetable Soup with Leafy Greens
I hope to go unscathed throughout all of the winter because it is the best season. One of my preventative measures is to make anti-inflammatory vegetable soup recipes with bone broth. This vibrant health and organic green soup are best to combat inflammation and rejuvenate the immune system. You can choose the best leafy green vegetables for your soup if you know the details of nutrients in leafy greens.
Let’s make it now!
Ingredients for leafy greens Vegetable Soup
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Onion 1 chopped
Garlic 3-4 crushed cloves
Turmeric 1-inch root/ or ¼ tsp powdered
Leeks 2 medium sliced
Kale, spinach swiss chard, and water chess 2 ponds chopped
Ginger ½ inch
Bone broth 3 cups
Coconut Milk 1 cup
Directions
To begin, heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. For about 8 to 10 minutes, cook the onion until it turns a light caramel color. Then, sauté ginger and garlic until fragrant. After that, add leeks and stir until they’re tender. This should take about 8 minutes.
Add greens to the pan and wait until the greens lose some of their volumes. Add the bone broth and let it simmer for another 10- 15 minutes. The vivid green color appeals to me. So, I cook it until the green color is maintained. After 8 minutes, taste for seasoning and turn off the heat.
Now, put everything in a blender and blitz until it’s completely smooth. Add half to one cup of coconut milk during blending until the desired consistency is reached. Garnish with green onions and ginger slices.
This anti-inflammatory soup is both beautiful and tasty, so I hope you enjoy it for dinner tonight.
5- Easy Tomato, Carrot, and Turmeric anti-inflammatory Vegetable Soup Recipe
This last recipe is one of the quickest anti-inflammatory vegetable soup recipes. We are making this soup with tomatoes and carrots. Tomatoes are rich in anti-inflammatory compounds. Moreover, research studies have demonstrated that tomatoes can help with type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases.
Ingredients of Tomato, Carrot, and Turmeric anti-inflammatory Soup Recipe
Olive oil
Tomatoes 2 medium-sized
Carrot 2 medium size
Onion 1 cut into cubed size pieces
Turmeric 1-inch root or ½ tsp powdered
Garlic 3 cloves
Salt 1 tsp
Black pepper ½ tsp
Bone broth/vegetable stock
Pumpkin seeds for garnish
Celery leaves
Directions
I love making this soup once a week for my anti-inflammatory dinner. I prefer to make it with roasted vegetables. It will give a burst of flavor to your soups.
1- Clean and wash tomatoes, carrots, garlic, and onions. Then cut it into small pieces and align the baking tray. Sprinkle some salt, pepper, and olive oil on these vegetables.
Let it bake for 30 minutes until the vegetables are fork soft.
2- Blend these vegetables into a smooth paste.
3- Next, stir-fry the cumin seeds for 30 seconds in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then add the vegetable paste and cook for another minute or two while stirring constantly. Turn the heat down to low and add 3 cups of bone broth. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
4- You can replace water too for a lighter flavor and taste.
5- Garnish it with any herbs of your choice and adjust salt and pepper as per your taste.
I hope you like these easy anti-inflammatory vegetable soup recipes. Please give it a try and share your feedback with me. These soups are also great as an anti-inflammatory meal starter. To save you time, here is a comprehensive infographic cataloging all the anti-inflammatory foods, from fruits and vegetables to healthy oils.
