White Bean & Cabbage Soup
I don’t think I could ever get too much soup, it’s one of those things I could eat every day during the cold winter months. I’ve learned so much about the different benefits of eating beans and cabbage, garlic and onions, peas and lentils, and so many other souper soup ingredients. Even leeks, which I had never heard of until last year… I was seriously the girl who only ate salad, or broccoli and a few other veggies in between. Branching out and trying new things has really made cooking interesting, fun and tasty! Plus I just feel good.
I am pretty sure I was suffering from leaky gut before I opted to do “Microbiome Bootcamp” in September. If you’ve never heard of leaky gut, or gut health, please take a listen to this {{podcast}} by Chalene Johnson, it’s actually a 2 part series but so much good information. Of course I self diagnosed myself, after not only listening to this podcast but reading a few books on gut health, and realizing I had an upset stomach almost every night! After deciding I was sick and tired of feeling, sick and tired, I committed to following the meal plan in the book “The Microbiome Diet,” by Raphael Kellman, M.D., and it did the trick. It’s basically a process of elimination, and then focusing on eating really good foods for the bacteria in your guts. I realized that my system is sensitive to gluten and soy. If I keep the amount of those two foods to a minimum, my stomach is happy. If I eat too many, my system reacts sort of like a food allergy does, a little bit will makes you uncomfortable but a lot will result in a full on reaction. But really the whole plan is about balancing the good bacteria in your gut.
When I found the White Bean and Cabbage Soup recipe on Facebook, all I could think was gut health! Leeks and carrots are a couple of the gut health superfoods that Dr. Kellman talks about in his book. I decided to tweak the original recipe a bit because black pepper can be a system irritant, and I didn’t have a few of the original ingredients. I think it worked out rather nicely.
White Bean & Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
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- 1 Leek, roughly chopped
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- 2 Carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, add more if you like a little extra heat
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
- 2 Carrots, thinly sliced
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- 1 tbsp Celery Seeds
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- 1 small Green(or Purple) Cabbage – shredded
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1/4 cup Dry Dill
- 10 Sprigs Thyme or 1 tbsp Dry Thyme
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- 15 oz canned Fire Roasted Tomatoes, diced
- 10 cups Vegan ‘Chicken’ Vegetable Broth
- Splash of Apple Cider Vinegar
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- Himalayan Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste (optional, I say optional because black pepper is an irritant)
- 2-15 oz canned White Navy Beans, drained and rinsed
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- 1/4 cup Italian Parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup Italian Parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp Fresh Chives, snipped
Directions:
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Heat up a large soup pot over medium low heat. Add the leeks with a splash of water and a shake or two of salt.
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Stir in the carrot, red pepper flakes, cumin, and celery seeds, cook everything together for about 5 minutes until the leeks have softened.
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Add the shredded cabbage, bay leaves, dill and thyme, (add optional black pepper here) give it a stir and cook together another 5 minutes or so until the cabbage has softened. Cooking with a lid on the pan will help steam the cabbage and soften it up faster.
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Pour in the tomatoes and vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Let the soup simmer covered for another 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings with more Himalayan salt and the apple cider vinegar.
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Add the navy beans to the cabbage soup. Cook a few more minutes until just warmed through.
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Serve hot, garnished with the fresh parsley and chives. The garnishes gave the soup extra flavor. Try adding more beans, or even cooked quinoa for a heartier dish.
Enjoy hot now, and reheated tomorrow for extra flavor absorption into the cabbage and beans!
Question for ya…
I changed the order of ingredients from the original recipe to the order of use. Do you think it’s more helpful to leave canned ingredients, spices, and produce grouped together or to have them in order of use? I’d love your feedback. <3
Looks tasty 🙂