Cleansing Winter Veggie Soup

I love this soup.  There are so many great things about it number one being that it takes no time at all to make.  I have a friend here who is a breast cancer survivor and six years after her initial diagnosis and successful battle she (not surprising) had to have surgery due to intestinal difficulties.  She called me wanting to know what to eat as nothing seemed to be sitting right with her after the surgery.  I rattled off a list of ingredients....some of this, that, steam it, add ginger, miso-done.  The next day I was at her house and she made this soup.  Divine.  I love the addition of sunchokes and winter squash keeping us in touch with the season.  You could really add any veggies to this although this exact combination is super tasty. Eating this makes me want more healthy food.  If you are interested in more recipes like this and giving your body a break, you can join nutritionist Andrea Nakayama and I for our seasonal Winter Cleanse starting February 4th. For more information click here. 

Cleansing Winter Veggie Soup

ingredients:

1 1/2 stalks celery sliced

1 sunchoke cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 onion cut into chunks

1 carrot sliced

2 cups winter squash peeled and cubed

4 leaves green kale (lacinato or green leaf)

1/2-1 inch piece of fresh ginger peeled and sliced

1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves

1/4-1/2 cup chickpea miso or to taste

sea salt to taste (optional)

preparation:

Place celery, sunchokes, onion, carrot, winter squash, kale and ginger in a soup pot and add water to cover all vegetables by 1/2 inch.  Place a lid on the pot and bring veggies to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until tender.  Remove from heat and let cool a bit, about 5 minutes. Add all steamed vegetables with steaming liquid and parsley to a high speed or Vitamix blender (for smooth consistency).  Blend until smooth and then add miso, blend again until smooth and add salt (optional) to taste.

Serves 4-6