Loving the BITE: Spicy Broccoli Soup
It’s a lean, mean, green, cancer-, cholesterol-, allergy-, oxidative-stress- and inflammation-fighting-machine. And, you’re in luck because it’s likely sitting in your refrigerator right now.
With over 300 studies to support its whole-food, nutrition power-house goodness, broccoli is a sure-fire way to improve your health. Specifically, it fights 3 cellular problem areas that can contribute to a whole host of chronic disease and health issues: chronic cellular inflammation, oxidative stress, and poor cellular detoxification.
And, it’s no surprise. We all know broccoli is good for us. Look at it, smell it, taste it, feel it, and it screams “healthy food.” My four-year old and two-year old know it’s healthy. In fact, I recommend eating it at least 5 times per week, for at least 2.5 cups per week (you can bet the kids love this). It’s that good for you. And, this week, it’ll taste good too!
Recipe of the week: Spicy Broccoli Soup
Ingredients:
- 2 cups organic vegetable broth
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper, or to taste
- 1 med onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 lb Broccoli
- Fresh ground black pepper
Instructions: (prep: 5 minutes, cook: 12 minutes)
- Bring broth to a simmer, along with crushed red pepper, over med heat.
- Once broth is heated, add onion and/or garlic.
- While broth and onion/garlic are heating, chop off tough ends of broccoli and trim off any tough edges of stalk.
- Add prepared broccoli to broth.
- Cover and simmer until veggie is tender, just about 10 minutes.
- Transfer mixture to blender or food processor. Puree soup.
- Return to pan and season to taste with pepper. Thin with broth or water if too thick.
- Reheat until soup starts to bubble. Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt.
Freezes well, too! If re-heating after thawed, reheat in microwave until warmed through. Stir as needed.
Comments:
So, what’s in it for you? Broccoli provides:
- More Vitamin C than an orange, ounce for ounce. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that helps cyclists fight free radical build-up and oxidative stress.
- Fiber to fight cholesterol. While not the most of any vegetable, broccoli’s fiber, especially when steamed or slightly cooked, is great at binding the bile that can increase “bad” cholesterol in your blood stream.
- Phytonutrients-galore! Three specific phytonutrients, glucoraphanin, gluconasturtiian, and glucobrassicin are found in combination in broccoli. They support cellular detoxification (neutralization and elimination of unwanted contaminants) and contribute to the formation of isothiocyanates. Isothiocyanates are special nutrients that encourage the body to produce even more phase-two detoxification CANCER-FIGHTING enzymes. These enzymes actually disrupt potential cancer-causing substances before they have a chance to damage healthy cell DNA.
- Vitamin A and Vitamin K. This vitamin one-two punch actually supports adequate levels of a third important vitamin, Vitamin D. If you’re low in vitamin D and supplementing it, like many Americans, adequate vitamin A and K will support a healthy balance of vitamin D, which in turn, contributes to overall health and wellness in many areas of the body.
- Flavanoids such as kaempferol. In a world of ever-increasing occurrences of food and environmental allergies, kaempferol can decrease an allergen’s impact on the body. How? It reduces inflammation, which is a part of the body’s response to an allergen. And as athletes, we want all the anti-inflammatory nutrients we can get!
- And, of course, more antioxidants. Beta-carotene and lutein are abundant in broccoli, and these antioxidants work with vitamin C to fight all those nasty cell-damaging free radicals.
To serve up enough broccoli each week, try adding it to daily salads, stir-fries, and fresh veggies packed for lunch. Each dinner, include ½-a-plate, or 2-3 cups of vegetables (measured when fresh), in the form of fresh salads, steamed vegetables, sautéed vegetables, or healthy pureed soups like the one featured above. And, for all you raw smoothie drinkers out there, start adding a bit of broccoli to your green smoothies – if you add a little at a time, you will likely not even taste it. Try this detox smoothie:
Bonus Recipe – Broccoli Detox Smoothie:
- 1 cup berries
- ½-1 cup spinach
- 1 small orange
- 2 small broccoli florets (add 1 add’l small floret each time you make this smoothie to find your threshold)
- 2 Tbsp walnuts
- Protein: Your choice. I recommend 10-20 grams protein from undenatured whey, Greek yogurt, soy protein, hemp seeds, or a mix.
- 1 tsp honey or small amount of Stevia, if desired
- Ice/water for desired consistency
Blend well and enjoy!
It’s time to step it up a notch. More broccoli. Less disease. More wellness. Less sick days. More opportunities to get out and love the bike.
Fuel Your Ride. Nourish Your Body.
wow!i will try both the soup & the smoothie!i use maca powder in my smoothies can i use it here instead of honey??tnx for these yummy recipes!
Thanks for the comment – yes, matcha will work just fine. Let us know what you think of the soup – I could eat it every night:)! Enjoy!
Made this last night and it is gooooood! You won’t even miss the milk or cheese!!!
It is one of my all-time faves, too! And, it’s a great base recipe for other vegetable/spice combos. I’m a fan of carrots and ginger as well. So glad you liked it!
Looking forward to trying this one.
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for your comment – I hope you’ve since tried it and liked it:). Take care!
Always like stuff like this post freezer. Freezing intensifies the pepper!
Hi Howard – Sorry I missed this comment a whole year ago. Yes, I LOVE it post freezer, too. Watch out for that pepper!
Mmm….broccoli is my very favorite veggie ever! It’s nice to know all of its benefits. I love it raw, and I love it steamed, and I love it in soup!
We are trying the quinoa burgers this week, so I’ll have to add this soup to next weeks list.
Thanks for another yummy recipe, Kelli!
I just added both of these to my recipes folder on the computer. I’ll be sure to try them soon. Please keep the healthy recipes coming.
Awesome, Karen – we’ll keep ’em coming. Let us know what you think of them! Kelli, RD
Is it necessary to eat broccoli 4 or 5 times per week in order to obtain the benefits it has to offer?
Hi Jackie,
It’s not necessary to eat this amount for many of broccoli’s benefits. However, many of the anti-cancer benefits seem to be dose-dependent, with 2.5-3 cups/weeks as a common threshold. In fact, some of the studies show greater benefits with an intake closer to 7 cups per week – that’s a lot of broccoli. Like with most super-healthy vegetables, the more the merrier. At the same time, variety is hugely important with nutrition, so it’s important to get a lot of different vegetables in your diet. All this said, eat as much broccoli as you can (or would like), as well as other high-nutrient vegetables. I hope this helps! Kelli, RD
Once again, it is nice to learn of the benefits of the foods you provide the recipe for. I eat a lot of broccoli but only knew about a few of it’s benefits. Thanks for two good looking recipes that I will try out for sure.
Hi Patrick,
Thanks for your comment. The soup recipe tastes even better than it sounds…it’s a go-to recipe in my kitchen, especially on cold winter days! Enjoy! Kelli, RD