It shocks me to see how much added sugar, preservatives and stabilizers are added to well-known supposedly “healthy” soups that we can buy in Supermarkets. Even the “green” ones are riddled with additives portraying a fake healthy façade to con us in to a false sense of “I’m eating healthily” security.
Now, I don’t know if you’re like me but if there’s a carton of soup and it’s lunch time I’ll have the whole carton it’s just one full bowl after all. So, when the branding suggests 9.0g sugar per 300g serving you might think that’s ok. That’s until you realise that one carton is 600g and therefore has 18 grams of sugar in just one bowl- the equivalent to 9 teaspoons of sugar! Some of that will be natural sugar from the vegetables in the soup – however, a large % of it will unfortunately be added sugar, to preserve it and make it taste more “pleasing” to the consumer.
These soups have a massive hit on your blood sugar which will inevitably culminate in a pretty large crash at about 4pm- when we then crave biscuits, cakes and diet coke in the hope of being ‘woken up’ from our sugary slumber. It’s a downward spiral as then you have that biscuit / cake and then your off on another blood sugar roller coaster. I was on this roller coaster for years and quite frankly didn’t think I could ever go a day without at least one diet coke. Throughout my university days I would buy 2 litre bottles of Pepsi max and drink them like they were water. I haven’t had one diet coke now in over 10 months and I do not miss it at all! The thought of it makes me feel really disgusted and a sick. It’s only now that I’m eating the foods that work for my body and cause none of the blood sugar highs, crash cravings or addictions that I can fully appreciate how misinformed I had been and how feeling well with an abundance of natural energy feels.
Here’s one of my favourite recipes and one we had the other night to accompany the walnut and courgette bread I made. This is a warming soup with a spicy kick, packed with nutrients, antioxidants and vitamins. It’s perfect for transporting to work in a Tupperware and will last in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Ingredients
To make enough for 4 bowls full
* de-seed 1 small/medium chilli
*2 garlic
*1 large butternut squash
*1 large white onion
*500ml bone broth ( use veg or chicken stock if you do not have access to bone broth)
*1 tsp sea salt
*1 tsp pepper
Directions
- Finely chop the onions, chilli and garlic set aside
- Chop the butternut squash in to bite sized chunks and place in to a large frying pan with coconut oil, salt and pepper
- Fry off for 3-4 minutes before adding onion, garlic and chilli, fry for a further 1-2 minutes
- Add in stock
- Bring to boil and then turn heat down to simmer for 10 minutes or so until the butternut squash’s soft
- Blend with a hand blender or in a food processor (if you think you have too much water still in the pan then add a bit at a time before it’s the perfect consistency)
- Add fried onion, courgette or some fresh herbs etc to the top for garnish
- Serve immediately or store in fridge in sealed container
Butternut squash skins: (Dont throw them away! Eat them!)
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees
- Spread out skins on to a baking tray
- Drizzle with almond oil, olive oil or coconut oil
- Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper
- Roast for about 25 minutes until soft and browned edges
Suitable for: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Paleo
