As promised in my last post about the AIP protocol, I’ve managed to write my first recipe. Its fully AIP compliant. AIP food doesn’t have to be bland and tasteless, yes you have to cut a lot of things out that you’d normally use to give flavour, such as pepper and other spices, but there is still plenty of ways to add flavour you just have to be a bit more creative. I enjoy the challenge of creating new recipes despite the restrictions in ingredients!
Ginger & Lemongrass Green Vegetable Soup
AIP, Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free, Egg free
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 Clove of Garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 Onion, roughly chopped
- Thumb size piece of Ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (the more you use the stronger the heat from the ginger will be)
- 1 Stalk of Lemongrass
- 3 Sticks of Celery and the celery leaves
- 2 Medium sized Courgettes, roughly diced
- 1 Bay leaf
- 2 Sprigs of Thyme
- 2 Large leaves of Kale
- 2 Large handfuls of Spinach
- 1 Bunch of Coriander
- Olive oil
- Sea Salt
- Lemon Juice (fresh or bottled)
- Pepper (if you’re not following the AIP protocol)
- Water
- Optional extras for Garnish – Prosciutto, Avocado, Sunflower seeds, Coconut cream
Recipe Instructions
Peel and roughly chop the garlic, onion and ginger. Remove the very top and tail of the lemongrass, half it width and lengthways. Leave the stem of the lemongrass in 2 large pieces but finely chop the tail of the lemongrass if you want more flavour.
Place a medium sized stock pan on a medium to high heat, add a little olive oil, then add the garlic, onion, ginger and lemongrass. Fry for a few minutes but do not let it colour.
Roughly chop the celery and courgette and add to the pan. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Remove the stalks from the coriander, chop and add this to the pan also. Fry for a few minutes, stirring to stop the ingredients from browning.
Add enough water to cover all the ingredients. Add the bay leaf, remove the thyme leaves from the stalk and add the leaves to the pan. Let it come to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Allow it to simmer until the courgette and celery become tender.
Remove the leaves of the Kale from the central stalk and roughly chop. Add this to the pan and allow it to wilt, then stir it in.
Wash the spinach, drain and then add it to the pan, again allow it to wilt down, then stir it in.
Chop the celery leaves and the coriander leaves then add to the pan. Season with a little salt and a dash of lemon juice (and pepper if you’re not following the AIP protocol). Allow it to simmer for a further minute, then remove from the heat.
At this stage the soup can be either served as it is if you wish to eat it immediately or it can be blitzed in the blender for a minute or two until completely smooth.
Garnish
To garnish the dish there are various options.
- You can simply drizzle with a little olive oil
- Halve an avocado, remove the stone and scoop each half out with a spoon, then either slice or finely chop with a little lemon juice (to stop it going brown), you could also blitz it in the food processor if you prefer it completely smooth. Then either place on top of the soup or if you’ve blitzed it you could stir it into the soup to give a more creamy texture.
- If you have some AIP compliant prosciutto fry a couple of slices in a dry frying pan until crispy then roughly crumble over the top of the soup.
- If you are not following the full AIP protocol try dry frying some sunflower seeds either as they are or adding a little chilli sauce/oil or even dried chopped chillies and a little sea salt. Scatter over the soup.
- If you have some AIP compliant coconut cream, you could drizzle a little over the top of the soup or stir through to give a creamier texture.
I always make at least double the amount that I need, the rest can go in the fridge or freezer to be used later. If you are going to do this though do not add the avocado until you are ready to use it or it may make the soup go a brown colour which is not as appealing as the vibrant green colour. It’s not easy eating out when on the AIP protocol so I always take stuff with me.
Duncan bought me a lovely flask this Christmas as did my sister, I’d recommend investing in one if you don’t already have one or add it to your birthday or Christmas list. For me they’ve been worth it so I don’t go hungry! No one wants a hangry Helen!!
Duncan bought me this lovely chilly’s flask for christmas. I’ve used it loads already. Its great for taking organic tea out and about or hot soup. It keeps it piping hot even on the mountain at -15C. The only downside is that it doesn’t have a cup so you either need to drink straight from the flask (which is not always so easy with a nice thick soup) or you need to take a reusable cup with you.
This little flask below was a christmas gift from my sister. It doesn’t like full days on the mountain at -15C as much as the Chilly’s flask, it will happily do a couple of hours though at this kind of temperature which to be honest is more than I usually get to spend on the mountain anyway so its ideal for me.
I use this a lot when travelling in the car, it’d be perfect for taking to the office. It does have advantages over the Chilly’s flask, it has a wider mouth so that you can put chunkier food in it such as stews and you can use it for cold dishes also. The lid doubles as a cup or bowl, it has a folding spoon, and a little compartment to store small snacks or garnishes such as the seeds for this recipe. It also has its own little thermal bag to store it in.
I often take both out with me if I’m out for the day, that way I get the best of both worlds, food and drink, and I don’t run the risk of going hungry or eating something that might inadvertently make me ill.
Want some help with your diet?
As a nutritional therapist and nutrition and health coach, as well as someone who has been where you are now I can help you unpick your poor eating habits, trial food elimination and reintroduction successfully.
Changing my diet got rid of my gut symptoms, insomnia, the shaky/dizzy spells that were a daily occurrence went too and it also helped improve my energy, brain fog and mood.
If you’re struggling to make dietary changes or to stick to them then let me help you with my 30 minute food diary analysis session.
Want to know more? Then just drop me an email: helen@helenmallaburn.com
Want to find out more about me, my story with Hashimoto’s and what I do now to help others? Then head over to my webpage: www.helenmallaburn.com