Tuesday 24 February 2015

The First Taste: How to Make a Detox Green Soup in 10 Easy Steps


by Alicia Ying

When I was traveling in Thailand, I discovered that there was a surprising lack of green veggies to eat. Sure, there was broccoli, snow peas, and some bok choy, but the serving portion was so tiny. Only a few florets sprinkled here and there. Even in the vegetarian dishes! When I got back to Los Angeles, I was craving everything GREEN. 
I searched online for a good detox green soup recipe to make that was healthy AND delicious. I wanted to give my body the greens my body was begging me for.  My friend recommended Kirstie Allie's Green Soup recipe. She had made it many times before and said that it was delicious and cleansing. I took a look at the ingredients and liked everything on it, so I decided to give it a shot! There are a few more ingredients that I knew had extra cleansing power (like garlic and ginger), so I added them to the mix. I also halved the recipe because I didn't have a pot big enough to fit all the ingredients. It still produced enough soup for 7 days, so I have included my halved recipe below.
The soup comes out fragrant and delicious! Give it a try if you need to detox or if you are just wanting a healthy meal. The best part about this recipe is:
  • it makes such a large batch, so you have plenty of soup for the rest of the week! Definitely a time saver!
  • You have a healthy meal already prepared in the fridge to grab instead of junk food
  • the nutrients give you energy to get through the rest of the week and the fiber helps scrub out any bad build up in your tummy
Give it a try and let me know how you like it by commenting below. Enjoy!
xoxo Alicia

DETOX GREEN SOUP RECIPE
(adapted from Kirstie Alley and Sean Prenter)
Ingredients
  • 4 shallots
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 knubs ginger
  • 4 leeks
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
  • 1 big bunch asparagus
  • 2 big bunches broccoli
  • 1 big bunch spinach
  • 2 32 oz. containers organic chicken broth or vegetable broth
  • 1.5 tbsp sea salt
  • Black pepper for taste
  • Cayenne pepper for taste (optional)
Directions
1. Prepare all the veggies. Peel and slice the shallots thinly. Peel and mince garlic. Peel and chop ginger. Cut the leeks just above the white part, peel the outer layer off and cut them open lengthwise. Rinse them out well, then chop into chunks. Cut hard ends off asparagus. Cut stems off broccoli.
2. Put EVOO in a large deep pot. Turn heat to medium-high. Put shallots into oil and sweat shallots. Make sure they don't brown.
3. Add 1 tbsp sea salt, garlic, and ginger.
4. Add leeks and asparagus. Allow them all to sweat. If they get too dry, add a little bit of chicken/vegetable broth.
5. Once they are all sweated down and tender, break the broccoli into small chunks and put them in the pot. Cook for 2 minutes.
6. Then add 1 whole container of chicken/vegetable broth. Cook for 10 minutes.
7. Add 2nd container of chicken/vegetable broth, and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes. Keep an eye on the color. You want the broccoli to remain a bright green color.
8. Add spinach and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
9. Turn heat off and season with the rest of salt and pepper.
10. Transfer soup into blender in increments. Puree mixture.
11. Pour into a bowl and enjoy!



Alicia Ying is a professional baker, born and bred in sweet, southern Georgia. A world traveler, Alicia enjoys eating delicious global cuisine and savoring a good cup of coffee. Also a blooming actress and producer, she has been seen on "Days of Our Lives," "Young & The Restless," independent films, and multiple web series.

Alicia's passion is to create dishes that are healthy and affordable. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook. More adventures in food and travel on her blog: yestotheying.com.

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