Carrot Ginger Soup for a Healthy Heart

I recently sent a few jars of healthy soup down the street to Retro Rose when she was sick. She called me up to say, “that carrot soup is fabulous.” Just when I was about to reply “see, healthy food is good” she adds, “it would be great on mashed potatoes.”

Well, as we say in the South, bless her heart. And, I did, literally with carrot soup.

Did you know that while carrots have had their acclaim as a food high in antioxidants from beta carotene, there is new breakthrough research which has proven carrots to reduce cardiovascular disease. Read about that here.

A shopping trip to Whole Foods adorned my counter with this beautiful bounty, which I posted to instagram promising to return with healthy, real food soups and smoothies.

A few hours later I had heart healthy carrot ginger soup and cancer fighting broccoli kale soup.

I started first with carrots, orange and ginger. I threw in a golden beet, and lots of ginger, along with celery, leeks and garlic. The golden beet will bring a slight earthy flavor to this soup, which you may or may not like, but it’s yellow and heart healthy. I also used a whole orange and a good nob of fresh ginger.

The soup is creamy without cream, and has a zing to it from the ginger.  It’s low in calories, dense in nutrition and filling. When this soup was reheated, it was just as bright, spicy and fresh tasting, and didn’t need another thing, except a little salt.

The Soup Process

I used one pot, one sauté pan, and the Vitamix. The pot contained six cups of water, two pounds of carrots, a half onion, celery, part of a leek, and a golden beet, making a flavorful broth. All the vegetables and some of the broth go into the soup. The pan contained olive oil, chunky onions, shallots, and celery. Once they cook down, add in garlic and ginger, and feel free to add in fresh herbs such as  thyme or parsley.

Carrots are the star, but the secret to the soup, however, is the slow sauté of the shallots, leeks, and good amount of celery. Once you begin to smell this combination when it nearly caramelizes, you will know exactly what I mean. This is your flavor booster.

Once the carrots are cooked or nearly cooked, add them to the Vitamix with onion/celery mixture and a cup or two of broth. This is optional, but you can add more sweetness by adding in one whole navel orange, peeled. Once you begin mixing, you’ll know if you need to add in more broth. Add a little at a time, until you get the creamy consistency you desire.

In my next post which continues down the clean eating street, I’ll show you what I did with the kale and broccoli.

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