Anti-Inflammatory Fall Soups (Rainbow) 🌈

Anti-Inflammatory fall soups are special because they have healthy rainbow plate and bowl goodness that’s good for the palate too. Like this fall color beet soup that can look like weeds growing in a swamp. 🌱

…And the swampier the better for your body! 🌈

Hot or cold is an Ayurvedic choice that in balance can be a balance in weather season and your body balance needs! Our bodies wisely know what bowl would be better for each of us. 🥣

If we listened to our body… like the way we listened to our mothers, then we help ourselves out.

But the body is usually more subtle in its approval process… showing up in deeper satisfied feelings and as your healthy body without daily symptoms.

And in Ayurvedic terms, eating hot or cold makes a difference in healthy balancing your body.

Homeostasis (balance) means healthy. And the other good “H” word:  happy.

A happy body is a happy mind.

And a happy body-mind is a happy self.

Getting to this place is often from choices we make in lifestyle, environment, and work choices.

…I know this well working in buttery situations, with kitchens that used a lot of butter earlier on in my hospitality food career.

…That was the foundation I started with that helped teach me the better ways… similar to butter smeared on a cake pan to prevent sticking.

Those were my hotel days that gradually turned into Mediterranean food restaurant days where the ingredients grew more healthy over the years…

And cold soups first found a place in my culinary world when I tasted cold Gazpacho soup.

I was planning parties for a Washington DC metro Spanish restaurant chain then.

And after that a similar bowl scene in an Italian Capitol Hill restaurant that taught cooking classes.

I was warmed up to the cold soup idea by the time I got to a Lebanese restaurant chain where recommending food menus, promoting food, and tasting was my job.

Someone has to do the hard, dirty work 😋

I learned a thing or two in those years working with the talented culinary staff and foodie guests.

I looked forward to the seasonal menus like most of us do celebrating in-season and farmers market ingredients like watermelon 🍉 in summer… and pomegranates and pumpkin in fall. 🎃

And in my lessons, I learned no matter what temps are going on outside, you can make anti-inflammatory fall soups year-round.

Like a cold beet soup (recipe below 💗). You can’t beat that…

And especially with anti-inflammatory whole food pairings that taste like heaven on earth in the mouth.

…That’s what I lived and breathed planning event menus and food tastings for thousands of catered hotel and restaurant events before I embraced how healthy the ingredients are.

And a nice bowl of soup was part of that healthy immersive experience.

These are 7 soup-er bowls birthed from that healthy spirit.

Pumpkin and Cranberry Soup 

I brewed and added seasonal Bigelow Cranberry Harvest tea that will add a crisp acidic, sweet bitter taste with apple bits, hibiscus rose hips, and licorice root. That gives a grown-up sophisticated taste vibe in the mouth.

And you can add whole cranberry juice, plus tomatoes and carrots for balancing anti-inflammatory food pairings.

I used purple carrots here that have anti-inflammatory anthocyanin polyphenols (that are also in dark color berries). Each  color has special healthy effects. 🌈

Cook carrot variety of choice (or regular carrots 🥕) until soft. Add a dash of fresh ginger to pair the taste. If you’re not sure if you like ginger, you can use ginger spice to keep it subtle or leave out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creamy Tomato Soup 

And for a more traditional taste like tomato and grilled cheese with a restaurant-like twist, you can heat up a creamy tomato bowl 🍅 adding in a creamy cheese like Camembert or Brie to get a delicious pairing. You can skip the rind or leave in.

Movin’ on to other anti-inflammatory fall soups that bring a comfort smile… 😋

Chunky Sweet Potato

Cook your sweet potatoes in water, mash, and add to a bowl.

For hot and cold balanced spices, my favorites are trio medleys like: black pepper, turmeric, and coriander.

Or for an Ayurvedic heat-cooling duo, you can use black pepper and cumin.

This is good anytime if you’re leaning into your Vata or Kapha where you’re feeling a cold body internally regardless of the weather outside.

And since both doshas (Vata/Kapha) natually run cold, I’d recommend a warm soup like this one…

Warm Mushroom Soup 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mushroom soup is always my favorite. You can turn into a porridge with warmed oats.

And you can make your own creamy mushroom soup with two simple ingredients: mushrooms and creamy cheese.

You can even use milk or yogurt if you don’t have cheese on hand.

The creamy soups were my favorite growing up… and Cream of Mushroom was high on the list.

The way I like to do it is with the double boiler method where you heat the mushrooms slowly in the inside bowl, so they don’t get as mushy like on a sautee pan.

And you can use the natural mushroom juices to flavor the soup. You can also add a little sherry like they do in restaurants if you like. But this is where I leave the heavy cream in the restaurants. 😀

And near the end of heating up cooking, add the cheese like a creamy Camembert or Brie and let it melt to your liking. Camembert has B12, calcium, and proteins.

If you mix up your cheeses, then you get different healthy benefits. 🧀 And the gourmet creamy cheeses are healthier than regular store cream cheese or Boursin (Gournay cheese) that’s the restaurant equivalent.

If you don’t like any floating cheese that doesn’t melt in your soup, you can simply sift out those pieces. I personally like kitchen sink (everything) in my soup, leaving the cheese rind (mold) and all the natural, herby, and bitter tastes.

But that’s a preference you have a choice in if you make your own soups.

To finish off, I add a dash of white pepper from a mill to lean into the umami mushroom-y taste. 🍄‍🟫

Add a few drops of balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce and then I’m in Cream of Mushroom heaven.

Staying on the warming trend, this is another easy one that’s so good for you…

Warm Potato Soup 

Potato soup was the first soup I made from scratch and a good beginner soup you may have already discovered.

Earlier on I did like most… I bought my soups.

Then in 2020, like many I started making my own soups regularly. That’s when I made my first easy potato soup.

Btw, making soups is easier than making a salad ’cause there’s one star ingredient… potatoes. 🥔

That’s one sac of usually 5-lb bag of potatoes. You can add that as points to your fitness shopping routine that counts! 🎉

And then you don’t have to make extra effort to buy cans that take up space in your pantry and are usually loaded with sodium in case you’re on a DASH or MIND Diet.

Those diets btw have anti-inflammatory sentiments in mind.

Lentil Soup

And one more soup you should add to your list of anti-inflammatory fall soups is lentil soup. It’s pennies to make.

Plus, you can cook lentils faster than potatoes… like 35 minutes on a medium heat stove in case you want to have a good day start like the running hare 🐇 and not the slow turtle. 🐢

You can add coconut milk as a tasty pairing twist. And if you don’t have milk on hand, you can also use coconut flour for a curry lentil soup. Balancing spices to add: curry, turmeric, black pepper, ginger.

And finally without further ado… beet soup 🥣

You can make some easy rustic comfort wheat crackers to go with your fall soups.