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Cabbage Soup with Beet – Anti-Inflammatory Soup

Cabbage soup is a great fall soup and for year round. When you add beet juice, you get a beautiful color… and you can’t beat that in a bowl!

This is an Ayurvedic melody. You can get your sweet vegetable, savory, sour, and umami tastes in one bowl. You can also add some heat if you’re feeling cool (and more Kapha or Vata in fall Vata season). Most Ayurvedic balancing foods are also anti-inflammatory healthy.

Tamarind is one ingredient with a tart-sour taste that’ll set your soup apart from the rest. It’s commonly used in more exotic sauces and dishes.

If you buy tamarind paste that has seeds, to remove the seeds: pull apart taffy-texture-like pieces. Then place the tamarind paste in a bowl with heated water (just below boiling water is good). You can leave for a few hours or even overnight. Then the tamarind taffy-sticky texture should slip off more easily.

Add go right into your warming cabbage beet soup. You can make this soup without beets if you’re not a fan. And use red cabbage.

But if you’re a beet lover, this is the fall color you can BEAT! 🫜

And at the farmers markets or maybe your own farm

Cabbage soup is a healthy and light soup you can enjoy year round. It’s better warm, but you can enjoy it cold too. Either way, it’s LOW SODIUM healthy.

Cabbage is a great veggie to lose weight. And in a soup, it’s soup-er tasty. When cabbage is raw, it has a crunchy texture that can be satisfying like chips.

And what you don’t use, you can save for a future cabbage soup or dish. Or a lettuce wedge salad.

Iceberg lettuce is the common cabbage head. Sometimes they’re the size of a head or a volleyball.

It’s a filler that’s a good way to stretch a grocery bill, like the cost of a common loaf of bread..

And since cabbage is over 90% (and mainly) water, it’s underestimated as a healthy food.

For starters, it has K vitamins, some B vitamins, and minerals. It also has Vitamin C, that’s an antioxidant.

And best of all, cabbage is a high source of fiber, so it’s great for digestive reasons and losing weight.

The cabbage soup that my mom used to make did not have tomatoes. She used soy sauce that gave it a umami taste.

And instead of just heating the cabbage to soften, you can do what I call the radish method. Which is adding the cabbage to the freezer overnight and then bringing to the fridge or in room temp when you’re ready to work it in a soup.

It will turn mushy and you can cut into strips like for a radish salad.

You don’t want to skip cutting down the cabbage into smaller pieces as it’s hard to swallow fibrous whole cabbage leaves. Like a palm leaf, it would be good shade cover.

So to avoid a big mass wad of cabbage, you can take a pair of kitchen shears and cut, cut, cut… similar to as if you were trimming hair, making many micro-cuts. Keep cutting through the fibers.

And this will allow for an enjoyable soup experience that you can serve as an appetizer or starter bowl.

For a little heat that creeps us, wasabi powder (or horseradish powder that’s white color) is a sharp and pungent way or cayenne pepper for more heat.

If you’re game for a healthy comfort bowl of soup, you can also try an anti-inflammatory rainbow soup with cauliflower, a fall vegetable soup with fresh veggies and fall spices, and other easy homemade low-sodium soups.

Cabbage Beet Soup - Anti-Inflammatory

This is a rich balancing and anti-inflammatory soup.

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 cup cabbage
1 can whole beets
1 tbsp Five Spice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 tsp salt and black pepper to taste
1/8 tsp wasabi powder or cayenne pepper (optional for heat), to taste
1/2 tsp tamarind (optional)
1/4 tsp turmeric (optional)

Instructions

Add beef broth, soy sauce, beets, and beet juice (from the beet can) to a cooking pot.
Cut cabbage into small strips, and add to pot.
Add spices and seasonings.
Cook on heat until cabbage is soggy and soft.

Breathing In New Are Life Opportunities

You can start a new season with just your breathing. When you breathe in fresh oxygen, you reset. Your thoughts change with new O2 energy permeating inside you. And thoughts change feelings that bring new life.

That’s empowering… and all creatures are empowered to do what they were created to do. Like butterflies with the purpose to pollinate flowers. 💐

So it’s only natural for you and me to find out what we’re made for.

Taking a breathing reset and pause is where you can take in a moment of reflection. And that brings in new ideas.

Changing of the leaves fall season is such a great time to do this… if you’re a dominant Vata especially because this is YOUR season! 🍂

In an instant, you can change your mindset old ways with fresh ways…

You don’t need new circumstances to change on you for something new.

You create the change that naturally creates a change in you (of what you see, think, and feel).

And this snack-bite blog post is a quick reminder of how you can support and encourage your positive changes through your breathing habits.

…Especially if the season you’re in is tired (stale) or you’re transitioning and feeling uncertain.

Just 5 minutes a day of focused breathing can create positive changes for you.

(But more minutes is better).

And there’s no reason to say no as you only reap benefits. It’s like when you’re taking care of your teeth… is spending extra minutes ever a bad thing?… no. You never regret that.

And as you relax knowing you’re doing yourself a world of good, getting away from your busy schedule to breathe… you gain more benefits.

And less stress that means more ideas coming to and flowing through you.

On your yoga mat or wherever you’re seated, you can decide to let go of what isn’t working well this season with a few breaths.

Exhale out old ideas.

And breathe in new ideas and ways.

You can also do this laying down, standing, or a pose that’s comfortable to you. It’s function over form.

And you can choose from a variety of breathing techniques.

4-7-8, Ujjayi, and Lion’s Breath are 3 effective breathing resets.

4-7-8 is a balanced breathing way that you can do well while you’re standing or walking. It’s a good practice when you’re out enjoying nature and soaking in awareness.

Ujjayi is good for relaxing, clarity, and energy like a matcha drink.

And lion’s breath is good for forcefully expelling out anxiety or a bad mood. It’s an adult way of sticking out your tongue and telling the day and world who’s boss. 😊

Any of these breathing techniques can also carry you through your day so you can stop worrying.

…Because most everything will change around you anyway. It’s better to stay calm and not let situations get the better of you… as those too will pass.

Breathing in new oxygen and energy brings new flowing opportunities from the change of your perspectives. It’s even better than a warming cup of tea.

With energy, you get the oomph to sit optimally and taller. You stretch further and higher, and that spills over into your life where you do and try a few more things that can make all the difference in your life.

You end up giving yourself more space. And love. You go into places you didn’t go or imagine before. It’s like when you get new ideas or feedback from others, except you don’t have to rely on circumstances to fall in your favor. It’s a given.

And best of all, you can breathe intentionally and deeply in your body just where you are. Your body is the only equipment you don’t have to pay for. That you can never forget at home.

Oh, the places you’ll go… remember Dr. Seuss?

Those were the inspiring days when you had dreams and visions of how the future plans could go.

…And they still can go. All is possible.

As long as you’re breathing, anything and everything is possible.

And you have your life as proof.

Breathing deeply into your breathing space today, dreams come alive tomorrow when you enthusiastically believe again.

Today, all you need is to carve out that time. 5 minutes if that’s all you’ve got. And find a ritual that will help you get in your breathing mood. It can be as simple as music, a candle, or opening your front door.

And then let nature do the rest.

Beet Herbal Smoothie – Fasting For Gut Detox

Beet herbal smoothie is a delicious one that is soothing. Rose petals are edible flowers that you may have seen dried for herbal tea.

And this is a good way to open up your gut after fasting…

Fasting (temporarily) is a way to do gut detox (…more on this below). And then appreciate preferred foods like a rose smoothie… with beet or strawberries, or both that’s berry-hard-to-beat. 🫜🍓

Fasting is a practice that I’m proud of.

…I no longer freak out when I haven’t eaten. I look at not eating differently than my younger self would have.

I now know it’s healthy detox.

So now it’s my choice to fast occasionally.

And fasting is a form of empowerment.

(…And it can be for you too if you choose).

It’s a smart move.

Because living today, we are exposed to so many daily toxins like microplastics, bacteria, and pesticides.

And they end up in our gut and food.

That wreaks havoc on our gut health and how we daily feel.

So an easy way to at-home detox is to simply fast: to not eat temporarily and occasionally.

Fasting is countercultural to western world upbringings where we eat, eat, eat. And snack, snack, snack.

…Which never gives our bodies a break.

But fasting once a week or even once a month does a world of good for the body.

If you choose a day to stop eating at a certain time like 4 pm (like I do) and then resume back at 9 am the next day in time for breakfast (to break the fast), you’ll have turned your body into a healthy cleaning machine.

And it’s really not that difficult from a discipline perspective since you’re sleeping (and not eating anyway) for most the time.

It’s more about breaking old habits and mindsets.

You probably (surprisingly!) won’t even be hungry in the AM… and could even go to the afternoon or 24 hours if you had a reason.

Those additional hours of fasting reaps even more healthy body benefits.

But I find that a 16-17 hour fast is the sweet spot, doing wonders, and doesn’t disrupt my life.

Around that 17th hour mark (that’s more or less for some people), the body switches energy sources from glucose (blood sugar) to fat.

You may have heard of this process (ketosis) from the Keto Diet. But fasting is not about a Diet (with a capital “d”). Because in fasting, you’re simply not eating, temporarily.

Then when you start eating again, it’s about resuming regular eating… hopefully with healthy foods like in an anti-inflammatory food diet.

…Where the type of healthy food matters most (when eating)… much more than counting fat and protein calories, and avoiding high carbs that can cause a yo-yo diet effect.

You lose weight from not eating at all temporarily (when fasting) and not because you’re eating less carbs and calories.

And while fasting is helpful for losing weight, I don’t fast to lose weight… I do it for the healthy benefits.

It’s good for anyone.

Even thinner people (aka Vatas) like me can use a beet herbal smoothie like this. 🥀

…It’s like doing some cardio is good for anyone with a beating heart.

And fasting is part of a healthy lifestyle.

…And one that’s changed my life.

I no longer freak out when I haven’t eaten for some hours on a day I choose to fast.

I look at not eating totally different than I was taught growing up.

And if I have low blood sugar during the day when I’m not fasting, but because I don’t have anything in my stomach or I forgot to pack a snack, I know I’ll be fine.

…Because I know I do the same thing when I purposefully fast.

I’m not eating in both cases.

But the body doesn’t know if I’m choosing to be hungry for fasting healthy reasons or if I forgot to pack a snack.

But my calmed mind does. And I do.

As long as my mind and I know, that’s all that matters. And my body is happy with me.

I’m letting it do its full reset and cleaning job, uninterrupted.

Then the next morning, my body rewards me.

I wake up feeling refreshed… like I’d slept for days.

That’s when I’m humbly reminded of how it feels to have energy without needing cups of coffee to get going!

Without missing a beat, I’m also never more excited to taste a beet smoothie 🫜and start my day, besides this rose and beet herbal smoothie.

And I know I’m not the only one. 😊 Roses are a lovely start. I learned about edible flowers from my catering days. They are also pretty on a food table or pressed as art. 🏵️

Herbal Rose Smoothie

Rose is a soothing herbal element and rose petals are edible and can be added to a smoothie.

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

Magic bullet or similar blender

Ingredients

2-3 oz beets, cooked (or whole strawberries)
1/2 tsp rosewater, splash
4 oz water
1-2 rose tea, dried and crushed (for zhugh)

Instructions

Blend cooked beets and rosewater. A splash is strong. You can find rosewater in international grocery markets.
Zhugh with rose petals that are used for tea.

Chicken Salad with Cabbage and Spices

Chicken salad and a cabbage wrap is a delicious light food pairing. Great for anytime of year for losing weight, and gaining protein and fiber. And you can make your own tasty version with mustard that lasts in your lunch bag.

A cabbage chicken salad is great option for lunch, dinner, brunch, or an afternoon snack.

You can get a bite of sweet, savory, and crunchy in the recipe below. 🥬

Boy, I wish I knew how to make my own chicken salad when I was younger and hungry ravenous for something to eat before dinner.

It’s a snack that can be made very inexpensively and fast. Often you find grocery rotisserie chickens that are already cooked. So all you have to do is assemble. Or you can cook your own chicken breasts and even make chicken nuggets.

To shred the chicken, work along the grain pulling apart longer pieces. Then to make smaller and shorter pieces, with a sharper knife cut the long pieces straight across. Or pull the long pieces into even smaller pieces. You decide.

And you decide what goes in your chicken salad. Celery is a good pairing. And if you don’t have celery on had, lettuce pieces are also a great filler add in.

Onions and grapes are also good and healthy together in synergy. You can think of it as a superfood anti-inflammatory pairing. 🍇+🧅

Grapes bring sweetness to the chicken (or you can sub fish) cabbage wrap.

You can use red or green grapes but usually if you use red grapes, then red onion is good and green grapes with white or yellow onions for color effects.

But you do you deciding how to slice and dice up your onions and grapes.

I like the red onions because they’re more mild. If you cut the pieces small, they will not stand out …and for more fine, you can use a grater or a zester tool.

Then for seasoning I add salt and pepper. And to complement, I add a little anti-inflammatory turmeric powder.

Turmeric and black pepper together are another powerful anti-inflammatory healthy duo. 🎉 Tip: great for pain in joints!

And for tastes to further elevate the chicken salad: you can give it a lemony taste vibe with coriander. You wouldn’t want to use lemon juice here because it would be too sour and add to much liquid, and you wouldn’t want to use lemon zest because then it’s too lemony and overpowering the other tastes.

Coriander is a good dry compromise.

I like to use coriander seeds that I crush with my fingers and eat give a burst of bright lemony flavor when you bite into.

And to to give a French bistro vibe, I add tarragon from spice.

And that goes well with the mustard tastes where you have choices.

I like to lean into my Ayurvedic needs that show up in food preferences that I let decide the choice.

You can use a honey mustard for a sweeter chicken salad or a Dijon mustard to go with the French bistro tastes. Or a plain yellow mustard.

And to give a nice texture crunch 🤩, slivered almonds (or crumbled cashews) complement best with crunchy cabbage! You can also substitute with other nuts and seeds but slivered almonds crush (and in your mouth)! 🧡

Because of the vinegar acid in most mustards, it’s a practical condiment choice because it won’t go bad in room temps. Although after opened, it is better refrigerated to preserve taste.

So whatcha waitin’ for?

You can prep your chicken salad, and then put your salad to (cabbage) bed rest for tomorrow’s lunch (?). 😋

Healthy Lemony Spices Chicken Salad

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

6 oz cooked chicken, finely shredded
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp grapes, quartered in size
1 tbsp onions, minced
turmeric powder
salt and pepper
1 tsp coriander or lemon pepper
tarragon (optional)
slivered almonds
Plate: cabbage (Napa, red, Italian, or Bok Choy)

Instructions

For chicken salad: finely shred cooked chicken and mix in remaining ingredients (except cabbage leaves).
Then plate on cabbage leaves.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie – Frozen Anti-Inflammatory

Strawberry banana smoothie is one I can get behind. It’s a great start. And you can freeze it to give it a dramatic melting vibe.

It’s great for a warm afternoon. For frozen smoothies, frozen strawberries are a reliable source. They are a high source of Vitamin C and anti-inflammatory.

But you can also use fresh strawberries that you store-freeze. It goes both ways.

And then unfreeze frozen strawberries for a great smoothie (or even a pie).

For the bananas in the smoothie, you don’t have to wait until they are ripe as soft is texture best. You can use room temperature or freezer bananas (that turn mushy ready for smoothies).

If you’ve never done this, peel or de-skin the banana and add to a freezer safe bag. The bananas will turn a scary-looking brownish black color (and they’re fine!). These are also best for a malt loaf bread with banana or banana walnut bread. So like strawberries you can freeze or buy frozen, you have your bananas ready.

I learned this after I had been using fresh bananas that were too soft to eat by themselves. I like bananas when they are firm and about a day away from their green unripe peel.

And if you’re picky like I am with banana brown spots, if you freeze them you won’t have to deal with them. The entire banana will be brownish.

You can add this to any breakfast or brunch and it will be a hit.

Strawberries are usually in season in mid-spring and early summer and you can find organic strawberries abundance.

That’s when you wan to buy your strawberries and then you can freeze them for later. They will be juicier and even less expensive than frozen organic strawberries. Just a sweet idea. 💭

And to give your strawberry and banana smoothie an elevated taste, add fresh herbs like basil that will bring out the strawberry flavor. And when you add a squeeze of orange juice, this will make this a sweet tasty smoothie.

This makes my past catering self a smile!

Frozen Strawberry Banana Smoothie

This is a reminder of childhood popsicles.

Course beverage

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

3 frozen strawberries.
1/2 medium banana
almond milk (or milk of choice)
basil, mint, or cilantro.
orange juice
coconut oil (optional)

Instructions

Blend the ingredients. When you add the herby flavor, it gives a third dimension. Mint will be mildest, basil is middle of the road, and cilantro will the the most pungent. Save Money Tip: you can freeze your fresh organic strawberries when they are in season.
Pour about 3/4 full, leaving a little room for the orange dreamsicle layer.
Mix orange juice and milk about half and half.
After frozen, pour the orange layer on top.
Freeze again or add crushed ice to the top layer
Enjoy!