Namaste Real – Wellness & Running – Train With Ally

I swear, my body has been having some serious cravings for vegetables and nutrients post-marathon. And I wanted something thick and creamy and full of satisfying and satiating ingredients. In the summer, I usually turn to smoothies for that fix…but as the temperatures drop, soups and stews are the perfect way to blend together your favorite flavors and eat some nourishing, warming foods.

I’ve made variations of this soup recipe throughout the past few winters, but this one might be my favorite version. Plus, I decided to add beef gelatin for the first time to really thicken it up and add a great nutritional punch.

Gelatin is great for skin, hair, nails, joints, and especially gut health. It has a great amino acid profile (the building blocks of protein) so it’s great for strengthening and repairing all types of tissue throughout the body. Also, if you have any digestive issues, both gelatin and the bone broth in this recipe are great for you – they are easy to digest and can aid in repairing your gut lining. This recipe also has prebiotics, which are great for your gut, and lots of anti-inflammatory spices like turmeric and ginger!

Because of the bone broth and gelatin, this recipe is not vegetarian or vegan friendly. You can substitute the bone broth for vegetable broth and remove the gelatin from the recipe to make this vegetarian and vegan-friendly.

I also love this recipe because it’s made in my Instant Pot! I love getting good use out of my kitchen gadgets. I got the IP after my crockpot broke last year and I’m always looking for ways to get the most use out of it.

However, I’ll be perfectly honest and say I’m not one of those people who absolutely obsess over the IP. I like it — don’t get me wrong! It’s great for things like soups and stews and for making things I would typically crockpot much faster, but it’s not quite as fast as everyone says it is. For example – with this recipe I set the timer for 12 minutes, but the time it takes to build the pressure and heat up is a lot longer than that, and the steam release afterwards (optional) can take additional time, too. So although the timer is set for 12 minutes, it takes 30-45 minutes in total. Therefore it’s faster than a crockpot, and makes GREAT recipes, but it’s not the miracle speed cooker everyone raves about (IMHO).

Anyways — back to the recipe — I’ve also found that “snacking” on this soup is killing my sugar cravings. This has been very necessary after running the marathon, and with all the holiday treats starting to go around! I have been craving tons of sweets, but eating this flavorful delicious soup has given me a nutritional alternative to other snacks and the little *spicy kick* kills my sugar cravings. And although I’ve been eating smaller portions of this soup to serve as a snack, this recipe has plenty of protein, healthy fats, and nutrient dense carbohydrates to make this a healthy, full meal!

I can’t wait to hear who this this and how you like it! I’ve been wanting to share my soups for a while because I love them so much, but I’m the only one who eats them LOL! I’m hoping others enjoy them as much as I do 🙂

SWEET POTATO CARROT SOUP

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sweet potatoes – washed, peeled, and cut into chunks
• 4-6 whole carrots – washed, peeled, and roughly chopped
• 1 small honeycrisp apple, chopped
• 2 cups bone broth (or vegetable broth)
• 1 medium yellow onion – roughly chopped
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 inch knob of ginger (or 2 tsp ground ginger)
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1-2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1 13.5 oz can full-fat coconut milk
• 2-3 heaping tablespoons gelatin (optional)

Instructions

1. Place sweet potatoes, carrots, apple, onions, broth, garlic, ginger knob, and spices into the Instant Pot*
2. Make sure vent is closed and hit the “Soup” setting and set for 12 minutes
3. Once the Instant Pot goes off, wait 15-20 minutes to allow pressure to settle naturally
4. Open the vent of the Instant Pot and open the lid once the steam has been released
5. Use an immersion blender* and blend everything together until smooth
6. Add coconut milk and gelatin* to mixture and blend again
7. Add any additional spices (to taste) and enjoy!

*Notes:

1. If you don’t have an Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker, you can use a slow cooker or just heat the soup ingredients from Step 1 on the stove until the vegetables are soft.
2. If you do not have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender instead.
3. The soup may thicken (mostly due to the gelatin) once cooled. You can enjoy the thick and creamy soup, or add a little water / additional broth to thin it out to your liking.