Soup Season!! A Nourishing Soup Stock Recipe

If you are a patient of mine, it's likely I have recommended that you incorporate more soup into your diet. Adding nourishing broth to your life can vastly improve your overall state of health. As we get deeper into the autumn seson, now is the best time to warm up your diet with some nourishing soup!

In chinese medicine we talk a lot about specific organs affected by deficiencies. In the Chinese diagnosis system, your spleen is responsible for making sure that the nutrients from your food get properly distributed throughout your body ensure a robust state of health. Eating raw, cold, and sugary foods can negatively impact your spleen's ability to do it's job. And the best way to improve its function is by eating warm and nourishing herbs and foods. Your body will thrive with the inclusion of a good, hearty soup stock into your diet.

When I make my stock, I always include herbs to help support my constitution. This helps to strengthen my immunity for the entire season. These herbs usually include goji berries, shiitake mushroom stems, and Logyan fruit to help build blood, astragalus and ren shen to build qi, aged tangerine peel and Shen Qu to support digestion, on top of marrow bones to strengthen my constitution. For a custom bag of herbs to add to your soup stock, feel contact me for an herbal consultation!

My Recipe:

1 large celery root

2-3 Parsnips

7 carrots

1 large turnip

1 large rutabega

1 large onion

1 large sweet potato

3-5 Shitake mushroom stems

1 whole chicken (or a leftover carcass)

1-3 pieces of beef "soup bone" (femur)

1 tbsp apple cider vineguar

1 handful fresh dill

3 tbsp sea salt

Chinese herbs for your constitution

Place all the ingredients in a large stock pot. Cover generously with water. Simmer for a minimum of 4 hours, 8 is preferred. Strain the liquid, and use the stock as a base for all of your favorite soups and rice dishes, or just eat it as a clear chicken soup broth!