Souping + 15 Collagen & Gelatin-rich Recipes

Posted on January 10, 2018

I, um, am “souping.” You know, like juicing – but with protein and fiber. First, please listen to Episode 281 of The Paleo View podcast for thoughts on resolutions and sustainable health goals. I don’t support the yo-yo diet mentality and instead just want people to love themselves. Always prioritize you – your health, physical and emotional. Because without it, you cannot help others.

That said, I’m using the time after this long holiday break to jump back into routines and trying to create a new one for myself. Well, technically it’s a habit I used to have but got out of this year. I’m jumping back into “souping.” Soup offers a full array of nutrition – including gut healing amino acid proteins and macro nutrients from veggies. The benefits that I’m personally after are specific to “pre-digested” food (well-cooked foods, like stews and soups) are easy on the body’s digestive track allowing it to prioritize other things it needs to focus on and heal. Soup with veggies also offers incredible nutrient density! For me the past few weeks (months? year?) have been stressful, so I’m offering my body some stress-free nutrient-dense veggie-rich eating.

And when I talked about it last week I had no idea how much it would start a conversation! Are you interested? Here’s a couple of ways to participate:

Use #soupwithstacy and #morevegetablesthanavegetarian when posting pictures of your broth-based veggie-rich meals on Instagram
Get inspired with my InstaStory Highlight on Instagram – I’m sharing all my foods there!
Join the Facebook group and participate in the thread where we’re sharing ideas & photos & recipes together!

Here’s what I’m doing

My first two meals of the day are broth-based. Then I have dinner with the family, which is a meal entirely whole-foods based and “clean” to what works for our family (essentially Perfect Health Diet – paleo + occasional rice and high quality dairy). I am also still drinking coffee and tea, but with the same “whole foods” philosophy (no almond milk lattes unless there’s no additives) and I’ve been adding collagen to make it “broth-like.”

Example: Meatballs + Fauxmato sauce + Mashed Potatoes was a dinner this week. If we eat marinara with gnocchi and hamburgers with fries (and ketchup) then why not meatballs, mashed potatoes and marinara?! This was a phenomenal dinner – and we even managed to include broth in the Fauxmato sauce – to further support my “souping” in all 3 meals that day!

Our Tutorial on making your own broth

Why Try Souping over Juicing

I think it’s natural for people to start thinking about cleaning up their diet when flooded with indulgences over the holidays. But I implore you to think long-term health and sustainability when jumping into something. A whole foods approach and Paleo aren’t meant to be a fad-diet that you yo-yo on and off of.

From the groups I’m personally a member of, keto and juice fasting seem the most popular choices for New Years resolutions. Both of these can be hard on your body. True Ketogenic diets (not just low carb) lack the vegetables necessary for health (8+ servings a day), which means you’re not getting enough fiber and the micro-nutrients your body needs. On the other hand, Juicing offers lots of micro-nutrients but without fiber the juices hit your body as sugar which means you’ll be on the blood sugar rollercoaster, which affects hormones from drastic carbohydrate changes. No to mention, without fat those fat-soluble vitamin and minerals will run right through you without being absorbed.

Could you mitigate these concerns? Sure. So if you do either of these dietary activities I encourage you to please be mindful of their pitfalls.

I’ve been an avid-lover of broth for years, I legit drank it with a straw
on book tour when generous attendees would bring me their home-made brew ♥

Avoiding the Yo-Yo Mentality

For me, I’m not one to support short-term endeavors – my alternative suggestion to someone looking for a “detox” is something broth-based that will physically allow your digestive system a chance to rest and reset with food that’s already been partially-digested. I could make all kinds of grand claims here about the benefits of broth and “Souping” – but that’s not my style. The bottom line is, broth-based veggie-rich soups will give you more nutrients and less sugar spikes than juicing while also being low-carb, though not keto.

Here’s a click-baity version of my post if that’s what you or a loved one is into: Soup cleansing helps you lose weight fast!

I don’t want strict rules or a timeline, as I think those kind of “diets” and short-term eating habits can be detrimental for those prone to disordered eating (me) but I’m thinking 3 weeks would be a good amount to develop healthy habits and taste bud changes as well as allow a good amount of time for healing the body. From there, I’d like to continue with one meal a day as the long-term habit.

I waited to share until I’d been doing this a while ,to ensure it was something that I felt good about and were establishing healthy habits. So far – so good! I’m on Day 10 and going strong. Like any big change days 3-5 were the hardest, but I leaned on Vitamin C rich oranges, herbal tea with collagen and grass-fed heavy cream, and my Superfood Pudding (with collagen and gelatin) to get through. I’m now on Day 10 and can see an improvement in the quality of my skin and nails. As well as a huge improvement in my mood and decreased inflammation in my joints. I’m loving how satiated I feel, too – I don’t feel restricted at all, since there are no “rules” and I’m allowing myself to make my own food choices.

Benefits of broth

Broth contains naturally released amino acids glycine and proline. Essentially, the base form of the collagen and gelatin we’re always talking about adding to your diet. Here’s a list of why our family is obsessed with the stuff:

helps joint recovery
supports skin, hair and nail growth
improves digestion
pure protein
promotes relaxation and a good night’s sleep
can help heal your gut
helps improve cellulite
helps tighten loose skin [source for more info]

Recipes

Here’s a list of our favorite soup recipes:

Here’s a list of our favorite collagen and gelatin-rich recipes:

Join me in the Healthy Inside & Out community to share recipes and ideas to add more soup to your routine in 2018! I’m also documenting how I’m doing just that in Instagram if you wanna follow there.