Beetroot Borscht

Vegan Borscht: Anti-Inflammatory & Liver Protecting

Vegan Borscht

This modern, vegan version of a traditional classic borscht is super flavourful, warming and brimming with anti-inflammatory properties.

What is Borscht?

Borscht! Borscht! Borscht! What’s not to like about this so very flavourful, earthy and deeply fullfilling spectactle of a soup? Traditionally made with beetroot, potatoes and some form of beef stock, borscht is a classic kitchen recipe associated with the cuisine of eastern and central Europe (especially Russia, Poland, and the Ukraine). Here we will cook a delicious vegan version of this all-time hearty favourite.

What is beetroot food for?

Beetroot is good for the liver:

They contain antioxidants, vitamin A, vitamin B-6, and iron. These compounds help protect the liver from inflammation and oxidative stress while enhancing its ability to remove toxins from the body. Beets’ juice has traditionally been used as a remedy to activate liver enzymes and to increase bile, which helps the liver’s detox function. They are also high in compounds that have been shown to reduce inflammation, protect against oxidative stress and reduce the risk of liver damage.

Beets can reduce inflammation:

Their juice contains anti-inflammatory compounds called betalains. Many studies have shown that betalains help modulate inflammatory reactions, especially in inflammatory diseases. Beetroots therefor make a great choice for people with inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia.

Beetroots can help reduce blood pressure:

Beets naturally contain large quantities of nitrates, which the body converts into nitric oxide. This compound dilates the blood vessels, which improves blood flow and lowers overall blood pressure.

Beets can help prevent anemia:

Beetroots are also rich in iron, an essential component of red blood cells. Without iron, red blood cells cannot transport oxygen around the body. People who have low iron levels can sometimes develop a condition called iron deficiency anemia. Adding sources of iron to the diet can reduce the risk of this condition.

ayurveda

Feeling Vata: This soup is great for you. Packed full of root vegetables to ground lofty Vata especially during winter times or whenever you feel a little out of sorts. Cabbage can be ok for Vata if cooked and not eaten too often, however if you know that cabbage gets you really gassy, then you can leave out the cabbage and cook the soup without it.

Feeling Pitta: Beetroots pacify pitta so this is a very good soup for you. If you’re feeling very Pitta leave out the garlic. Ensure you use the white and not the red onion as red onions can aggravate pitta.

Feeling Kapha: As this soup is full of root vegetables which can aggravate an already heavy Kapha, this is not the best soup for you to enjoy when your Kapha is high. A healing mung bean soup is much more pacifying for your dosha and easier for you to digest, leaving you feeling less heavy. However if you do want to enjoy a bit of beetroot goodness, than use much less of the beetroots and carrots and use more of the cabbage (can also be substituted with white cabbage). Use very little or no salt but you can add more black pepper and more of the lemon juice.

Healing Recipe

Liver Protecting & Anti-Inflammatory Beetroot Borscht

Liver Protecting & Anti-Inflammatory Beetroot Borscht

Beetroot Borscht

Borscht! Borscht! Borscht! What’s not to like about this so very flavourful, earthy and deeply fullfilling spectactle of a soup? Traditionally made with beetroot, potatoes and some form of beef stock, borscht is a classic kitchen recipe associated with the cuisine of eastern and central Europe, especially Russia, Poland, and the Ukraine. Here we will cook a delicious vegan version of this all-time hearty favourite, that’s also very good for your health!

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves chopped finely
  • 1 medium white or red onion
  • 6 beetroots, diced cooked (I use the pre-cooked ones from the supermarket)
  • 1 small piece of celeriac diced
  • 2 celery stalks chopped
  • 4 large potatoes diced
  • 700 gr red cabbage sliced into fine strips
  • 1 tsp black caraway ground in pestle and mortar
  • 4 carrots sliced
  • 2 bayleaves
  • 2 tbsp parsley chopped
  • 4 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1,25 liter vegetable broth without added fats or additives, and no added yeast or MSG or natural flavourings
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste
  • juice of ½ a lemon

Instructions

    1. Fry the onion and the garlic in the oil on low to medium heat for a few minutes until softened.
    2. Add the diced potatoes and fry lightly along with the onion and garlic mix for a few minutes. Stir frequently.
    3. Add the celery stalks, the beetroot and the celeriac. I always add the juice from the pack of the cooked beetroot (if using raw beetroot cook these first for 30 – 40 min and then add to this mix). Keep cooking on medium heat and stir frequently for around five minutes.
    4. Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil.
    5. Add the cabbage and the black caraway.
    6. Add the remaining vegetables, bay leaves, the tomato paste and salt and pepper.
    7. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked through. Stir several times. Season to taste with salt (but try and go easy with it as this is a healing soup. Try and avoid the salt altogether if you can).
    8. After 20 mins have passed, try the soup to see if all the vegetables are cooked through and tender. If so, take the soup off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
    9. Now you are ready to serve and eat your soup! Voila!


Nourishing Vegetable and Lentil Soup

Nourishing Vegetable & Lentil Soup

This nourishing vegetable and lentil soup is the perfect winter-warmer: I usually make it at least once a week and it eat it for days (reheated tastes even better).

This perfect winter-warmer is a winner for every dosha, simply follow the dosha adjustments below. This soup is fully packed with proteins. It’s giving you an amino-acid boost that bolsters your tissues and strengthens your immune system. Plus, a powerhouse of spices deliver antioxidants and anti-inflammatarory compounds: to let you fly with ease through the cold and flu season. Additional shitake mushrooms also provide this soup with a great earthy flavour and slightly ‘meaty’ texture.

Native to Asia, shitake mushrooms have gained widespread popularity across the world. They are the third most cultivated mushroom on the planet today. This isn’t surprising as shitake mushrooms boost quite the nutritional profile. They contain Vitamin D, Copper, Selenium, Thiamin (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Folate (B9) and B12 amongst others. But that’s not all. Shitake mushrooms are also said to have antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties. They are also said to be potent in fighting inflammations and helping in keeping your blood sugar stable.

Shitake mushrooms also deliver immune-modulating beta-glucans. Beta-glucans activate immune cells, increase antibody production, increase viral-inhibiting proteins and in short, they are great anti-cancer preventatives.

What more can you want from your soup?!

ayurveda

Feeling Vata: This soup is great for you. Swap brown lentils for red lentils for easier digestion and less bloating or gas.

Feeling Pitta: If your pitta is high swap potatoes with sweet potatoes and leave out the hot stuff such as paprika, cayenne and use less or no garlic. Skip the tomato paste.

Feeling Kapha: This is a great dish for you if you simply use a little bit less of the lentils and instead use more of the vegetables. All spices are great for Kapha, so go ahead and season well with the spices recomended in this recipe. Especially cayenne is great to boost Kapha’s sluggish metabolism.
Avoid the lemon in the end and go easy on the salt! Voila!

Weekly Recipe

Nourishing Vegetable & Lentil Soup

Yield: 1 pot

Nourishing Vegetable and Lentil Soup

Nourishing Vegetable and Lentil Soup

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • half a red onion, chopped
  • 2 x garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 x celery stalks, chopped
  • 3 x medium sized carrots, chopped
  • 1 x and a half cougette, chopped 
  • 2 x medium sized potatoes, chopped into small cubes
  • 150g shitake mushrooms (optional)
  • 1.5 x tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 x Litre vegetable stock / bouillon (yeast free, without added fats)
  • 1.5 cups brown lentils (alternatively use red lentils)
  • 1/2 x teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 x teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 2 x teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
  • 1 x teaspoon of coriander seeds, ground in pestle & mortar
  • one pinch cayenne pepper
  • 1 x bay leaf
  • 1 x tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 x handful of parsley, chopped
  • 2 x handfuls of spinach, washed and trimmed
  • black pepper and salt for seasoning
  • juice from half a lemon

Instructions

  1. If you are using dry shitake mushrooms, ensure that you soak them in water before cooking for usually 5-8 hours (according to pack).
  2. Add the olive oil to a large stock pot. Heat slowly on a very low heat setting, then add the onions and the garlic. Stir with a wooden spoon for a while. Add the cinnamon, cumin, turmeric and add a little salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Grind the coriander seeds in a pestle & mortar and add as well.
  3. Stir the spices well into the oil and onion mix, until you you have a nice oily mix. Keep heating on low until the onions and garlic become fragrant and slightly translucent.
  4. Add the potatoe cubes and carrots, and stir into the onion spice mix. Heat up to a medium heat and keep stirring for about 3 to 5 minutes until the vegetables are nicely coated in spices and oil.
  5. Add the courgette and celery pieces and stir in to the mix for 1 minute. If the mix is to dry add a little water if need be.
  6. Now add the lentils. Stir well into the vegetable and spice mix.
  7. Add the paprika and tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute.
  8. Add the 1.5 Liters of vegetable stock. It should be enough stock in the pot that the vegetables and lentils are well covered (the lentils will soak up a lot of water during cooking). Add more water if not covered enough.
  9. Add the bay leaves.
  10. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
  11. Add the shitake mushrooms if using.
  12. Cook for another 20 minutes (unil the lentils are nice, soft and mushy and the vegetables are soft and tender, if not simply cook a bit longer until the soup has a nice consistency to your liking).
  13. Stir in the spinach and half of the chopped parsley, simmer for a another few minutes until the spinach is wilted and cooked to your liking.
  14. Squeeze half a lemon and stir through the soup.
  15. Take off the heat and season with salt and pepper.
  16. Serve and garnish with the left-over parsley, some vegan plant-based yoghurt,and if you're a Kapha type, some chillies and cherry tomatoes go a long way!

Notes

This soup is also delicious with some black beans or chickpeas additional or instead off the brown lentils if you're a pitta or a kapha type. Vata's better stay clear of too many legumes or beans.


carrot cake smoothie bowl

Warm Carrot Cake Smoothie Bowl

This delicious grain-free smoothie bowl is super nourishing, especially on a cold winter’s day.
If fruits and smoothies are not your thing and you also don’t like ‘Porridge & Co’., try this bowl as a very healthy breakfast alternative. It’s also great for people who experience food allergies and sensitive bellies from grains and pseudo-grains, as this yummy bowl totally delivers as a filling meal that keeps you going all morning, completley grain-free.

ayurveda

Feeling Vata: Particularly great and grounding for Vata’s, this breakfast will soon become a staple in your morning routine once you’ve tried it.
Feeling Pitta: If your Pitta is high, reduce the ginger and the cardamom in this recipe. Skip the walnuts but topp with roasted almonds instead, or simply some toasted seeds.
Feeling Kapha: don’t use oil or any nuts and add a pinch of cayenne pepper or two to the mix, leave out the maple syrup and try adding more cinnamom and cardamom.

Yield: serves 1

Warm Carrot Cake Smoothie Bowl

Hot Carrot Cake Smoothie Bowl

This delicious grain-free smoothie bowl is super nourishing, especially on a cold winter's day. If fruits and smoothies are not your thing and you also don't like 'Porridge & Co'., try this bowl as a very healthy breakfast alternative. It's also great for people who experience food allergies and sensitive bellies from grains and pseudo-grains, as this yummy bowl totally delivers as a filling meal that keeps you going all morning, completley grain-free.

Ingredients

  • 2 x medium sized carrots, chopped
  • 1 x sweet potato, chopped into small pieces
  • 2 x dates, dried (best soaked in water overnight)
  • 250ml of water
  • 1 x tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 x teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
  • seeds of 2 x cardamom pots, or alternatively 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • optional: 1/2 teaspoon orange extract or 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
  • 1 x pinch of salt
  • 1 x teaspoon of olive oil (leave out if doing a cleanse)
  • handful of walnuts, soaked best overnight (leave out if doing a cleanse)

Instructions

  1. Steam the carrots for 5-10 minutes until soft
  2. Cook the sweetpotatoes until soft (usually between 15-20 minutes).
  3. If you're not on a cleanse, roast the walnuts in a pan until fragrant
  4. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the veg, the walnuts and the rest of the ingredients into a hight speed blender, and blend until smooth. Maybe add a little water if needed in case mixture is too thick (if on a cleanse leave out the nuts and the oil).
  5. Taste and season with more cinnamon, maple syrup and salt, if needed.
  6. If not on a cleanse, top with roasted nuts of your choice, edible flowers or toasted seeds suitable for your dosha.
  7. ENJOY!