How to Make Carrot Ginger Soup with Parsnips & Collard Greens

SERVINGS: 4

PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 25 MINUTES

SKILL LEVEL: EASY

MEAL: LUNCH-DINNER

STYLE: WESTERN

PREPARATION: SOUP, BOILED

EAT IN: SPRING, AUTUMN-WINTER

FOR OCCASION: CLEANSE, ON-THE-MEND

How Does This Ayurvedic Recipe Improve Wellness?

CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW

This simple soup greets you with sweet and savory notes in a light, nurturing broth. It is a nice way to introduce parsnips if you're unfamiliar with them. Their taste blends nicely with carrots and they look almost the same. Parsnip is the albino carrot! Light soups help you shed the winter blues and enjoy the brightness of Spring as they aid your body through a natural detox cycle.

The pungency of parsnips helps decongest the lungs and circulatory system, restoring blood flow. Carrots contain beta-carotene which stimulates the liver in spring. Brightly bitter collard greens lighten this nurturing soup.

Restore Your Vitality

Cooked carrots are sweet, nourishing, easy to digest, and contain lots of fiber. They are ideal for babies and convalescing patients (i.e. those recovering from illness). Parsnips have many of the same qualities as carrots and are also a wonderful food choice for the recently ill, elderly, or ailing. Ginger warms the belly as it strengthens your digestion. This is very important during recovery- illness tends to put a damper on the digestive fire. If it's still a little difficult to digest, remove the collard greens and you're sure to have easy digestion.

Clean Blood, Cool Liver

The blood purifying aspects together with carrot's sweetness make it an excellent blood and liver tonic. Carrots are ideal for liver deficiency, especially useful in the dry seasons of late summer and fall. The liquid nature of this soup combined with soothing carrots and bitter colalrds can bring relief to dry, overheated eyes. The eyes are direct reflection of the state of your liver, so if your eyes are feeling hot and tired, this soup is for you.

Warming Roots Give You Strength

Do you feel cold to your bones as the season turns from summer to fall? This root vegetable soup restores your ability to build heat from the inside out. In Chinese Medicine, root vegetables like ginger, carrots, and parsnips are said to build "yang," or the energy of heat and strength. This effect grows when the roots are cooked long as slow, roasted or in soups. In Ayurveda, root vegetables calm windy, spacy Vata Dosha by offering a sensation of groundedness and stability. The added warmth of a soup is a bonus!

A Sweet Note on Carrots

Ancestors of the wild carrot came from Iran and Afghanistan, the center of genetic diversity for carrot. Carrots were bred from a species of wild carrot, called Queen Anne's Lace. Originally they were grown for their aromatic leaves and seeds. Since then, selective breeding has increased sweetness, reduced bitterness, and minimized the woody core. The ancient Greeks called them, 'philon' which means love charm, because carrots were considered to make men and women more amorous.

AYURVEDA'S GUIDE TO VITALITY & WHOLESOME NOURISHMENT

Your Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body and your specific imbalances. With an Ayurvedic diet you feel joy and satisfaction because what you are eating truly nourishes and balances you. Disease results from diets and lifestyles that are incompatible with your nature. By eating a personalized diet matched to your body, you experience optimal health. See How it Works.

See a complete list of all biocharacteristics.

INCREASES Increases These Biocharacteristics (Gunas) Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics (gunas). Aggravating these characteristics weakens your body and causes imbalance. By knowing which characteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct imbalances before you get sick. Every characteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold). You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite characteristic. Learn More	LIQUEFIED ABOUT LIQUEFIED BIOCHARACTERISTIC Substances that thin fluids (lower viscosity of blood plasma). These may include blood thinners or mucolytic herbs. LEARN MORE ABOUT LIQUEFIED EASY ABOUT EASY BIOCHARACTERISTIC Easy refers to anything easy to digest, or digests quickly. LEARN MORE ABOUT EASY LIGHT ABOUT LIGHT BIOCHARACTERISTIC Lightness is identified by reduced weight. LEARN MORE ABOUT LIGHT CLEAR ABOUT CLEAR BIOCHARACTERISTIC Clear refers to anything that cleanses or flushes out wastes, or that digests ama. LEARN MORE ABOUT CLEAR HOT ABOUT HOT BIOCHARACTERISTIC Hot is identified by increased body temperature, metabolism, or inflammation. LEARN MORE ABOUT HOT
TASTES The 6 Tastes Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food. Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body. Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food. Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods. Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion. Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste. One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes. The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below? Learn More	BITTER ABOUT BITTER BIOCHARACTERISTIC Bitter taste has cholagogue action - it is cold, clear, light, and stimulating. It increases digestive enzymes, laxative, and drying. LEARN MORE ABOUT BITTER ASTRINGENT ABOUT ASTRINGENT BIOCHARACTERISTIC Astringency is characterized by constriction, drawing together, or drying. LEARN MORE ABOUT ASTRINGENT
DOSHAS The Three Doshas / Body Types According to the biocharacteristic theory of medicine, people tend to get sick, over and over again, due to habitual causes and imbalances that are unique to the person. Your body type summarizes this tendency, showing you the 'type' of conditions and imbalances that frequently challenge your health & wellness. Using body type, you can also identify remedies likely to improve your strength and resiliency. Your body type identifies physical and mental characteristics as well as your personal strengths and weaknesses. The calculation of your body type is based on your medical history. The 3 functional body types (doshas), are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha). Catabolic individuals tend to break down body mass into energy. They are easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry. Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy. They tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed. Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass. If they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion. Anabolic people tend to be stable and grounded. Learn More	PACIFIES AGGRAVATES
HAS THE FOLLOWING	Subtaste: Bland BLAND Bland means doesn't have much taste. In Chinese medicine, bland taste refers to afood without little macronutrients, such as cabbage, radish or bok choy. SEE ALL 'BLAND' FOODS / HERBS , Crunchy CRUNCHY Makes an audible noise when you eat them. Can provide fun texture variation. SEE ALL 'CRUNCHY' FOODS / HERBS Moves Energy: Downward DOWNWARD Downward-moving (Adho Gati Marga) substances move food downward in the GI tract, settle the nervous system, and relax muscles. SEE ALL 'DOWNWARD' FOODS / HERBS , Inward INWARD Inward moving substances promote introspection, self reflection, stillness, or slow the system down. SEE ALL 'INWARD' FOODS / HERBS Tissue (dhatu): Blood Plasma Lymph BLOOD-PLASMA-LYMPH Plasma (Rasa Dhatu) includes plasma, white blood cells, and lymph. SEE ALL 'BLOOD-PLASMA-LYMPH' FOODS / HERBS
HERBAL ACTIONS (see all)	Medicinal Benefits, Uses & Herbal Actions of Carrot Ginger Soup with Parsnips & Collard Greens Experiences are Personal Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary. The list of herbal-actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition. Digestion: Warms Abdomen WARMS-ABDOMEN Warms the muscles and organs of the abdomen, stimulating digestion and metabolism. SEE ALL 'WARMS-ABDOMEN' FOODS / HERBS , Appetite Suppressant APPETITE-SUPPRESSANT Suppresses hunger without causing weight gain. SEE ALL 'APPETITE-SUPPRESSANT' FOODS / HERBS , Stomachic STOMACHIC An herb that increases appetite or settles a nauseas or nervous stomach. These generally increase the digestive fire, therefore relieving symptoms of sluggish or difficult digestion. SEE ALL 'STOMACHIC' FOODS / HERBS , Digestive DIGESTIVE Herbs that encourage healthy digestion. SEE ALL 'DIGESTIVE' FOODS / HERBS Bowel Health: General Laxative GENERAL-LAXATIVE Promotes a bowel movement. General laxative is an umbrella term that refers to several different types of laxatives. SEE ALL 'GENERAL-LAXATIVE' FOODS / HERBS Cleanse & Detox: Internal Detoxicant INTERNAL-DETOXICANT Liquefies, dissolves, decongests or dislodges internal stagnant toxins. Decongests the lymphatic system. SEE ALL 'INTERNAL-DETOXICANT' FOODS / HERBS , Burns Toxins BURNS-TOXINS An herb that detoxifies by helping your body metabolize toxins, as opposed to eliminating them. SEE ALL 'BURNS-TOXINS' FOODS / HERBS Mind, Stress & Sleep: Makes You Tired MAKES-YOU-TIRED Induces drowsiness and promotes sound sleep. SEE ALL 'MAKES-YOU-TIRED' FOODS / HERBS , Nerve Relaxant Grounding NERVE-RELAXANT-GROUNDING Encourages feelings of stability and heaviness. Makes you feel settled, mentally relaxed. Mildly sedates the nervous system to ease stress. Can bring a spacey or anxious person back to earth. Reduces agitation, irritation, stress and racing thoughts. SEE ALL 'NERVE-RELAXANT-GROUNDING' FOODS / HERBS Energy Vitality: Satisfies Stomach SATISFIES-STOMACH Provides a sense of gratification and fullness in the stomach. SEE ALL 'SATISFIES-STOMACH' FOODS / HERBS , Nutritive NUTRITIVE An herb that is strengthening and nourishing. SEE ALL 'NUTRITIVE' FOODS / HERBS Skin Care & Beauty: Diaphoretic DIAPHORETIC An herb that induces sweating, often by dilating blood vessels close to the skin. SEE ALL 'DIAPHORETIC' FOODS / HERBS Respiratory-Health: Flushes Sinuses FLUSHES-SINUSES An herb that relieves sinus congestion by flushing out mucus. SEE ALL 'FLUSHES-SINUSES' FOODS / HERBS , Irritates Throat IRRITATES-THROAT Creates abrasive feeling in the back of the mouth. May stimulate coughing. SEE ALL 'IRRITATES-THROAT' FOODS / HERBS , Decongestant DECONGESTANT An herb that reduces mucus production often by restricting blood flow to mucus membranes. SEE ALL 'DECONGESTANT' FOODS / HERBS Heart & Circulation: Cardiac Stimulant CARDIAC-STIMULANT Herbs that increase the heart rate. Useful in cardiovascular health, blood stagnation, and subjective feeling of heaviness in the chest area. SEE ALL 'CARDIAC-STIMULANT' FOODS / HERBS , Warms Ears WARMS-EARS Stimulates peripheral circulation to warm extremities, including the ears. SEE ALL 'WARMS-EARS' FOODS / HERBS , Vasodilator VASODILATOR A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area. SEE ALL 'VASODILATOR' FOODS / HERBS , Alterative ALTERATIVE Restores the proper function of the body by cleansing the blood and balancing blood chemistry. In Ayurveda terms, they pacify Pitta in rakta. They were traditionally used to revitalize and detoxify after a long winter. SEE ALL 'ALTERATIVE' FOODS / HERBS , Blood Tonic BLOOD-TONIC An herb that produces more blood cells in the body, or otherwise improves blood cell quality or hemoglobin content. Helpful for anemia and other types of deficiency. SEE ALL 'BLOOD-TONIC' FOODS / HERBS Kidney & Urinary: Diuretic DIURETIC Herbs that promote urine formation, thereby flushing the kidneys and urinary tract while eliminating any excess water retention. As diuretics reduce water retention, they are often used to reduce blood pressure. SEE ALL 'DIURETIC' FOODS / HERBS Liver & Gallbladder: Cholagogue CHOLAGOGUE Cholagogues stimulate the production & release of bile from the liver & gallbladder. This refreshes and cleanses these organs, as well as increases bile in the small intestines. SEE ALL 'CHOLAGOGUE' FOODS / HERBS Reproductive Health: Galactagogue GALACTAGOGUE Increases production of breast milk, often by raising prolactin and diaphoresis. SEE ALL 'GALACTAGOGUE' FOODS / HERBS Constituents: Soluble Fiber, Vitamin A, Nitric Oxide NITRIC-OXIDE Improves circulation by dilating blood vessels. Protects blood vessels from damage. Improves athletic performance, libido, immunity, and brain health. SEE ALL 'NITRIC-OXIDE' FOODS / HERBS , Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Carbohydrate, Aromatase Inhibitor AROMATASE-INHIBITOR Blocks estrogen synthesis by inhibiting conversion of progesterone and testosterone into estrogen. SEE ALL 'AROMATASE-INHIBITOR' FOODS / HERBS , Calcium CALCIUM Calcium nourishes bones and muscles. A muscle cell is activated when calcium enters the cell. It relaxes when the calcium is secreted. SEE ALL 'CALCIUM' FOODS / HERBS , Polysaccharides, Saponins SAPONINS Can be used to make soap. Saponins stimulate mucus membrane secretion, liquefying mucus for easy removal (expectorant). SEE ALL 'SAPONINS' FOODS / HERBS , Sulfated Polysaccharides, Sulphur, Coumarin COUMARIN Moderately toxic, vascular tonic, hypotensive, and anti-inflammatory. SEE ALL 'COUMARIN' FOODS / HERBS , Potassium, Vitamin E, Protein, Phytates PHYTATES Phytates prevent absorption of nutrients. They are commonly found in all seeds, including nuts, grains, and beans. Sprouting greatly reduces phytate content, as well as long, slow cooking with vinegar. SEE ALL 'PHYTATES' FOODS / HERBS , Beta Carotene, Fats, Magnesium MAGNESIUM Helps muscles relax. Laxative. SEE ALL 'MAGNESIUM' FOODS / HERBS

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Joyful Belly is a recognized school of biocharacteristics medicine.