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Are you having a hard time getting in all your veggies now that the colder weather is here? Not to fret, a hearty soup can be just as satisfying and healthful for loading up on vitamins and minerals.

In fact, studies say cooking your veggies makes them easier to digest¹ and softening them through steaming or boiling provides “increased extractability of compounds,” such as found in antioxidants.² However, do note that boiling or overcooking your vegetables is not the best idea as it can leach out some of the water-soluble nutrients, including vitamins B and C and beta-carotene (found in Vitamin A).

And, in my Meaty Chili Vegetable Soup, anti-inflammatory nutrients that contain antioxidants–vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, carotenoids, and lycopene–are exactly what you’ll get! Do you know which vegetables contain these antioxidants? (Hint: The anti-inflammatory ingredients in this soup include: cumin, tomatoes, onions, garlic, bell peppers, and broccoli.)

As a refresher, antioxidants inhibit oxidation, the process that produces free radicals in the body. This process occurs naturally in our bodies and when we undergo oxidative stress from an imbalance of free radicals to antioxidant activity. And, it’s this excess of free radicals that can damage cell DNA and proteins, which is linked to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and other health conditions.

Oxidative stress can be caused by a number of activities in our lifestyle or environment, such as obesity, smoking, excessive alcohol use, exposure to radiation (such as EMFs from cell phone use), eating processed foods, taking certain medications, and bio-accumulative chemical pollutants and pesticides in the body.³

Now, back to my recipe, which has been modified from the version my mom would make over the years. Mine just doesn’t have the kidney and black beans we would put in it.

If you’ve had a chance to make this soup, please feel free to leave a comment or rating. As always, I love to hear how it went, especially if I can help provide you with additional ways to reduce inflammation and improve immune health with the food we eat.

Meaty Chili Vegetable Soup

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Recipe by J. Irish, Ketolicious Eats Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: ‘Tex Mex’ ModificationDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Warm up a cold day with my anti-inflammatory Meaty Chili Vegetable Soup, loaded with antioxidants, and without the beans!

Ingredients

1 pound 1 organic pasture-raised ground beef
1 pound 1 organic free-range ground turkey
48 ounces 48 chicken, beef or vegetable bone broth (or just broth, if that’s what you have on hand)
1-1/2 1-1/2 steak tomatoes or four Roma tomatoes, diced
3/4 3/4 large onion, chopped
2 2 medium carrots, cut into 1/8″ slices
1-1/2 1-1/2 yellow or orange bell peppers, diced
7 ounces 7 tomato paste, preferably from a glass jar
1/2 1/2 small cauliflower
1 cup 1 broccoli florets
1 1 zucchini, sliced, optional
Spices
8 teaspoons 8 cumin powder
6 6 cloves, minced, or 1 tablespoon pre-minced garlic
2 teaspoons 2 chili powder
1 teaspoon 1 paprika
1 teaspoon 1 cayenne pepper, more can be added if you prefer a spicier soup (I often use 1-1/2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon 1 black ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon 1/2 Himalayan pink salt
.75 ounce .75 or more cilantro, chopped, for garnish
1-1/2 teaspoon 1-1/2 reishi mushroom powder, optional, for additional immunity

Directions

In a large pot, cook the meat and diced onions on medium until the meat is cooked through. No draining of the meat is necessary if using clean meats.
After the meat is cooked through, add all the spices, with the exception of the garlic, and stir well. (Note: You get the best healthful benefits from garlic by always adding it last to the food you’re cooking.)
Now, add the veggies that tend to take longer to get tender, your carrots and cauliflower, then followed by the remaining vegetables.
Turn your heat down to medium low and add the broth. You do not want your soup to be boiling, as you’ll lose some nutrients as described above.
As you wait for your broth and veggies to get warm, approximately 30- to 40 minutes, you can get your cilantro ready, if you haven’t already done so.
Now, you can add the minced garlic!
When the soup is hot, serve with your cilantro garnish and enjoy!

Notes

As always, I recommend using clean organic ingredients and spices whenever possible.

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Sources
1. Wrangham R, Conklin-Brittain N. ‘Cooking as a biological trait’. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol. 2003 Sep;136(1):35-46. doi: 10.1016/s1095-6433(03)00020-5. PMID: 14527628.

2. Miglio C, Chiavaro E, Visconti A, Fogliano V, Pellegrini N. Effects of different cooking methods on nutritional and physicochemical characteristics of selected vegetables. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Jan 9;56(1):139-47. doi: 10.1021/jf072304b. Epub 2007 Dec 11. PMID: 18069785.

3. Eske, J. “How does oxidative stress affect the body?” Medical News Today. Retrieved January 29, 2021. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324863#conditions