Immune Boosting Vegetable Soup

Since the weather has been getting colder and winter is officially here, what better way to get warm than with a bowl of hearty, homemade soup?

Using this recipe, you can easily whip up a batch to serve at family soup night or use throughout the week as a side dish to lighten up a heavy meal. And you can easily alter ingredients to fit your preferred vegetable palate or include seasonal produce.

Also…

…It’s the Perfect Cold Season Pick-Me-Up

You might think there’s nothing special about a bit of vegetable soup. It’s just a bunch of vegetables, right? Wrong.

Vegetables are rich in numerous vitamins and minerals, which are essential to keeping our bodies strong and healthy. They’re also a good source of phytochemicals, which are nutrients that are beneficial to our health but can only be found in plants. The vegetables in this recipe are exceptionally good sources of beta-carotene (which benefits immune and vision health) and potassium (which helps keep your body hydrated).

Also, no vegetable soup worth its salt is just about the vegetables – it’s also about those ingredients that give it personality! And while there is plenty of seasoning in this soup, these three ingredients are what make it particularly relevant on those feeling “under the weather” days.

Cordyceps mushrooms are perfect during cold and flu season because they are rich in beta-glucans and cordycepin, which can help boost physical and mental performance, immune defense, and stress response.*

We prefer to use the powder from our MyPure™ Cordyceps because they are a potent source of pure cordyceps fruiting body nutrition. Each capsule provides 500 mg of our 1:1 extract of 100% non-GMO, certified organic Cordyceps militaris mushrooms which is the equivalent of 5,000 mg of raw cordyceps mushroom.

Turmeric and Black Pepper are probably two of the most recognizable spices, but did you know that both of them contain extremely beneficial compounds that work well together? Turmeric contains curcumin, a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant phytochemical with antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. Unfortunately, curcumin isn’t easily absorbed by our gut, which is where black pepper comes in. Black pepper is a source of piperine, an alkaloid with anti-inflammatory and digestive-boosting properties that can increase the bioavailability of curcumin. Together, they can be quite effective toward boosting your health.

But enough talk – let’s get cooking!

Recipe 

Print Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 cups chopped vegetables: potatoes (or sweet potatoes), green beans, zucchini (or yellow squash)
½ cup corn, fresh or frozen
1 teaspoon sea salt, divided, to taste
6 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon dried thyme 6 capsules MyPure™ Cordyceps, powder from
1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth
2 cups water
2 bay leaves
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ teaspoon cayenne, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions 

1. Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, chopped vegetables, corn and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onion has softened and is turning translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Add the garlic, turmeric powder, and thyme. Cook until fragrant while stirring frequently, about 1 minute. Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juices and add in the MyPure™ Cordyceps powder. Cook for 3 more minutes, stirring often.

3. Pour in the broth and water. Add ½ teaspoon more salt, 2 bay leaves, parsley, and the cayenne. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil; then partially cover the pot and reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Remove the pot from heat and remove the bay leaves. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Taste and season with more salt, pepper, and/or cayenne as desired. Serve and enjoy.

This Cordyceps vegetable soup recipe is seriously SO good! It’s easy to make and full of veggies and fresh flavor. We hope you enjoy it!