Thyroid Recipe: All The Greens Soup

The more dietary stress you put on yourself, the more likely you are to experience inflammation that can worsen your Hashimoto's symptoms and interfere with your thyroid function.

By removing inflammatory foods from your diet, you allow your body to heal and reduce inflammation. Common inflammatory food groups include gluten and grains, dairy, legumes, sugar and additives, eggs, nuts and seeds, and nightshade vegetables. 

Of course, not everyone reacts to all of these food groups. Each of us is unique with individual sensitivities. Our bodies will not all react the same way to a specific food or food group.

One way to determine your particular food sensitivities is with the autoimmune protocol (AIP). The AIP diet a temporary elimination-style diet protocol that consists of two phases: a strict elimination phase followed by a slow and intentional reintroduction phase.

The AIP diet is more restrictive than other elimination diets (for instance, the Paleo diet) in its initial phases, making it a challenge for many. AIP involves removing gluten, dairy, soy, sugar, eggs, corn, and nuts. You may also try to eliminate or limit other possible food culprits like nightshades, caffeine, alcohol, legumes, and citrus fruits. The more comprehensive your list of foods to remove, the more likely you will discover the foods that trigger your symptoms.

All of this might leave you asking yourself, "What can I even eat?!"

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Fear not! There is still enough variety to make healthy, balanced, and delicious meals on the AIP diet. Foods you can enjoy on the AIP diet are meat and fish, most veggies, most fruits, coconut products, healthy fats, bone and meat broths, and yummy, non-seed herbs!

Holistic Wellness Coach Samantha Teague of The Unskilled Cavewoman shares with us one of her favorite thyroid-healthy recipes, with both nightshade-free and AIP substitutions.

All the Greens Soup

An immersion blender or a high-speed blender turns this green veggie-loaded soup into a velvety base to which you can add avocado, leftover meats, or even a dollop of coconut yogurt. 

See NF for nightshade-free substitutions. 

See AIP for Paleo Autoimmune Protocol Substitutions.

Ingredients

• 5 cups bone broth
• 1 lb asparagus, roughly chopped after discarding tough ends
• 1 bunch green onions, roughly chopped
• 4 stalks celery, roughly chopped
• 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 lb broccoli florets, roughly chopped
• 2 cups baby kale
• 4 cloves garlic, whole
• 1 bunch parsley, stems discarded
• 2 tsp dried dill
• 1 & 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
• 1 tsp smoked paprika (NF: sub 1 & 1/2 tsp smoked salt & omit Himalayan salt)
• 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper (NF: sub 1/3 tsp ground black pepper; AIP: sub ½ tsp ground ginger)

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to a large soup pot on the stove over medium-high heat. 
2. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low.
3. Simmer for 15 minutes or until veggies are very tender.
4. Turn off the heat, then allow to cool for 5 minutes.
5. Use either an immersion blender directly in the pot to puree the soup into a very smooth texture. Or allow to cool for about 30 minutes longer, then blend in batches in a high-speed blender.

Notes 

Delicious nightshade-free toppings for this soup are hemp hearts and sesame seeds. AIP-compliant toppings are whipped coconut cream, mashed avocado, and cooked ground meats. Use this soup like you would a salad and get crazy with the toppings! 

You might even heat this in the morning with a dollop of coconut oil and a scoop of collagen powder blended in for a quick morning breakfast mug to-go.