8 Benefits Of Souping That Make It The New Juicing—Even In Spring
A more satisfying cleansing process, loaded with veggies and fiber. (Photo: Tina Leigh)
Whenever the conversation is about how to eat better, you’ll always hear about what to eat more of (veggies), not what to eat less of. Deprivation is not our thing. And that’s why this new souping trend is making us take note—not to mention that this brutally cold winter has definitely warmed us up to all sorts of soups. But now that spring weather is (hopefully) on the horizon, should we still make soup part of our daily diet?
We know that if we regularly eat a veggie-loaded, well-combined diet, at the right times (ahem, no more late night popcorn binges), then our bodies can go through a natural cleansing process every day, making a detoxifying juice cleanse less necessary. In the book The New Detox Diet, Elson M. Haas, M.D., says everyone needs to detox and rest their body from time to time, but “those who eat a regular, balanced diet devoid of excess necessitate less intensive detoxification.” As you probably know, a juice cleanse is an intensive detoxification, which is why we love the newest health trend so much more: a soup cleanse, a.k.a. souping!
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Let’s talk souping, shall we? First of all, what is it?
Souping is a warmer, more satisfying, and delicious way to infuse your body with tons of nutrients that are easy to digest. Eating delicious veggie-rich soups make it easy to go from eating minimal veggies to loads of veggies in just one day.
How does it work?
Make a bunch of veggie-loaded soups and eat only that for a few days. This allows your body to rest and get rid of toxins. We believe souping is here to stay, and here are eight reasons why we love it so much.
1. Souping is more economical. If you have ever walked out of Whole Foods with a brown bag of veggies costing $80, and then fed those veggies into your juicer only to get one or two glasses of juice, you know what we’re talking about. And all that pulp? That’s like half the veg! It just kills us. Soups are remarkably inexpensive meals to make, and produce less waste than juicing. During the juicing process, the pulp is often discarded while the natural sugars of the fruit or vegetable become concentrated in your drinking glass. Additionally, you don’t need an expensive piece of equipment to make soup. (No excuses—eat like a champion!). An added bonus is that you can store your soup in the fridge for up to five days, or in the freezer for up to six months, which makes the entire “cleanse” more sustainable.
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2. Souping retains the fiber. Aside from providing your body with a wide variety of nutrients and minerals, soups are also a great source of fiber. All that pulp you throw out from juicing (over half of the veggie!), is the fiber. And guess what? Fiber supports detoxification. Soluble fiber from fruits and vegetables protects and promotes proper movement of feces through the GI tract, and it binds toxins in the bowel and improves elimination.
3. Souping is mentally easier to sustain. Cleansing in general is mentally tough. Souping is easier on your body and your mind. It takes acertain amount of time for foods to reach our stomach and for our mind to recognize a feeling of fullness. Juices are ingested quicker than soups because of their watery texture and lack of fiber; so rarely do you get that full, satisfied feeling. Chewing plays a critical role in digestion and weight management, and leads to smooth digestion and greater assimilation of nutrients by initiating the release of digestive enzymes that break down food. Going for a few days or a week eating soups gives your body a huge break from all the toxins in this shiny world (just like a juice cleanse), while also satisfying and energizing your body and mind.
4. Soups are veggie-loaded. Juicing allows you to pack more servings of vegetables into one single meal. Soups provide that same benefit, while also utilizing nutrient-rich plants like beans, legumes, and seeds, and healthy fats from coconut, olive, and other oils as well as avocado, all of which keep your blood sugar stable and your energy soaring.
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5. You’ll get the benefit of a wide variety of herbs, spices, and broth.Juicing uses fruits and sugars to create flavorful, enjoyable drinks, while souping utilizes herbs and spices for great flavor and added health benefits. Due to the sweet nature of juicing, we’re limited to using ingredients with complimentary flavor profiles; ginger, parsley, mint and cinnamon. Souping lends itself to a whole new world of savory options, such as cumin, turmeric, and pepper, which have even more benefits to promote whole body health. Herbs and spices are rich in phytonutrients (nutrients derived from plants) and a variety of other active ingredients that are linked to the prevention and treatment of chronic illnesses: cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, etc. Spices are also are known to fight smaller issues like indigestion, inflammation and even skin blemishes. You can also boost a soup’s nutritional power by using bone broth, adding a scoop of probiotic rich miso (make sure the soup isn’t too hot when adding), or stirring in some Aloha Daily Greens.
6. Souping won’t leave you feeling hungry. Raw foods are much harder to digest than cooked foods. With souping, not only are you cooking the foods, but the combination of increased fiber and proteins paired with your body’s ability to digest easier won’t leave you feeling hungry minutes after a meal.
7. You can choose from a menu of textures. Juicing can get boring and the idea of sipping every meal through a straw just doesn’t sit well in our stomachs. If we can still get the benefits of cleansing through a more satisfying, diverse, and creative avenue, well, sign us up!
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8. Souping is grounding. The ancient science of Ayuverda boasts the benefits of “stoking your digestive fire”, or angi, with warming foods. Agni is responsible for absorbing nutrients into the body while ridding the body of waste. When we only eat or drink raw/cold foods, we’re essentially pouring water over our internal flame, which leaves you feeling bloated and sluggish.
OK. Ready to take action? Start eating veggie-loaded meals on a regular basis, so your body can detoxify and eliminate toxins naturally, every night.Take it to the next level with a soup cleanse. Or, start souping for one meal a day. Here are some great recipes to get your started. And don’t forget to add in some boosters, like Aloha’s Daily Greens, bone broth, or miso.
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