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I have the perfect recipe to kick off 2017.
I know everyone is thinking about salads, green juices and other “health foods” to kick-start their healthy eating into action after two weeks of holidays eats. Well, I am really excited, because today is the start of Healthy January 2017! I have so many recipes to share this January that are anything but plain or boring. This soup is only the start, but I knew when I made it that I had to share this recipe as the first recipe of the year. It’s literally one of the cleanest recipes I’ve ever made, but also warming, cozy and delicious.
This Mean Green Detox Vegetable Soup is packed with all kinds of winter vegetable, green lentils for protein, and spices like garlic, ginger, and cayenne that will help fight off winter colds plus rev your metabolism. So you see…the perfect soup for the first Monday of the year!
Speaking of the New Year, how was everyone’s holiday season. As you know, my Christmas was great and was spent with my family doing lots of cooking. New Year’s Eve was pretty laid back, we had all kinds of food including, Mexican tamales, poke, pasta and cookies! Nothing crazy, but after a busy two weeks, a laid back New Years was perfect.
The last of our guests will be leaving tomorrow and Wednesday, so life should be getting back to normal here by the end of the week. I’m sad to see the holidays go, but excited for January and to get started, and to move on to new adventures!
Do you guys have any New Year’s resolutions/goals? I still have not made a list, but I plan to make one up this week of some of the work goals I have floating around in my head. What kind of goals are you guys making this year?
Obviously my first task of the year is to share all of these healthy January recipes! Ok, AND to finally finish up the cookbook…getting so close!
So, let’s talk soup! Last year, I did a mean green salad, the year before I did a mean green smoothie, and this year, it’s soup! Lately I am really loving broth based recipes. This soup has got to be my new secret weapon for revving up my metabolism. I plan to make it anytime I feel the slightest bit of sickness coming on. I swear, it heals all.
This soup is filled with all the things that make me feel good. For my veggies, I went with carrots, broccoli, kale, and purple cabbage. Then I seasoned it up with loads of fresh ginger, garlic, cayenne, soy sauce and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Next I added lentils for heartiness and then finished the soup off with some fresh parsley, lemon juice and vegan parmesan (you can use regular parmesan too…that’s obviously just as amazing). It’s basically perfection in a bowl and so super healthy.
YES.
And it’s also easy to throw together, just one pot and ready in just around and hour. See, January is already looking pretty good right?
Question: I already have a lot of this month’s recipes planned, but is there anything that you guys would really like to see this month? Or even better, is there anything on the blog that you would like to see happen over the next year? I’d love to hear any feedback you guys have on what you are lovin’ or what you’d like to see more of. Please let me know so we can make this the best year of HBH yet!!
Hope you all have a great first Monday of the year!!
Mean Green Detox Vegetable Soup.
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 1258 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 leek halved + sliced
- 4 carrots chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 1 inch piece of ginger grated
- kosher salt + pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 quarts low sodium vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup green lentils
- 4 cups roughly torn kale
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1/4 head purple cabbage shredded
- zest + juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley plus cilantro
- [vegan parmesan | https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/the-mean-green-detox-salad/] or regular parmesan for serving
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the leeks and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook another 30 seconds to 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cayenne, broth, soy sauce, and vinegar. Add 2 cups water and bring the soup to a boil over high heat. Stir in the lentils, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the kale, broccoli, and cabbage and continue cooking until the lentils and broccoli are tender, about 10-15 minutes longer.
- Just before serving, stir in the lemon juice, parsley and cilantro. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top with vegan parmesan.
Now, let’s all make soup and eat leftovers all week! 🙂
Can you do this in a slow cooker?
Yes, that would be great! Add everything but the kale to the crockpot, cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Should be awesome! Hope you love this!
YAY! I’m so excited for “Healthy January”!! It’s my favorite time of the year on HBH because I love a good revamp after the holidays and (this year) my husband and I are cutting way back on our meat and dairy consumption, so these recipes are great. With that being said, I would love love love anything vegetarian or vegan. And I always love seeing your beautiful baked goods. I hope you have a positively delightful New Year and good luck with finishing up the book- I cannot wait!!!! 😀
Thank you so much Rachel! I hope you love the recipes for Healthy January!
I love the name of this soup and the other recipes with a similar one 🙂 This soup looks so bright and colorful and also looks like it would hold well for leftovers throughout the week. I like to make a soup or stew early in the week so it can last for a few dinners and your blog is my go to for those recipes! Thank you!
I hope you love this soup, Jessie! Thank you so much!
This is gorgeous. I feel like I’m not alone in craving a big bowl of this after the holidays. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you Tisha! I hope you love this soup. Thank you!!
Such a healthy soup! I love all those gorgeous vegetables in there!
Thank you Katrina!
Yum! This looks amazing! Beautiful photos
Thank you Sara!!
Happy New Year! 🙂 I made your Mushroom Cheese Ravioli as an appetizer at Christmas and they were a big hit with my family and now I can’t wait to see what recipes you have come up with for healthy January – I definitely need all the inspiration I can get after all the eating I have done in December! 😉
Happy New Year Melanie! So glad you loved the mushroom ravioli and I hope you love all of the recipes for healthy January!! I am so excited to share them with you guys! Thank you!
What to use if you don’t like lentils?
What about beans? Black beans, chickpeas, really any bean would be awesome. If you don’t like beans, how about shredded chicken? Let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this soup! 🙂
Oh my thank you so much.
Will have to alter some of the ingredients, as hubby cannot have and Vit K veggies so a new name for me will have to be
“Mean ALMOST green detox veggie soup”.
A couple days of this soup and he will be on a new 3 meal a day slimming menu for a while. We Both dislike the term D I E T..and
to lose 70 pounds is our goal for him..
We did this years ago with Weight Watchers…but trying a diff approach now. And I am going to add this soup in the regime, several times over the next couple of months.
Wish us luck. 🙂
The happiest of a great New Year, Tieghan 🙂
Happy New Year to you as well Leslie! I hope everything goes well with the new, healthy eating lifestyle. Let me know how you guys like this soup! Thank you!
Yes! This looks like an awesome way to start the new year off right, just what I need!
Perfect! I am so glad you are enjoying this, Tori!! Thank you!
I could honestly do with a little detox after the hols ahahahaha!!! Have a great year, Tieghan!
https://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/
Haha yes, me too lol! I hope you love this, Ruth! Thank you!
The holidays, or I call them holidaze, is a wonderful time to enjoy family and friends, but I did not eat healthy all of the time. I need a bowl of soup full of greens to nourish me and I must get back to the gym on a regular basis, too.
That sounds like an awesome plan and a great New Years resolution!! Thank you Jude!
I haven’t cooked much with lentils other than the canned variety, mainly because I thought they took a long time to cook. Do they all cook in an hour? Or is it just green lentils?
This recipe looks delicious and exactly the sort of meal I am wanting to make more of this year for health reasons.
Hi Lynne, lentils typically take around 20-20 minutes to fully cook. Some people like to soak them over night in water to help quicken the cooking time, but I do not do this. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love the soup!
Wow this is beautiful and looks delicious! I’m really looking forward to the rest of your healthy January recipes!
Yay! I cannot wait to share them with you guys! Thanks Rhian!
Just what we need after the craziness of Christmas eating. Also vibrant and colourful, it feeds the eyes as well as the soul.
So glad you are enjoying these! Thank you Elinor!