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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! 🙂
I love this soup so much. The flavor is just perfect and I feel so healthy eating this. My whole family likes this and my 17 year old daughter requests it. I have made it many times and was just eating leftovers of this for lunch and wanted to say, “Thank YOU”
Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! So glad you loved this soup Laura! xT
Now I will eat veggies! This is exceptional!
Is this recipe in any of your cookbooks?
Hey Maggie! So sorry, it’s actually just on my blog!
Haha perfect! Love to hear that! xT
Another banger! You can do no wrong. Exactly what I needed after the heavy eating of thanksgiving. I used cannelinis instead of lentils, and didn’t add the extra water because I didn’t have enough room in the pot, came out perfect! Thank you Tieghan!!!
Hey Jessica,
Happy Sunday!!⛄️ I truly appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xxT
Hi Tieghan, I love this soup and all of your recipes I have tried so far! Your instructions are easy to follow and the photos to accompany are always beautiful. I also really appreciate that you read your comments and actually respond to them! For this soup I did half chicken broth, half veg broth and dried ginger instead of fresh grated just because those were the ingredients I had. Do you think any of that would have made a big difference? Still tastes great to me! I also added some red pepper flakes to each individual bowl because we like it spicy! Will definitely be making again.
Hey Jayden,
Happy Tuesday!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it turned out tasty for you! Sounds like great adjustments that probably won’t make a huge difference in flavor:) xT
In your photo, What is on top of the avocado?
Hey Heidy,
That is the vegan parmesan. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I made this tonight and it was wonderful. Received praise from our friends too. The request was, “Please make this again. The flavors are perfect.” Thanks again, Tieghan!
Hey Jenny,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan
We love this soup so much, it’s a lunch prep staple in our house. we follow the recipe exactly as written, with the exception of swapping a can of beans for the lentils. By far the best vegetable soup I have ever had!
Hey there,
I am so glad you have been enjoying the recipe, thank you so much for giving it a try! xTieghan
This was delicious! Added shredded chicken and it was such a filling meal.
Thank you so much Ali! xTieghan
This was delicious! Hearty, flavorful, healthy. Makes a big pot full so I can eat throughout the week. Good balance of broth to veggies. I hate when I make soups and they’re mostly broth. This is fabulous. I added some parm on top and dunked a whole grain toast. Yum!
I am so glad this turned out so well for you, Natalie! Thank you! xTieghan
Perfect soup to start the year off right. It was exploding with so many different flavors. I wanted the soup to be a bit spicier so I doubled the cayenne. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. I wouldn’t change anything else. My husband and I are trying out healthier options and this was a must. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
Hey Lina,
Happy Wednesday!!❄️ Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, I am so glad it was a hit! xx
Is there avocado in the soup??? I think I see it in pic, but not in ingredients!!!
Hi Jen! You can add it in at the very end if you want, but its not necessary! xTieghan
this looks so good I can’t wait to make it! it really looks like there’s avocado in the soup though? I’m not sure why I can’t see it as anything else lol, is that what it is? looks beautiful I’m just wondering hah
xo
Hi Gracie! Yes, I use it as a topping! Feel free to add it or leave it out! I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan
I just made the soup and it’s delicious.
Can it be frozen?
HI Carolyne! Yes, you can freeze this soup. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
I eat this a soup SO MUCH! And it actually led me to buy Half Baked Harvest’s cookbook. And the recipes in there are TOTALLY AWESOME! The dishes have so much complexity without ANY recipe confusion. Thanks so much! SUCH wonderful recipes! 🙂
Thank you so much Elizabeth! I hope you absolutely love the book!! xTieghan
I made this tonight. Delicious. Thank you
Thank you so much Monica!
Hi, I’ve made this soup tonight and it’s absolutely delicious! But I’ve got far too much for this week… is it okay to freeze it??
Yes, this freezes beautifully! Please let me know if you have other questions. Gald you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂