I am a pretty active person on a day to day basis, I don’t “exercise” that much but I move constantly; cycling, running, cooking, yoga and so on, I rarely sit still apart from when I am researching and writing blog posts and material for presentations and cooking classes and even that it always broken up by something active to keep my brain ticking along. For this reason and some overzealous kidneys I constantly battle with dehydration, frustrating though it is I have a few tricks up my sleeve that help me cope with this. I drink plenty of water but this is not always the main issue at hand with those who have a tendency to dehydration.
Other factors that can affect hydration levels are mineral retention, specifically electrolytes, and essential fatty acid status. So with this in mind I like to ensure I include foods that have a good levels of the minerals I am seeking as well as EFAs. I have decided to include a super simple and gloriously delicious mineral rich soup for you to try out at home 🙂
1 red onion
2 – 3 cloves garlic
2 organic carrots, roughly sliced
1 medium leek, sliced roughly into 1cm discs
1 large parsnip, roughly chopped
½ a swede, roughly chopped into bite sized pieces or a little larger
2 ripe salad tomatoes
1 cup Savoy cabbage, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
1 sprig rosemary
2 bay leaves, fresh is best
3-4 tbsp coconut oil or organic butter, it is best to cook with saturated fat due to its more stable state at higher temperatures
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp sweet smoke paprika
2 of the most enormous handfuls EVER of either kale, spring greens, cavolo nero or a similar tough dark green leaf vegetable, you can substitute with small broccoli florettes, green beans etc
1.5 litres water or stock of your choice, I love to use a bone broth for extra minerals
You can add any other vegetables you have lurking about in the fridge or pantry, I love to add sweet potatoes, celery, beetroot (be sure to cut this quite small), apples (not a vegetable I know but just role with me here) and so on.
Heat the oven to 200C or gas mark 6.
Throw everything save the water/stock and the greens in an oven tray as toss so even covered with spice and seasoning and roast for 50-60minutes, stirring every 20mins or so until they are soft and browned.
Add the roasted veggies and the stock to a large pot and with a stick blender, blend until you have the desired consistency. I like mine with lumps, bumps and texture. For a really smooth silk feel you may chose to use a high powered blender but be sure to allow the mixture to cool before blending as the heat will cause damage to some blenders due to the nature of the rubber seals.
Throw in the greens and heat your amazing mineral rich soup, serve immediately with and garnish of your choice; toasted almond flakes/coconut flakes, harissa, yogurt and fresh parsley. YUM!