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Soup is one of the best ways to get a variety of nutrients while staying properly hydrated. Whether it’s finding comfort in a large bowl in the winter or cozying up with it on a rainy day, soup is an all-season food.
Plus, there are plenty of flavors, textures, and ingredients you can play around with to always keep it interesting. Finding a lentil soup recipe that is both nutritious and delicious can be a challenge, so just scroll below to find the perfect recipe!
Why You Should Drink Soup
Soup combines plenty of anti-inflammatory foods and spices to cure the cold and flu or even improve allergies and asthma. These foods also improve a number of other diseases caused by inflammation, such as depression, fatigue, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, psoriasis, obesity, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and more.
Inflammation is part of your body’s natural healing process. However, when it gets out of control, your body begins to attack itself. Chronic inflammation, of course, is triggered and worsened by stress, lack of sleep, and poor diet.
Chronic inflammation is often accompanied by (1):
Fever
Chills
Fatigue/loss of energy
Headaches
Loss of appetite
Muscle stiffness
Joint pain
Joint stiffness
The healing lentil soup recipe below is just one great way to fight off inflammation, stay hydrated, and fight off just about any disease.
Related: 9 Key Lifestyle Changes for Preventing Alzheimer’s and Dementia
urmeric Coconut Lentil Soup Recipe
It might seem counter-intuitive to put apples in soup, but they provide a slightly sour and sweet touch to this lentil soup recipe. Make it as an appetizer, served alongside rice and vegetables or as the main course, with some fresh bread and butter.
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
2 apples, cored and grated
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups red lentils
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon cumin
2-3 cup hot water
1 onion, diced finely
1 teaspoon salt
A crack of black pepper
Instructions:
Rinse the red lentils with cold water until the water runs clear.
Let the lentils drain completely.
Melt the coconut oil in a medium pot and sauté the onions on medium heat until they are soft and golden.
Next, add the turmeric and apples, and cook the mixture for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add water and bring the heat to high.
Once it’s boiling heavily, lower to medium heat and add the lentils. Simmer covered for 15 minutes.
Add coconut milk and spice and continue to cook until the lentils are soft, about 10-20 minutes. For a smoother soup, add an extra cup of water and simmer for 2 hours.
Serve warm, garnished with pumpkin seeds and coconut shavings.
Key ingredients
Here’s why you’ll want to make this lentil soup recipe more often.
Turmeric
Turmeric has been used for over 4000 years and has been the subject of over 3000 studies in the last 25 years alone. The golden spice contains over 100 active compounds, the most well-known of which is curcumin (2).
As a potent anti-inflammatory, turmeric improves gastrointestinal discomfort associated with irritable bowel syndrome and other digestive disorders as well as inflammatory conditions like arthritis. Other benefits include boosting energy, relieving gas, dispelling worms, improving digestion, regulating menstruation, dissolving gallstones, preventing infection, and healing cuts, burns, and bruises.
The spice even relieves pain, skin irritation, and colitis; improves cancer; and fights bad breath and plaque. There’s really nothing it can’t do (3)!
One study even found that curcumin lowered the risk of heart attack in post opt patients who received coronary bypass surgery by as much as 65% (4).
Turmeric is most bioavailable when combined with a fat (such as coconut oil or milk) and black pepper.
Coconut Milk
Coconut milk is made by drying and soaking coconut meat in hot water. The mixture is filtered through a cheesecloth. This process can be done at home, but most coconut milk is sold canned (5).
Coconut milk contains iron, magnesium, phosphorous potassium, copper manganese, selenium, and essential fats (6).
Selenium plays a role in thyroid and immune function. The mineral can also prevent heart disease, cancer, asthma, male infertility, and rheumatoid arthritis (7).
Lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid found in coconut oil and milk, induces death in colon cancer cells by inducing oxidative stress (8). It also has antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, and wound-healing properties. It can even prevent scars when used on acne patients (9). Better yet, one study found that “phenolic compounds and hormones (cytokinins) found in coconut may assist in preventing the aggregation of amyloid-β peptide, potentially inhibiting a key step in the pathogenesis of AD [Alzheimer’s Disease].”(10)