IBD Healing Soup
When I am having an IBD flare I use my IBD Healing Soup as my go-to meal. It is packed with nutrition and, pre-biotics, and it is easy to digest. It is easy to modify to meet your own individual IBD needs. And it great for making in large batches.
Healing Benefits of the Soup
All the ingredients from this IBD Healing Soup are from phase-1 of the IBD-AID diet. This phase is for when you are experiencing severe or bad symptoms of IBD. This is a clinically proven diet in helping people manage their IBD symptoms.
This soup is packed with nutrition. It is almost entirely made of healthy, easily digestible vegetables. These veg are low in insoluble fiber, so they are easy on the digestive tract.
Mushrooms, onion, and garlic are full of prebiotics. These prebiotics are the favourite foods of the good bacteria in your gut. To help heal gut dysbiosis you need to eat prebiotic foods.
Spinach is packed with iron. Many people with IBD also suffer from low iron levels (I know I do!). Cooked and blended spinach is a great way to get your iron in. In a way that is easily digestible in an inflamed GI tract.
Squash, beets, and carrots add colour to the soup. Eating colourful fruits and veg is so important. Colour indicates high availability of phytochemicals. And a wide variety of nutrients.
The grass fed bone broth contains collagen, iron, and minerals. It can help sooth and repair the gut.
How to Modify The IBD Healing Soup Recipe
You may find that making this IBD Healing Soup as indicated below causes some digestive issues. You may need to modify the soup to meet your own individual needs.
Keep in mind that if there are ingredients in this soup that you don’t normally eat. Your body may need a short period of time (about 3 days) to adjust to digesting this new food.
If you know that you are sensitive to FODMAPS. You must omit the onion, and garlic. This makes this soup more FODMAP-friendly.
If you know that you are particularly sensitive to fiber. You may need to omit the spinach. Or add a smaller amount. You may be able to add more spinach as your body learns to digest more fiber. The key to adding fiber to your diet, is to do it slowly. This way you can slowly retrain your body to digest more fiber, without harming it.
If you know that you are intolerant to any of the soup ingredients, feel free to remove them from the recipe.
This soup can really be made with any variety of vegetables. I have selected these ones because they are all phase 1. And together they create a great tasting soup.
If you have another, well tolerated, vegetable in your diet. Feel free to add it. Getting a wide variety of nutrients is key to healing the gut. So the more variety you add, (that is well tolerated) the better.
My recommendation would be to start by making it as is. And learn from there what you can and cannot add into the soup.
When serving the soup, freshly squeezed lime is a great addition. It adds a burst of vitamin C, and flavour. It also adds a bit more taste variety, if you are eating this same soup for multiple days.
Tools Required
There are two cooking tools that make creating this IBD Healing Soup much easier.
The first is an immersion blender. This handheld blender allows you to completely blend the soup, effortlessly.
If you are following the IBD-AID diet, an immersion blender is worth purchasing. They are inexpensive. And allow you to blend a variety of foods, making them more easily digestible. And compliant for phase 1 of IBD-AID, where foods must be a silken texture.
Using a large pot for this recipe will allow you to make as much as possible. All at once. This means that you have to put less effort in, for the maximum amount of meals.
If you are feeling fatigued from an IBD flare. This is an important aspect. You may find that you do not have the energy to make a nutritious, delicious meal every single day. Making a large pot of this soup ensures that you have extras left over to freeze for later.
Measurements and Meal Prep
The measurements given in this IBD Healing Soup will fill the largest pot I have. You may need to modify the measurements to fit into your largest available pot.
Feel free to change any of the measurements as you see fit.
I have made this soup countless times on my healing journey. Over time I have worked out a good combination. And method that ensures a great-tasting, healthy soup. But you may find that your needs differ from mine. So, feel free to change it as you see fit.
One of the best features of making soup is that it freezes so well. When you are experiencing and IBD flare you will most likely experience fatigue. You may not want to cook every day.
Or you may have a family who does not want to eat the same meals as you. Having this soup in the freezer ensures that you always have a safe, healthy, meal available.
How I Use This IBD Healing Soup
If you are experiencing severe symptoms. I suggest doing an elemental diet for a few weeks to give your body complete bowel rest first. This is the best, and fastest way to heal an inflamed gut.
Once you have moved onto solid foods. Or if you do not have access to an elemental diet. This soup is a great, healing option.
When I am in the IBD flare and all foods seem to upset my stomach. This soup is one of my safest meals.
I make a big pot of this and freeze the rest. It makes around 10 portions.
I usually eat this soup at least every other day for dinner, when healing a flare.
It is easy to take out of the freezer to reheat. I would recommend reheating on the stovetop. This ensures that you are getting all of the nutrition available from the soup.
Even now that I am in remission, I still eat this soup around once a week. It is a completely safe, delicious meal. That is easy for my body to digest.
IBD Healing Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
1.5-2kgs skinless, boneless chicken thighs, diced into small, bite-sized pieces
1tbsp coconut oil
2 white onions, peeled and diced
1 head of garlic, peeled and minced
280g baby spinach
500g white button mushrooms
½ butternut squash, peeled and chopped
2 beets, peeled and chopped into small pieces
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
2-4 heaped tablespoons of all-natural, grass-fed beef bone broth (ensure no added nasties)
Method:
1. Heat coconut oil in the largest pot you have, add the onions, and sauté for 3 minutes or until cooked. Then add garlic and sauté for a further 2 minutes.
2. Add the rest of the vegetables. Fill the pot with water so that the vegetables are just covered (do not add too much water or the soup will be too runny). Bring to a boil and cook until all the vegetables are very soft, about 15-20 minutes. Then add the bone broth.
3. In a separate fry pan, add your chicken thighs (no oil needed). Cover, and cook for about 15 minutes or until completely cooked
4. Use an immersion blender to blend the vegetables until completely smooth. The more you blend the soup, the creamier it will be
5. After blending the vegetables, add the chicken pieces and juices. Add more water if you desire a runnier soup
6. Serve hot, and portion the rest out into freezable containers
7. Serve with optional freshly squeezed lime juice, and salt
I hope that you find this soup as healing as I have. It is a staple in my toolbox for healing IBD. It is soothing, delicious, and so nutritious.
And it has been clinically proven to help manage IBD symptoms.