Winter Soup Cleanse

After the holiday full of rich food, sweets and wine, many of us like to come back into balance with a cleanse. This winter Soup Cleanse helps us reduce inflammation, clean up our digestive system, and boost our immunity. It’s full of warm nourishing gluten-free, dairy-free recipes.

What Is A Soup Cleanse?

In this Soup Cleanse we enjoy warm healing soups, porridges and teas to help detoxify our body and at the same time give it the nutrition it needs to rebuild and restore.

Raw food or juice cleanses can be good but not in winter. When it’s cold outside we need warm cooked food and sufficient fat and protein to restore our body.

This cleanse is about soothing our body with nourishing foods, love and attention. There is no deprivation here. Even though we will be eating less, the foods here are easy to digest and are quickly converted into fuel. With less food coming in our organs have the energy to detoxify and renew instead of digesting.

Since the mind and body are connected I include a few meditations to soothe our body and mind. These meditations connect us to our True Self and allow us to receive guidance. They also improve our health as we shift from fight/flight into rest and digest.

This 7-day soup cleanse will restore your body, calm your nervous system, eliminate toxins, boost your energy and sharpen your brain. You can do it for 1 or 7 days, it’s up to you. Three days works for me. Any number of days you do will be beneficial.

Disclosure: I, Ingrid DeHart am a certified nutrition coach, not a medical doctor. I provide information gathered from reliable medical resources but if you have any specific allergies or food sensitivities, adjust the recipes accordingly. Always listen to your body. I recommend checking with your doctor before starting any cleanse.

Foods to Eat On The Soup Cleansing

• Vegetables: broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, dark leafy greens (spinach, kale, etc.), sweet potatoes and more
• Fruit: berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries), cherries, pomegranate, citrus (lemon, lime, orange), avocado
• Nuts and Seeds: walnuts, almonds, cashews, pine nuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds, flaxseed, chia seeds, hemp seeds, nut butters like almond butter or cashew butter
• Oil: extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, ghee 
• Fish: salmon, tuna, trout, sardines, mackerel
• Chicken: organic, grass fed only
• Beans & Legumes: black beans, lentils, chickpeas and more
• Herbs and Spices: turmeric, ginger, basil, oregano, thyme, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, dill, and more
• Cacao and Teas – dandelion tea, ginger, green tea (if you need caffeine), cacao latte, rooibos, mushroom teas

NOTE: All of the ingredients in this cleanse are full of vitamins, nutrients, antioxidants, and fiber. Many are rich in omega-3 fatty acids to reduce inflammation and feed our brain. When cleansing it’s a good idea to eat a variety of different food to give your body the nutrition it needs to come back into balance.

Foods To Avoid On The Soup Cleanse

• No Commercial and Processed Meats
• No Diary – milk, cheese, yogurt, ghee can be used
• No Refined Sweeteners – white sugar, corn syrup, cane juice
• No Gluten – breads, pastas, cereals
• No Vegetable Oils – soybean, canola, corn, peanut
• No Coffee and Alcohol

Cleanse Guidelines

When you wake up drink 16 ounces of warm water with the juice of half a fresh lemon or 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar.

Morning meditation is highly recommended to calm your nervous system and put you in the rest and restore mode where health and healing occur naturally. Read Meditation Improves Health and Happiness. Choose one of the meditations listed below.

Sit in the morning sun for your meditation if that’s available. Read Sunlight In The Morning Amazing Benefits.

As a morning beverage have 12 ounces of Bieler’s Broth or a latte after your meditation.

Walk for 5-30 minutes each day, in the morning if possible. Do this even if it’s cold, dress warm. Walking or any movement in the morning helps reset your body’s natural normal cycle of cortisol. You’ll have more energy and sleep better.

Eat breakfast within 2 hours of waking up. All the breakfasts in this cleanse contain protein, fat and fiber. Read Breakfast Affects Hormones, Hunger and After Dinner Cravings

Prep in advance. Two days before the cleanse make broth, if you’re using homemade. The day before the cleanse make 2 different soups of choice. Make a double batch if more than 2 people are doing the cleanse in your household. Rotate soups for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Each day make one additional soup. Choose different soups to get a variety of nutrients and improve your cleansing potential.

If you need lots of protein, like I do, make a roast chicken the first day to have on hand to supplement your soups. You can also eat canned or fresh salmon or other fish along with your soups.

Snacks are optional. Enjoy a snack if you’re hungry to keep your blood sugar stable. Letting your body get too hungry causes stress on your adrenals. If you don’t need a snack leave it out. Lattes can be enjoyed as a snack.

Stay hydrated to keep your energy levels up. Drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day. If you weight 150 pounds drink 75 ounces of water each day.

I also want to inspire you to put your attention on the pleasure you get from your food. Enjoy it from a beautiful bowl, appreciate the delicious smell and taste. Notice how good it feels in your body. It has been shown that what we think about our food actually changes our metabolism and how our hormones are regulated. Read more about the study here.

Sample Menu

This is a guide for 3 days of the cleanse. All the recipes are linked below. You can do the cleanse for 1-7 days, it’s up to you. You don’t have to follow the sample menu exactly. Choose the recipes you like the most and find easiest to prepare.

If you’re following the sample menu, 2 days before you start your cleanse make broth (if using homemade). The day before your cleanse make the Bieler’s Broth, Mulligatawny Soup and Broccoli Spinach Soup. The next 3 days you will only have to make 1 soup each day.

Sample Day 1

• Wake Up – Drink 16 ounces of warm water with 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• Morning Meditation while sitting in the sun
• Morning Beverage – Bieler’s Broth
• Walking
• Breakfast – Broccoli Spinach Soup
• Snack (optional) – 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond butter on an organic apple with a sprinkle of Ceylon cinnamon and pink salt
• Lunch – Autumn Vegetable Soup with beans or chicken
• Snack (optional) – 1/2 avocado sliced with lemon and a pinch of salt
• Dinner – Mulligatawny
• Snack (optional) – Golden Milk Turmeric Latte

Sample Day 2

• Wake Up – Drink 16 ounces of warm water with 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• Morning Meditation while sitting in the sun
• Morning Beverage – Bieler’s Broth
• Walking
• Breakfast – Broccoli Spinach Soup
• Snack (optional) – 16 ounces broth with 1 teaspoon ghee and 1 cup organic berries
• Lunch – Cabbage Mushroom Soup (option to add 4 ounces chicken or fish on the side)
• Snack (optional) – a handful of raw sprouted nuts
• Dinner – Autumn Vegetable Soup with beans or chicken
• Snack (optional) – Golden Milk Turmeric Latte

Sample Day 3

• Wake Up: Drink 16 ounces of warm water with 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• Morning Meditation while sitting in the sun
• Morning Beverage – Bieler’s Broth
• Walking
• Breakfast – Sweet Potato Porridge
• Snack (optional) – 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond butter on an organic apple with a sprinkle of Ceylon cinnamon and pink salt
• Lunch – Mulligatawny
• Snack (optional) – Kale Chips
• Dinner – Cleansing Turmeric Vegetable Soup with beans or chicken
• Snack (optional) – Golden Milk Turmeric Latte

Broth Recipes

It’s great to make your own broth but if you want to buy it, that’s okay too! Homemade has more nutrients but do what is easy for you. Any store bought broths should not have sugar in it.

For chicken bone broth Kettle and Fire is a good brand and can be purchased at many health food stores. Bonafide Provisions can be found in the freezer section.  Brodo bone broth can be purchased online. The last 2 are as close to homemade as you can get.

Homemade Broth Recipes

Healing Chicken Bone Broth – An easy way to make bone broth is to take the bones left over after you finish eating the a roast chicken, put them in a pot, cover with water, add 1 Tb apple cider vinegar. Bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer 3-6 hours.  Click on the recipe link to make it from raw bones.

Vegetable Broth – A wonderful broth that will provide you with many healing nutrients that alkalinize your
system, making it easier to detoxify. The recipe can be varied according to taste. You can make this with the basic ingredients and/or any of the optional ingredients. Get recipe here.

Bieler’s Broth – I recommend having this broth in the morning during your cleanse, but it can be sipped anytime of the day as a tonic. Dr. Henry Bieler created this vitamin and nutrient rich soup to heal his patients. It is specifically targeted to bring endocrine balance. This includes supporting the adrenals, pituitary, and thyroid gland. The vegetables cooked in this broth are rich sources of organic potassium and sodium. The liver and colon use those elements to clean and revitalize the body. It is great for energy, weight loss, and cleansing. Get recipe here.

Soup Recipes

Soups are great for cleansing because they are easy to digest and full of nutrients. They provide light, warm meals to give your body time off for detoxification and plenty of nutrients, protein, fat and fiber for restoration.

Porridge Recipes

These porridges are packed with nutrients to start your day. They have lots of protein, fat and fiber to give you energy and keep you satisfied.

Lattes

Lattes can be enjoyed as a morning beverage or anytime of the day as a snack.

Snack Suggestions

Broth and Fruit – 12 – 16 ounces broth with ghee, pinch of pink sea salt and 1 cup organic berries

Avacado – 1/2 of an avocado sliced, sprinkled with pink sea salt and lemon juice

Almond Butter and Apple – 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond butter on an organic apple with a sprinkle of Ceylon cinnamon

Raw Sprouted Nuts and Berries – just a handful of nuts, about 10 and 1 cup organic berries

Kale Chips homemade or store bought

Morning Meditations

Scientific research has found when we meditate our breathing slows, blood pressure decreases, and stress hormone levels fall. If I told you there was a pill to do this would you take it? If I said you had to sit for 5-10 minutes quietly to ingest this pill would you? So here it is your magic pill.  Meditation increases health and happiness. Click on the links to get the meditations.

• Meditations for Health and Happiness – 4 easy meditations to choose from.
• Magical Morning Tapping Meditation – Start your day on a high vibration using this script. It can be done with or without the tapping.
• Alternate Nostril Breathing – Practicing alternate nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana pranayama), for a few minutes each day, can help correct imbalances in your brain – improve sleep – calm your emotional state – boost your thinking – calm your nervous system.
• Meditation For Strength and Healing – a simple meditation I learned many years ago from Deepak Chopra to receive strength and healing.

This Soup Cleanse can be done anytime. If you have questions or need support as you go through your cleanse, leave a comment below and I will get back to you within 1 day.