Dead Bug Soup!

You know it's creepin' around your job because you hear the coughing and the hacking at your coworker's desk...
Your know your kids have been exposed because they come home from school with a scratchy throat and the sniffles....
You then realize you're tired and achey and already your thought process has shifted into the fear of getting sick. In a mild panic you reach for a bottle of cough medicine and a can of chicken noodle soup and....
STOP!
Take a breath and relax! Getting worried about getting sick actually increases your likelihood of getting sick!


Did you know the body's response to stress is exactly the same whether you are running for your life from a bear in the woods, angry and stuck in traffic, or worried about a sickness ruining your weekend plans? It's called the Sympathetic Nervous System and it kicks in when we're in panic mode. The body naturally shifts into the "fight-or-flight" response when we are worried about our survival, whether in the face of a life or death situation or concerned about the common cold.


So, rather than residing in this state of unnecessary panic, creating a more difficult time warding off colds and flus, we can CHOOSE to stop, take a few deep breaths, and slow ourselves back down, thus shifting us into the state of "rest-and-relax", the calming function of the Parasympathetic Nervous System.


In addition to settling our racing mind and finding a calming breath, we can nourish and support the body's response to foreign invaders by preparing a tasty, healing soup. Homemade-with-love food, especially soups, are some of the best and most comforting medicine of all time. Here's my easy-peasy-impossible-to-screw-up-basic-soup-recipe to keep the icky-sicky away!


DEAD BUG SOUP
Keep in mind this recipe is a good starting point for creating your very own healing soup. Only YOU know what you like best, what tastes best, and what will heal your soul! Don't worry about exact measurements and have some fun experimenting with various herbs, spices, and vegetables!


Gather the following ingredients: ALWAYS CONSIDER LOCAL, ORGANIC INGREDIENTS FIRST!


* 12 c. broth (any kind, but even better is to make your own!)
* 2-3 sticks of Astragalus Root (available at my favorite herb shop Desert Sage Herbs, if you're in the Phoenix valley; or check out Mountain Rose Herbs online)
* 5-10 garlic cloves, depending on your tastes
* a big ole chunk of fresh ginger root
* 2 c. kelp, kombu, sea palm, or any other tasty seaweed vegetable (check out Maine Coast Sea Vegetables)
* 1 leek
* 1 package Shiitake mushrooms
* 1 bunch Lacinato kale, or any other dark leafy green you prefer
* 1 bag frozen broccoli florets
* Soy sauce
* 1 T. Miso paste (the lighter the color the more mild it is....for this I chose White Miso)
* optional...sea salt, lemon juice, lemongrass, coconut milk, hot chile sauce, and any other intriguing herb or food that suits your fancy

1. Pour broth into a large cooking pot. Here's my nice thick, dark, and nutritious homemade "bone broth". I'll post on this in the future because it's economical, delicious, and a really great source of calcium!
Add the Astragalus Root (sorry no pic!) and bring to a gentle simmer, cover and allow the herb's immune-supporting properties to steep into the broth for about 15 min. You can choose to keep the sticks in and avoid eating them, chew on them anyway because it will only help rather than hurt, or pull them out of the pot and discard.

2. Meanwhile, crush, peel, and mince the garlic cloves, allowing for the garlic to sit and rest for at least 5 min. before tossing into the simmering pot. This crucial step allows for the enzyme allinase to activate and metabolize alliin into alicin, the most biologically active compound in garlic. This compound doesn't exist until garlic is bruised or crushed, so let the magic happen! Here we find anti-fungal, anti-microbial, anti-septic, and anti-bacterial properties that help fight off infections.

3. Along with the garlic, add the fresh ginger. First peel, then slice or grate into pieces. I'd normally use 3 times this amount but my refrigerator stock told me otherwise. Get spicy with it! Ginger supports healthy digestion and the ability to breakdown and metabolize dairy products. Speaking of which, avoiding dairy in general, but especially during times of being sick or run down is very wise. Dairy=mucous and mucous=snot, phlegm, and sluggish digestion. EW!
Ginger also wards off intestinal invaders, supports circulation, can help break a fever, and is anti-inflammatory.

4. Next, wash and chop the Shiitake mushrooms into slices. I like to keep em thick and meaty, but for those who don't prefer the texture of mushrooms, slice em thin for compliance. Shiitake is revered for her anti-cancer and anti-tumor properties, as she works to support the immune system. Eating medicinal mushrooms like Shiitake and Maiitake regularly may reduce your risk for cancer and keep you healthy while others are sick.

5. Add small chunks or bite-sized pieces of kombu (pictured here) or  another sea vegetable you want to try. For ages coastal peoples around the world have included seaweeds into their diet because of their unique, delicious flavor and high iodine content which supports a healthy functioning thyroid, thus supporting the endocrine system and hormone production. Also a good source of minerals and helpful for balancing blood sugar, these oceanic friends help curb salty-chip cravings. Sea vegetables are a very, very important element to a balanced diet. They're easy to toss into soups, casseroles, salads, can be baked lightly as a substitute for chips or other salty snacks, and of course we all know Nori, a staple in sushi! YUM!

6. Cut off the ends of the leek, cut lengthwise down the middle, rinse the  debris between the layers, and chop into half-moons. Add to the soup! 

The sacred geometry present within plants is incredible! The Doctrine of Signatures show us that leeks are just glowing with healing for the eyes and blood vessels!

7. Wash, dry, and tear the kale off it's thick stem and into bite-sized pieces. Toss 'em in! The benefits of kale are ridiculously huge. As stated in my first blog entry, it's one of my favorite foods. Kale, along with most other dark leafy greens, is high in calcium, magnesium, potassium, and a slew of other vitamins and minerals. Plus you get that healthy fiber that keeps our bowels a movin'! Colon health.....check!

8. After about 10 min. of low-cooking, at this point you can choose to let the soup continue to meld it's flavors or plan to eat right away, in which case you add the broccoli. Adding it too soon will cause it to become a bit mushy, which is ok if you're planning on that. Otherwise, add it toward the last few minutes of cooking to preserve some of the vegetable's stability.

I personally choose the frozen route for this particular soup because it's easy to stock up on frozen organics to have ready for whenever the bugs are floating around town. Just open up the bag and add to the soup....easy peasy! An interesting note, broccoli contains more bioavailable calcium than milk or calcium supplements combined! Along with essential vitamins and minerals, broccoli is one of our super-foods!

9. Once you're getting ready to eat, add some soy sauce. I prefer a gluten-free product such as the one above. Adjust to taste. This is also when you can choose to instead add sea salt and lemon, hot chile sauce, coconut milk, more garlic, or more garlic. Did I mention more garlic? :)

10. Finally...like the icing on the proverbial cake, we invite beloved MISO into our soup. Miso is essentially a fermented soybean paste. Even though I advocate for avoiding soy-based products in general, the ones we are using in this recipe are minimal or of proper preparation for good health, as is miso. Here we find really great digestive support through active, alive food. Dissolve the miso into the soup once you've turned off the heat as to not destroy the precious raw food that it is. No need to ever cook miso! You'll find high-quality miso in the refrigerator section of your favorite natural foods grocer. 

And there ya have it....Dead Bug Soup! Eat this until it's gone, or freeze the rest for a cold, rainy day, and be well!
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food!" -- Hippocrates