Love to make more of the salt-free, nourishing soup that you have checked out from part one of this two parts article? Well, here’s more easy, nourishing soups that can help you attain gorgeous and radiant skin. Read on!

 

Beetroot & Pumpkin

Hands up if you love beetroots! This deep red vegetable is high in essential nutrients like potassium, magnesium, vitamins C & B6, antioxidants and more! Plus, its deep red colour is an obvious hint that it is nourishing for your blood and a wonderful boost for your immune system and blood pressure health.

Pumpkin, on the other hand, is packed with vitamins and minerals which are known to help protect your general tissue health, forestall macular degeneration and also eliminate oxidative stress caused by free radicals. To make this delicious and health benefiting soup, here is what you will need:

  • 1 small carnival or acorn pumpkin, washed, chopped with peel intact
  • 2 medium beetroots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 head of broccoli, washed and chopped
  • 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
  • 1 large handful of kale leaves
  • 1 red onion, quartered
  • 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 1 teaspoon of paprika
  • ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon of ground cumin
  • 4 cups of water
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Preheat your oven at 175ºC | 350ºF. In your stock pot, pop in the pumpkin, beetroot,  broccoli, onion and spices with the oil and toss them up to mix well. Then transfer this mix to a lined baking tray and roast the vegetables for 20-25 minutes. When done, remove it from the oven and place them back into the stockpot. Add in the kale and water and bring the mixture to a simmer. Use an immersion blender (or your regular blender) to blend the hot mixture smooth. Serve up immediately.

If you happen to reserve some pumpkin seeds to toast up as a snack, grab some and sprinkle it into your soup! They can put you in a happier mood by raising your levels of tryptophan. Enjoy!

To keep the extra portions of soup, simply have the soup cool down before portioning them out (into individual sachets that you can preheat for a single portion) and popping them into the freezer to ice up. Warm, delicious soup’s ready whenever you need some.

 

Gazpacho

If you have not heard, this classic soup is served chilled and uses a ton of wonderful raw vegetables. As it is prepared with minimal to no heat at all, the enzymes that the soup contains are definitely more than their cooked counterparts. The enzymes are vital for every bodily process like digestion, nutrient absorption and detoxification. The proper functioning of these processes is key to ensuring your optimal health and hence, beauty.

Think of it as a vegetable smoothie that features nutrients for attaining flawless, radiant skin. With the high water content from tomatoes and cucumbers, you get to moisturise your skin from inside out. Plus, the flavonoid antioxidants — lycopene and zeaxanthin found in this soup (mainly from the tomatoes) can reduce damages caused by free radicals, which works to stall the sign of ageing. Coupling up with the cooling cucumber, this soup contains collagen-boosting vitamin C that can up your immune system and offers a step closer to attaining fairer and clearer skin. Make this chilled soup with

  • 6 ripe medium tomatoes, washed, cored and coarsely chopped
  • 1 large golden tomato, washed and finely diced
  • 2 medium cucumbers, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 medium red onion
  • 1 large green bell pepper, deseeded
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 cups bottled tomato juice (grab the organic and least processed ones!)
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon or lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • Cracked black pepper to taste

Combine chopped medium tomatoes, garlic in a food processor and blend till smooth. Strain the puree through a cheesecloth or sieve, into a large non-reactive bowl, eg. glass or porcelain. In the same food processor, add in bell pepper, onions, cucumbers (reserve some as toppings for serving), bottled tomato juice and the, then hit the blitz button. Process till smooth and sieve the puree into the bowl that contains the strained tomato and garlic mix. Mix in the cayenne pepper, lemon juice, olive oil till well combined. Follow up by stirring in the chopped basil and cilantro into the mix. Cover and refrigerate the mixture for at least 4 hours or until thoroughly chilled. To serve, ladle out the amount that you desire, then add the diced golden tomatoes and remaining cucumbers onto the soup. If desired, croutons are the perfect addition to enjoying this chilled soup. This recipe served 4-6 portions and is not suitable to be stored. So if you have leftovers, use it to make yourself some delicious sauce to layer lasagne with. Just pop in some mushrooms, parmesan cheese and pureed tomato to get the consistency that you are looking for and layer away!