Pumpkin Lentil Soup Agni - Digestive Fire
pumpkin seeds - farm to table!
The lentils in my soup are ‘red lentils’ - left in the pic. Nature has a plentiful selection of lentils and beans. Remember to soak and rince before cooking.
A healthy gut - stomach - is the key to health. Strong Digestion = Good Health! I have had my fair share of digestion disorders - a huge reason why I become a Health and Wellness Coach for myself and to support others. Part of my health journey and many others I speak to are dealing with gut issues. Our food choices and stress levels can wreck havoc. Have you ever heard the gut being the second brain? The gut feeds our body on so many levels. It’s responsible for putting our body into working order. The gut breaks down the foods we eat, absorbs nutrition for energy and hormone balance, skin health, heals with toxic elimination and changes our mood - feeling great or sluggish, sad, and depressed.
Have you ever been tired, bloated, experienced autoimmune disorders, chronic digestive upset? Sugar coating with pain relief medication?!?!?!? Hmmm! Is that the answer to feel better? Nope! - It’s about fixing your gut.
The most ancient and healing practices dating back thousands of years from Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine teaches us how to take care of our body and setting the stage for great health or G-D forbid sickness.
Anything we digest - food, drinks, environmental toxins and even stress (yes, stress is a big part in our gut health) all have to go through our digestive process.
The term agni - a sanskrit word means fire. In modern medicine we know of agni - fire as enzyme function that participates in all digestion and cellular processes. The food we eat is our life experience.
“Let food be they medicine and let thy medicine be food” - Hippocrates (it’s a fact)!
The way we prepare our food makes a difference in digesting our meals with ease.
Please follow my directions below. For example: soaking your lentils for beans) a few hours in advance and then dump the soaked water and rinse well to wash away the gas and carbohydrates lingering.
This creamy pureed soup is full of plant based protein from lentils and naturally sweet from the pumpkin. The spices are so soothing, and warming - makes for a great fall and winter soup.
Pumpkin Lentil Soup
1 cup red lentils
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups vegetable broth or filtered water with added herbamare spice for taste
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamon or coriander spice - optional
1/2 inch ginger - no need to chop just add a piece to the soup
Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
1/2 a fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup coconut milk - optional - to thicken the soup
Garnish: pumpkin seeds and/or non-dairy yogurt or cream
Instructions
in a pot over medium heat saute onion with a splash of coconut oil until soft
add garlic and all spices and saute for one minute (leave out salt and pepper to taste at end of cooking)
add lentil and pumpkin puree and saute for 2 minutes
add veggie broth and bring to boil and reduce heat to a simmer
cover and cook for 15 minutes - the lentils will soften
squeeze fresh lemon juice into the broth
season with salt and pepper to taste
transfer mixture to a blender or immersion hand blender and blend until smooth
garnish: serve with toasted pumpkin seeds and a swirl of non-dairy yogurt or cream on top
Genia’s Spoon Me Tips:
May attention to your agni - digestive fires - eat foods easy to digest.
I learned this quote I repeat over and over again from Michio Kushi (my teacher for the blueprint for the relief and prevention disease book) “Chew your drink, drink your food” - something to think about and practice!
As you can see by my photo - bottom left - I’ve been creating soups for years. Soups are my staples and for great reason: a quick meal in a bowl, east to digest, loaded with nutrition and a family favorite. And, those are my delicious sisters. Fun fact - our favorite spot in all our homes is the kitchen. lol!
Much love and a healthy gut,
Genia