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11.07.2007

Lime Avocado Turkey Veggie Soup [Low Carb]



Broth Base:
~8 c. water
carcass of roast turkey, skin removed
~3 T. organic apple cider vinegar

As I mentioned previously, adding the vinegar helps leach calcium from the bones. This is a easy and inexpensive way to get the maximum benefit from your leftovers. It is always better to get your vitamins and minerals from a natural, whole food source rather than pills. Bring the water, bones, and vinegar to a rolling boil in a large stockpot. I boiled my bones for about 45 minutes, but there's no rule as far as I know. If you'd rather reduce the heat and simmer the bones for a longer time, that'd work just as well (I do this with my Grass Fed Beef Bone-Based Soups).

Soup Ingredients:
1 large ripe avocado
3 limes
~ 2 c. chopped extra dark and white meat pieces
4 large organic carrots
1 large bunch fresh collards
~1/4 head fresh red cabbage
1 large or 2 medium sweet onions
~2 c. cooked organic brown rice (I used our leftover Coconut Brown Rice)
5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 large jalapeƱos with seeds, sliced
~1 c. of leftover turkey drippings, skimmed of all fat

Seasonings:
dried rosemary
garlic powder
bay leaf
sea salt and pepper
5-6 fresh basil leaves, chopped for garnish

Optional Add-Ins:
2 small red potatoes or 1 large sweet potato, cut into ~fifths

While the bones are boiling, wash and pat dry the greens. Roughly chop the onions and the bunch of collards (about 10-15 very large leaves) and place in a large bowl. I used the Saladmaster to ripple cut the carrots and to shred the red cabbage. Mince the garlic and set aside. Slice two of the limes into small pieces (~8th's or so) to add to the soup and leave the last lime whole for now. Slice (or chunk) the avocado into pieces and set aside.

As the bones boil (or simmer), the leftover meat on the bones should fall off or loosen. After the bones are finished boiling, turn off the heat and use tongs to remove the bones to cool on a side plate. Once the bones are cooled a few minutes later, use a spoon or your fingers to pull off the rest of the meat from the bones. Discard the bones and add the meat back to the soup base. You can add an extra cup or so of water for more soup if you have room in your pot.**

Add all of the seasonings, the leftover roast drippings, the cooked rice, and all veggies except the avocado and the 1 whole lime. Bring the soup to a boil (we brought ours to a boil at medium heat). Once it is boiling, turn the heat to medium low and cover. Let simmer for about 20-25 minutes or until the veggies are tender.

Slice the last lime into wedges for garnish and serving. Once the veggies are tender, serve hot with the sliced avocado and lime wedges. Don't forget to squeeze the lime over the soup before eating. The water soluble vitamins and color from the red cabbage give the soup this beautiful deep purple hue, making the broth alone attractive for serving.

** If you make this ahead of time, you can refrigerate the soup base overnight. The overnight refrigeration allows the fat to congeal at the top so you can spoon it off the next day in preparation for turkey soup.



Cindalou's Kitchen Blues: Healthy Celiac / Coeliac Gluten and Dairy Free Recipes

5 comments:

  1. This looks great! While I love my chicken soup recipe, I didn't love my turkey version of it. This version sounds delicious - I love the extra greens and actually had a whole bunch of kale in tonight's split pea and sweet potato soup. I also love the idea of lime and avocado and would consider adding a 28 oz can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes.

    I have one question, though: How come you don't add the apple cider vinegar to the [beef] bone broth to leach the calcium from those bones? Thanks, Cindy/Jon!

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  2. Kale, avocado, and lime are fantasitc for any soup base, aren't they? They'd be great in a quinoa dish as well. I might make that next week. Your pea and sweet potato soup sounds great; I bet Jon would love it! The fire roasted tomatoes would be a nice touch - say a drained can of low sodium green chilies as well :)

    I did add apple cider vinegar to the bones here, it's up in the broth base. I think you can actually use any vinegar you want. However, raw and unpasteurized apple cider vinegar offers more health benefits. The raw and unpasteurized murky-looking ACV has real raw "mother" culture which helps your digestion and gut bacteria, just like probiotics. Distilled or all other pasteurized and not raw vinegars ("blah vinegars") do not have any active good bacteria or enzymes, so I don't use those.

    As with any food, keep it all in moderation. Vinegar is acidic and most western diets are far too acidic as is. A more basic diet of raw or balanced veggies, good fats, high fiber, low sugar, and less meat is proven to slow aging and lessen cell and immune system stress. It simply takes more bodily resources to digest things like meat. An acidic environment is created in the metabolism of these "acid forming" foods. In reality, all in moderation and focus on what's best for your metabolic type. What makes you feel best? I personally need and enjoy grass fed meats in my diet since they help alleviate my vitamin deficiencies naturally (less supplement pills). To keep this "acid" craze in context, exercise and even breathing produces free radicals and a more "acidic" atmosphere- would someone then say we shouldn't do that or severely limit it? Nooo... anyways, I'll stop ranting, but you see my point. Cook with the apple cider vinegar. Don't drink a gallon of it a day :)

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  3. Here is a link to the split pea soup with sweet potatoes and kale. I adjust it to make it in the crockpot on low since I am a student; 15 minutes before I want to serve, I add the washed and chopped kale to the soup, turn up the heat from low to high. This results in kale that is not squishy (ie, the way spinach gets when cooked). Since I am only cooking for 2, I usually make 2/3s of the recipe but don't reduce the the amount of kale. I add a bit of water when I reheat the leftovers in a small pot. It's wonderful, perfect for cold days!

    I will definitely try this soup once I have turkey leftovers, with the added diced tomatoes (I have a whole case of them) and chiles.

    Your information on the raw apple cider vinegar is very interesting. But I wonder whether cooking the raw vinegar destroys the nutrients/probiotic qualities.

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  4. You need a blog of your own girl, lol! The soup looks great, I like your idea about putting the kale in last minute.
    Yes, the good bacteria are probably killed in the bone boiling. When I'm using the vinegar in soup then I use it solely to leach the calcium out of the bones- no probiotic benefits. I do like a swig or two of ACV very now and then myself to help my digestion. Heck, that stuff will wake you up and is cheaper than whiskey.

    I found a whole page of good old folk remedies using the organic (raw, unpasteurized, blah blah) vinegar; my favorite remedy is a little ACV in honey as a sleep aid. I've used this many times and it really helps. They say honey has many health benefits when consumed in small quantities and moderation. Honey is a natural slight sedative so that is probably the reason it helps you sleep. Well, that and the 17 g of (natural) sugar which will crash your blood sugar and make you tired after a few minutes :)

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  5. I have made your soup numerous times now and it is my favorite winter soup. Thanks for posting the recipe.

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