WHOLE 30 ROOT VEGETABLE ZOODLE SOUP

I’ve spiralized plenty of veggies in my day. Sweet potatoes? Check. Carrots? Check. Zucchini? Check. Kohlrabi? Check! But today, I spiralized parsnip and turnips. WOAH. Beyond that, I think this may have been my first time (if not, still a rarity) even purchasing parsnips and turnips. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart if it weren’t for the sign in the grocery store. Perusing the root vegetable selection is one of the best parts about winter.

So I broke out my spiralizer, which although VERY efficient and an easy clean, is quite bulky, so I don’t use it much, and I got to it! A brief interlude to chat about my spiralizer… I used to have a manual one until I upgraded to this bullet. It is literally magic. I haven’t tried it yet, but apparently it also slices, shreds and blends.

Ok, back to our soup! I got down to spiralizing all the root veggies I could think of (besides beets, because they would totally turn my soup purple! Just like that red cabbage eventually turned my cabbage soup purple…). I even chopped up little brussels sprouts to add some chunky-ness to the soup aside from the zoodles.

The base of my soup is chicken bone broth! Any bone broth will do.. turkey, beef, or even a regular soup broth if you prefer. I love using bone broth in my veggie soups because it adds so much nutrition and protein! The bones are slow simmered for hours for maximum nutritional benefit. It provides gut healing nutrients for your stomach, protects your joints, supports a healthy immune system by fighting inflammation and increases bone strength.

Because the base is bone broth however, the soup may gel when refrigerated. Not to fret, this is the cooked form of collagen (the good stuff that we love so much! Gel is a good sign!) and the gel will melt back down to broth when your soup is re-heated.

I also decided to add some shredded rotisserie chicken to the soup the other night and that was super delicious! A great (convenient) way to add even more protein to your meal.

To top off this veggie packed deliciousness, I made a super simple kale + basil pesto for drizzling. It’s a bit thinner than usual pesto, that’s packed with nuts and cheese. This is just four main ingredients; kale, basil, olive oil and lemon juice. It adds lots of delicious flavor to the soup- especially if you’re already a pesto fan, like myself.

WHOLE 30 ROOT VEGETABLE ZOODLE SOUP

Prep time: 15 minutes

Serves: 8

Soup:

2 carrots, spiralized

1 turnip, spiralized

1 small sweet potato, spiralized

1 parsnip, spiralized

1 zucchini, spiralized

12 brussels sprouts, thinly sliced

1/2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp fresh oregano

2 tbsp fresh rosemary

7 c bone broth

2 c water

1 c rotisserie chicken, shredded (optional)

Kale + basil pesto:

2 c kale

1/3 c fresh basil

1/3 lemon, juiced

4 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt

1. Once all vegetables have been prepared, heat a large pot over the stove top at medium high heat. Add olive oil and garlic. Stir until fragrant, about one minute.
2. Add bone broth, water, salt, pepper, bay leaf, oregano and rosemary. Bring soup to a simmer and cook for ten minutes.
3. Add all vegetables and rotisserie chicken to your pot and let simmer for five minutes.
4. Remove bay leaf from your soup! Set soup aside while you prepare the pesto.
5. To make pesto, blend kale, basil, lemon juice and olive oil. Sprinkle with pink Himalayan salt.
6. Dish out your soup and drizzle with pesto to enjoy.

If you plan on refrigerating your leftovers, be sure to keep your soup and pesto separated until eaten!