I first started cooking for my health when I was working 12-hour days in my corporate job. While I tended to like cooking, I felt that there was no way I had time for it. So over the years, I had given up on cooking and relied on quick convenience foods. Fortunately, I had a couple of wonderful health practitioners help me ease my way back into the kitchen with fast, healthy recipes.
Here’s one for thermos soup that many of you asked about. This recipe is from a doctor who aided my recovery. He’s an MD who also practiced Ayurvedic medicine (he’s the one who asked “What is your big dream?” in my first appointment…I’ll share more great stories about working with him soon).
Fast Thermos Soup By Dr. Jay Glaser
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup yellow split mung beans, small red lentils (masoor dal), or small brown lentils (all available at whole food stores, or at Indian and Mediterranean groceries).
- 1/4 cup basmati rice
- 1/2 to 1 cup fresh vegetables cut into small pieces to fit into a thermos
- Whole or ground spices to taste (salt, pepper, cumin, ginger, turmeric, curry powder, etc.)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or clarified butter (ghee)
- 2-3 cups boiling water
- A half quart to one quart wide mouth thermos
Directions
- Boil the water in a teakettle while you chop the veggies and then sauté the spices in a 2 quart pot for 15 seconds in the oil or ghee.
- Add the washed mung beans, rice and chopped vegetables to the pot.
- Cover with the boiling water, and boil for three to five minutes.
- While still boiling hot, quickly pour the mixture into the thermos (you may need to ladle it in, but don’t let the mixture cool). Close the thermos quickly and leave it closed for two to four hours.
Your lunch will cook and be fresh and tasty, the vegetables just slightly crispy when your digestive fire is ready for something hot.
This truly is fast and easy! I made this with the split yellow dahl before I knew that soaking the beans in advance would help my digestion. Today, I would soak the beans for 12 – 24 hours first with 1 TBL of apple cider vinegar. This removes the anti-nutrients that make beans harder to digest.
I was skeptical that it would be nice and fully cooked by lunch, but it was! And my gut really loved this recipe.
Later, I’d develop my own versions of this recipe for people who were avoiding grains, beans and starches to help with small intestine health (this also applies to Paleo, GAPs and SCD related nutritional protocols).
Another Fast Thermos Soup Recipe (grain/starch free)
Ingredients
- 1 TBL ghee, coconut oil or raw butter
- 2 cups water (other options for more nutrients: For collagen and minerals, use bone broth (or water and 1 TBL Vital Proteins gelatin); for vegetarians or vegans use vegetable broth. Bone Broth recipe with modifications for vegan veggie broth.
- 1/2 cup vegetables – some great options are diced: zucchini, asparagus, shredded carrots, celery, daikon radish, finely chopped parsley or cilantro (good for detox), finely chopped kale, broccoli or collards.
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black or white pepper
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- Optional: 1/4 tsp ginger (aids digestion), 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp fennel (you can use all or any combo of these).
- Optional: leftover cooked chicken or meat
Directions
- In a saucepan on low heat, melt the butter, ghee or coconut oil. Add in the spices you are using (not the sea salt thought). Heat the spices until you smell them, which releases their medicinal qualities.
- Add in the water or broth and set the heat to high, bringing the liquid to a boil. Add in the vegetables, heating for 3 – 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and pour soup into a thermous. If you like blended soup, you can blend it in your blender or use an immersion blender (handheld blender) and blend everything up well for ease of digestion.
- Add optional leftover meat, if you like.
- Cap the thermos and take to work!
I loved using a widemouthed thermos for soups and keeping food warm (the small one-cup widemouthed thermos is great for keeping meals hot for lunch!).
Does this sound like something you feel you can do before work?
If you like cooking, you can always make soup in advance, then heat it up in the morning and take it to work in your thermos too.
What other fast, healthy meals do you like to prepare?
This article started from a conversation we had on Facebook!
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