Spiced Pumpkin Soup

This warming, nourishing pumpkin soup is the perfect thing to warm you up on a chilly day. This soup recipe is also an elimination diet recipe for phase 1. It is free of nuts, citrus, tomatoes, dairy, and peppers ~ all ingredients commonly found in creamed soups.

This soup is light and cleansing; great for coming off of the first two days of green smoothies. I like to add a swirl of coconut milk to each bowl and maybe a drizzle of maple syrup or dark agave nectar. Each batch of soup will be different and vary in sweetness depending on your pumpkin. I use sugar pie pumpkins which actually are not as sweet as many other winter squashes. We harvested over 100 pounds of winter squash this past fall and have them in boxes in our garage. If you can not find a sugar pie pumpkin at this time of year, try butternut squash.

To bake a pumpkin, first cut it in half with a large, sharp knife. Scoop out the seeds (save them to roast) and place pumpkin halves flesh-side down into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Add about 1/4 inch of water to the pan and bake uncovered in a 350 to 400 degree oven for 45 to 90 minutes depending on the size of your pumpkin. Test for doneness by pricking it with a fork. If the fork easily slides in it is done. Scoop out the cooked flesh to use for this soup. I used two pie pumpkins to get 8 cups cooked flesh. My photo below depicts half of an uncooked sugar pie pumpkin and a 4-cup measure full of cooked pumpkin flesh.

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

This recipe was inspired from something my sister-in-law made while we were visiting over Christmas. I didn't have her original recipe so improvised based on memory. She added cooked white beans to the finished soup which gave it a delicious heartiness. If you are not following the Elimination Diet then you could add any type of cooked beans to the soup. This recipe makes a large batch of soup. You could easily cut the recipe in half or make the whole batch and freeze part in small containers for a ready-to-go meal. Enjoy!

2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger

4 to 5 large carrots, peeled and chopped

4 to 5 celery stalks, chopped

2 Granny Smith Apples, cored and chopped

10 cups water or stock*

8 cups cooked sugar pie pumpkin flesh

1/4 cup maple syrup or dark agave nectar*

2 to 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

3 to 4 teaspoons Herbamare or sea salt

1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

coconut milk and cilantro, for garnish

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in an 8-quart stockpot. Add onion and saute for about 5 minutes. Then add ginger, carrots, celery, and apples; saute 5 to 10 minutes more.

Add the water, cooked pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, covered.

Puree soup in batches. I like to have another 8-quart pot ready to go that I can pour the pureed soup into as I go. Serve with a swirl of coconut milk.

*Notes: Using a homemade vegetable stock will make this soup richer. If you are on phase 3 of the diet you can use homemade chicken stock. Avoid using prepackaged vegetable broth while you are on the elimination diet. These often contain "natural flavors" and we don't know where those come from.

Please share any Phase 1 recipes or meal ideas you have in the comments section below. Let's help each other out! :)

Other Phase 1 Elimination Diet Recipes:

Summer Vegetable Kitcheree

Healing Quinoa Cabbage Soup

Nori Rolls with a Ginger Plum Sauce
Green Apple Salad Dressing

More Elimination Diet Recipe from Other Bloggers:

Warming Adzuki Vegetable Stew from Kim at Affairs of Living

Soup for the Soul from Iris at The Daily Diet Tribe

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