If you want to enjoy a delicious bowl of soup, try this anti-cancer broccoli soup! It is full of vitamins, minerals, and crucial phytonutrients that are required by the body to function properly.
Broccoli is one of the most powerful superfoods on the planet. It contains a high concentration of sulforaphane, a compound found in cruciferous vegetables that provides strong anti-cancer properties.
According to Dr. Jacob Schor, a naturopathic doctor who graduated from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, “in the case of cruciferous vegetables, glucoraphanin is the stored form of the chemical and requires the enzyme myrosinase for it to be converted into sulforaphane. Therefore, to get sulforaphane from the diet requires the chemical reaction between glucoraphanin and the enzyme myrosinase (1).”
Cooking cruciferous vegetables before they are eaten destroys the myrosinase enzyme, and very little sulforaphane is produced. So if you want to preserve the myrosinase enzyme in this anti-cancer broccoli soup, then you need to do something different with the broccoli first. Instead of simmering the whole broccoli in the soup (which destroys the myrosinase enzyme – especially with 20 minutes of cooking), you instead cook the soup beforehand, while leaving the broccoli florets aside, and only steam the florets for 3 minutes, and add them to the soup at the end of cooking.
Although this still reduces the amount of sulforaphane your body would acquire when eaten raw, a lot of people find it difficult to consume so much broccoli in its raw form. Dr. Gregor from NutritionFacts.org also points out that adding powdered mustard seeds to cooked cabbage-family vegetables (like broccoli), provides a natural source of the enzyme myrosinase, such that it’s practically like eating broccoli raw, when cooked. This is also why this anti-cancer broccoli soup contains a little bit of mustard seed to ensure you’re getting all the sulforaphane your body needs!
Anti-Cancer Broccoli Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
– 1 tbsp. coconut oil
– 1 medium onion, finely chopped
– 2 medium stalks of celery, finely chopped
– 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
– 5 cups fresh organic broccoli, including stems (set aside florets)
– 2.5 cups low-sodium organic vegetable broth
– 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk or almond milk
– Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
– 1/2 tsp. mustard powder
– optional: few sprigs of rosemary and 1/4 tsp. fresh thyme
Method:
1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pot and sauté the celery and onion until softened (about 4 minutes).
2. Add potatoes, and broccoli stems, and sauté for another 2 minutes.
3. Add vegetable broth and plant-based milk, and bring to a boil.
4. Add salt and pepper and herbs to taste.
5. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
6. While the soup is simmering, steam the broccoli florets for 3 minutes, and set aside.
7. Pour the mixture into a blender and pureé until smooth.
8. Mix in broccoli florets into the soup, and enjoy!
Can I use other plant based milk in broccoli soup other than coconut milk in the can
Yes, of course!