You know how some kids put ketchup on everything?
In our house, it’s all about mustard. We go through mustard like nobody’s business, seriously. I should buy stock in the stuff.
Which means, of course, that I should also buy stock in laundry stain treaters and ultimately, clothing since mustard is a bear to get out of most colors. My kids put mustard on all meat, love it in potato salad and egg salad, and even have been known to dip their vegetables in it. They’re 8, 5 and 2, so we have a lot of shirts with yellow stains.
Why is mustard so yellow, so potent?
Turmeric.
I always used to think that mustard was yellow because, you know, mustard was probably yellow. It bothered me for years after I started cooking from scratch that ground mustard was so pale. Where does all that color come from? I would check the ingredients skeptically for artificial colors and come up empty.
It turns out that along with perma-staining bright yellow color, turmeric has plenty of other star features and deserves to get on your plate in far more places than just the humble mustard.
RELATED: Keto Recipe for Spicy Curry Chicken.
Healthful Properties of Turmeric
- Powerful anti-inflammatory (“Turmeric is one of the most potent natural anti-inflammatories available,” from the American Academy of Pain Management)
- Supports brain health (people in India, where turmeric is eaten daily in curry, have less than a quarter the rate of Alzheimer’s disease)
- Protects and detoxifies liver
- Strong antioxidant properties (cancer-fighting, particularly skin cancer, prostate head and neck cancer, and prohibiting the spread of breast cancer into the lungs)
- Fights infection
- Helpful to treat depression
- May help psoriasis and eczema
- Effective treatment for IBS
- Helps cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis
- May lower cholesterol, support heart health
Turmeric is best eaten with black pepper to increase its absorption, and cauliflower and coconut oil are also helpful in enhancing its quite amazing healthful properties.
That’s easy!!
If Cancer Makes You Feel Anxious…
Totally normal. But we know anxiety can hinder healing, so wouldn’t it be great if you could eat foods that would both nourish your body to maximize the healing process that are ALSO research-backed to reduce anxiety and depression?
Here’s a quick and easy list and fridge printable one-pager of 10 foods to fight depression and anxiety:
Ultimately the soup tastes great, though, and it’s a good gateway to getting your family used to eating things tinted slightly (ok, not slightly) yellow.
I definitely advocate making your own easy chicken stock, but sometimes you just want something quick and easy for those busy days. Thrive Market will deliver some to your door – Pacific brand makes Chicken Bone Stock for a good price. You can even get 15% off your first order, no coupon required. No running to the store and you’ll be ready to make dinner at a moment’s notice.
Apparently, turmeric is also more accessible to your body if it’s fermented, which is pretty cool – read more here.
I’ve been using turmeric for a little over a year in many meat dishes and in place of anything that used to call for dried onion soup mix. You’ll see it a lot as an ingredient throughout the Better Than a Box eBook. It’s always nice to learn that something you’ve come to enjoy anyway has so many incredible health benefits!
Did you know you can prevent cancer with turmeric?
It also helps avoid hearing, “Me no like poop!” all throughout dinner.
I’ll explain – my toddler has suddenly decided to be stubborn about all foods and claim that he doesn’t like anything I serve. We eat a lot of soup in the winter, and he’s not so solid on the “S” sound. Therefore, “Me no like poop!” is a very common refrain during the dinner hour around here.
“This is mustard chicken soup. Look at all that mustard in there!” was my response with this turmeric chicken soup. It worked well enough to get him through a bowl…
Turmeric isn’t the only thing you can use to in the fight against cancer. Take this super quick quiz to test your knowledge and see what else you can do!
Recipe: Turmeric Chicken Soup with Cabbage and Coconut
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Turmeric Chicken Soup with Cabbage and Coconut
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs. butter
- 1/2–1 c. diced onion
- 8 c. chicken stock
- 2 large potatoes or turnip, diced
- 1/4–1/2 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
- 3–4 carrots, sliced
- a quarter of a large cabbage, sliced/diced thinly
- 1/3–1/2 c. coconut cream (use the code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off at that site!) (or a can of coconut milk)
- 2–3 c. cooked shredded chicken
- 1/2–1 tsp. dry ground turmeric
- 1 tsp. dried parsley
- 1–2 tsp. salt (Use the code kitchenstewardship for 15% off of your first purchase)
- 1/2 tsp.black pepper
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium heat. Saute the onion for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until translucent (or browned, to your preference).
- Add the stock, potatoes (peeled or unpeeled) or turnips, cauliflower, carrots and cabbage and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients and cook until potatoes and carrots are completely soft.
Notes
* What’s coconut cream you ask? It’s the same thing as coconut butter, kind of a cross between coconut oil, coconut milk, and dry desiccated coconut – a thick paste (solid at cool room temps) that is great for baking. On the jar it says that a teaspoon in a cup of water makes coconut milk, so I tend to add it to soups and stir fries instead of buying a whole can of coconut milk. I have a lot to use because I grabbed two jars on an impulse BOGO buy here (use the code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off at that site!). 😉 I’m using a lot to make these cookies, too. Yum!
* If you don’t have any coconut cream or coconut butter, a can of coconut milk will do just fine (try to find one with the fewest ingredients). Vitacost usually has a very good brand; watch for free shipping and deals, or if you’ve never shopped there, use this link to get $10 off.
* I get cooked shredded chicken from making chicken stock or leftover from roasting a whole chicken. Too much work to cook chicken just for soup!
* What to do with the rest of the cabbage? Some awesome ideas (and why cabbage is a great buy) here.
Where to Find High Quality Meat
Having trouble finding good quality meat locally? Would you like to fill your freezer with local and pastured options?
If you’re in the US Midwest, Chicago to Milwaukee to Detroit to New York, and select cities across the country, check out TruLocalUsa.
If you’re west of the Mississippi, check out Wild Pastures.
If you live in any of the 48 contiguous states, I recommend US Wellness Meats and Butcher Box!
I’m grateful that there’s an online source of incredibly high quality meat that I can always count on. A subscription from Butcher Box includes grass fed, organic, pastured, and free range = all the labels important to your family’s health! And I’ve got a special deal for you!
They almost always have great deals for new customers. Claim your free gifts, and see what bonus they have going on right now. Don’t miss out!
(free shipping too!)
The soup was adapted from one by Whole Foods on a Budget found in the Winter Soups Cookbook, a compilation from over 50 real food bloggers. I’ve been tapping into the depth of that book’s resource all week, and what a joy to have so many great new ideas! Check it out here.
Other turmeric recipes
- Anti-inflammatory turmeric tea (made with powder!)
- “Golden Milk” for depression, colds, flu
- Creamy Turmeric No-heat Vegetable Noodles
- Golden Rice
Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post to Amazon and Thrive Market from which I will earn some commission if you make a purchase. See my full disclosure statement here.
Have you tried this in the instant pot? Seems like 10 min on soup would do it?
Yet, more healthful, substitute quinoa for the potatoes. Quinoa is a complete protein and packs a lot of fiber and nutrition. And I love your suggestion of adding caulifower! I will be making this tonight. I have a free-range roaster on the stove, now! Thank you!!!
Oh gosh apparently I did not finish going through all of the comments. I see someone else asked the same question! Apologies! ????
This looks like it would be amazing. Would it be good if done in a crock pot?
can you cook in a crockpot? If so how Do you suggest tweaking it?
I’m pretty sure any soup can be cooked in a crockpot Tracy, but I usually just prefer a regular pot. You wouldn’t be able to caramelize the onions in a crock so the flavor might change a little but it will still be yummy! 🙂 Katie
This looks so much like what we eat here in South East Asia, Sayur Lodeh or translated as vegetable curry! Usually eaten with rice cakes or also known as lontong in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
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I made this and it was awesome! I added the whole container of coconut cream because I didn’t want any left to figure out what to do with (I think it was 12oz), and I was very generous with the turmeric. Mine didn’t look exactly like yours but it tasted so great my husband was talking about it this morning–he can’t wait to eat the leftovers for lunch!
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I have made this twice now. I use cauliflower and also add some cayenne. This soup is now my go-to for chicken soup! Excellent for boosting breast milk too with all that tumeric 🙂
Would you suggest using coconut oil instead of butter to add more coconut goodness to the interact with the turmeric?
Amy,
It certainly wouldn’t hurt! Enjoy! 🙂 Katie
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Made this last night……sooooooo good! Hubby loved it, too. I only used 6c chicken stock and extra veggies and spices. We like less liquid and more flavor. Thinking about adding some ginger and snow peas next time, but we’ll definitely have it as is again, too. Thank you for such a good recipe!
Yum, this sounds tasty! I’ve been looking for a new soup recipe to try. This one looks perfect.
Made this yesterday….SO STINKIN’ GOOD!! I forgot to put in the coconut milk until we had eaten half of the batch–it’s FABU either way. We liked it better with the coconut, but if you don’t have any on hand, don’t let that stop you!
That’s good to know, thanks! 🙂 Katie
Made this last night. It was a big hit with the toddlers too! Sweet potatoes were substituted for the white potatoes, added broccoli and garlic. Coconut cream added just hint of sweetness that made it divine. Will definitely be added to the soup rotation!
SWEET POTATOES! EXCELLENT idea!!! With more turmeric, I’m sure the sweetness of the sweet potato might make this soup taste a little curry-ish and SO much better for you. Thank you for the idea!!!
I hear you on the mustard! Love that stuff(:
Very yummy!
I made this today and added 4 cloves of garlic. I almost substituted cauliflower for potatoes but we have been without carbs for a while and was wanting some! 🙂
Looks and sounds yummy! Will it freeze well? Do you think one would have to leave out the cabbage and/or coconut cream to freeze?
Jennifer,
Cabbage freezes just fine, so I can almost guarantee this whole recipe would freeze well (although we ate all of ours before I was even tempted to freeze it). 🙂 Katie
This looks absolutely delicious! I may try this with cabbage AND cauliflower!
Perfect! I was trying to figure out what kind of soup to make for dinner tonight. This will be perfect. 🙂
Turmeric is one of our favorite spices. I use it in almost every egg dish I make, as well as sprinkling it on homemade coconut-oil popcorn (when I’m in the mood to risk the yellow-stained fingers & fingerprints everywhere!).
Delicious! I added cauliflower and some green peas just for fun (and lots of pepper). Thank you for sharing this recipe! I know I will make it again and again!
Awesome, Dorothy!
I if I exchange cauliflower for cabbage I have all the ingredients on hand. Might make this tomorrow! Looks great.
Teresa I have no doubt it would be great as a slightly creamy soup with a cup or two of milk or with just broth as a simple twist on regular old chicken soup. 🙂
can I use milk instead of coconut (we can’t do coconut in our house because of allergies)
For Joe!
Barbara
Sherryl
I have all the ingredients ready to go. I will be making this one today for sure.