Last Updated on November 2, 2023
A soup cleanse, when done right, is a great way to detox the body, lose weight, and boost health effortlessly. It’s easy, too! Simply eat (the right kinds of) soup and you can get results.
Soups are the new smoothies. You heard it here first… But unlike smoothies, soup doesn’t have any added sugars or processed protein powders.
When made with high-quality ingredients, soups are a great meal replacement for anyone trying to slim down and feel great on the fly.
See me explain why my Soup Cleanse is so great for you and how to get the best results.
Why This Soup Cleanse Works
Here are 4 great reasons why I recommend having soup often.
1) SOUP ADDS DIVERSITY TO YOUR DIET (AND YOUR GUT MICROBIOME)
Did you know the average adult only eats the same 10 ingredients over and over again?
Did you know your body needs dozens of different foods daily to support dozens of different strains of bacteria in your gut microbiome?
The gut microbiome benefits from getting a wide variety of foods on a regular basis.
Soups are an easy way to get lots of different types of fresh veggies, herbs, and spices into your diet on a regular basis, that’ll encourage diversity in your gut microbiome so you can stay healthy and feel great.
2) SOUP CAN HELP IMPROVE DIGESTIVE HEALTH
Soups have a liquid base, making them easy-to-digest. They’ll fill you up without adding much waste weight or strain on your digestive tract.
Because they’re easy to digest, they allow you to absorb nutrients into the body quickly, so it’s important to consume soups made with only high-quality, organic ingredients.
You want to absorb nutrients, not chemicals
Because they’re liquid, soups allow the GI tract to detox and eliminate existing waste & toxins in the body, which helps reverse inflammation and irregularity.
3) SOUP CAN HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT
Soups, like smoothies, make easy-to-make meal replacements, that pack a huge nutritional punch, for minimal calories.
But soups are a better option because they have less sugar and more whole foods. For example, in a soup you’d use shredded chicken in a smoothie you use processed protein powders.
When made with nutrient-dense ingredients and a clean base, soups can help you feel fuller longer, without spiking your insulin levels.
4) THE MORE INGREDIENTS A SOUP HAS – THE BETTER IT IS FOR YOU
More ingredients means you’ll get more health benefits per serving compared to options with few ingredients.
The more spices, herbs, textures, and flavors you have at the same time tricks your body into feeling fuller, too.
From broth to spices, from proteins and veggies, soups are an easy way to use lots of different beneficial things and trigger your body to feel fuller faster, with low-calorie, nutrient-dense ingredients.
Plus, herbs and spices also have even more health benefits.
For example, black pepper contains a substance called piperine, which not only gives it its pungent flavor, but also blocks the formation of new fat cells.
Cinnamon adds zest to more than just food. The spice contains substances that, in test tube studies, wake up body cells to the hormone insulin which can help regulate hormones and prevent cravings.
By having soups regularly as meal replacements you’ll avoid things that cause issues and flood the body with healing nutrition – and will look & feel better effortlessly.
The Best Soup Cleanse
STEP 1) Pick the Soup Detox that Works Best for You
NOTE: The good, better, best is ranking the fitness and wellness benefits you’ll experience.
- GOOD – Soup as a side dish or meal replacement a few times a week. Have soup as a meal or along with a meal. No time limit.
- BETTER – Soup as a meal replacement 1 time a day for 3 to 7 days. Have a solid breakfast, snack, and lunch, then soup for dinner.
- BEST – Soup as 2 meal replacements for 3 to 7 days. Have a solid breakfast and a snack, then soup for lunch and dinner.
- BONUS POINTS – If you have smoothies for breakfasts and snacks.
- You can start this now then do 2 meal replacements daily, when you’re ready to start.
Step 2 – Start having organic soup!
- Have soup made with one veggie, multiple veggies, or veggies + protein (animal or plant), in a broth base. The more ingredients you use the better! A soup with chicken, onions, carrots, celery, and tons of spices and bone broth will have more benefits compared to a plain butternut squash or tomato soup.
- Have organic premade soups or make your own. I’ll show you how to make detox-friendly soups + recipes below.
- Organic store-bought soups – in BPA-free packaging – make it easy to stick to the soup cleanse.
- If you eat out, opt for soups from Asian restaurants as they’re most likely to have detox-friendly ingredients needed to get results.
Noodle free pho is great on the Soup Cleanse
THINGS TO AVOID ON THE SOUP CLEANSE
Avoid soups that contain the following ingredients.
- Avoid all grains and commonly processed (GMO) high-starch carb ‘fillers’ like rice, noodles, beans, barley, corn, potatoes, soy, and wheat in your soup. They’re inflammatory, affect gut health, can cause cravings, and aren’t ideal for a detox.
- Avoid any soups with dairy, including cheese, milk, and cream. Butter is ok!
- Avoid as many chemicals and processed ingredients as possible. Soup is so easy to digest and you want to absorb nutrients, not toxins. Enjoying organic soup options allows you to do that.
DETOX SOUP MAKING METHOD
Use these simple steps to create meal replacement soups with cleanse-friendly ingredients. You’ll need a broth base, flavors, protein, and vegetables to make detox soup.
Organic ingredients are recommended. This is a cleanse so remember, to avoid as many chemicals as possible.
1) First, start with a plant-based or clean (animal) fat.
- You’ll need 2 tbsp. of a plant-based fat for every 1.5 cup.
- You can use cold-pressed olive oil, coconut oil, butter, or ghee.
2) Next, add herbs and spices for flavor and other health benefits.
- Use a minimum of at least 3 different herbs and spices
- Delicious detox-friendly herbs and spices that add flavor include: quality (Celtic or Himalayan) salt, freshly ground black pepper, minced garlic, green onion, turmeric, curry, shallot, basil, cilantro, oregano, parsley, jalapeños , etc.
- The more the merrier. The fresher the better.
- Bonus Points if you use organic spices. (lots of hidden chemicals linger in herbs and spices.
TIP: Try a Mirepoix A Mirepoix is a combination of aromatic vegetables cooked first in fat to give a broth/braise more flavor. A Mirepoix of onion, celery, and carrot adds subtle, savory flavor to soups, stews, roasts and sauces. To make your mirepoix, you’ll need of 2 parts onion to one part each of both celery and carrot.
- Wash, trim, and dice all of the veggies in same-size pieces.
- Slow simmer the veggies in fat until soft, about 10-15 minutes.
- After this step you’d add broth, spices and the remaining ingredients.
3) Next, add a liquid plant-based stock or bone broth.
- You can use vegetable, chicken, or beef stock, coconut milk, nut milk, or filtered water with herbs and spices.
- The serving size of the soup you’ll make is approx. 1.5 cups.
- I recommend using your own bone broth.
Homemade bone broth is an easy way to get collagen, minerals, and other beneficial nutrients needed to boost immunity and heal and seal your digestive tract. It’s great for skin, cellulite, and joints.
4) Next add, 3 oz. of an Organic, lean or plant-based protein
- Ideas include organic chicken, turkey, egg, beef, meatballs, beans, lentils, mushrooms, tofu, edamame, etc.
- Meat takes longer to cook than veggies, so add these before veggies.
- FYI, 3 oz. is about the same size as the palm of your hand.
- 3 oz. should be added to every 1.5 cups of broth. So if you use 3 cups of broth, you’d add 6 oz. total of protein and get 2 servings of soup.
5) Last, add in your veggies according to density
- Vegetables are unlimited.
- 3/4 – 1 cup total of veggies per 1.5 cups of broth is a good ratio to use. Adjust to suit your tastes.
- You can do 1 main vegetable like butternut squash or tomato soup or a vegetable soup with multiple vegetables, too.
- Broccoli, snow peas, mushrooms, carrot, celery, onion, cabbage, spinach, and green peas, are great for soups.
DETOX SOUP COOKING TIPS:
- Different meats and veggies cook at different speeds FYI. The more stalky or tough something is the longer it’ll take to get soft.
- Cook dense, stalky veggies and thick proteins first over higher heat. Then reduce heat and add veggies. After a 15-20 minute head start, add in veggies accordingly. So if you’re using spinach and carrots – cook the carrots first then add the spinach in towards the very end.
- Use the ‘use-what-you’ve-got’ mentality and layer in healthy ingredients, you need to use up. Remember, your gut likes diversity so have fun experimenting with different ingredients, flavors, and textures.
- Don’t forget, you can have a soup that’s made with one veggie (like tomato), mixed veggies, and a mix of protein (animal or plant) and veggies. But you can also have a veggie soup like butternut squash, with a side of chicken, if you’d like, too.
HOW TO COOK DETOX SOUP
- Mirapoix > Fat & Flavor > Broth > Add Protein + Stalky, Dense Veggies > Cook > Add Quick Cooking Veggies > You’re Done
- Cook your soup over low heat for a longer period of time. The longer a soup cooks the more flavor will develop. 60-ish minutes over low heat is a good place to start, 4 hours is even better.
- Slow-cook your soup until the meat is cooked through and the veggies are tender but not mushy.
- You can serve your soup as-is or blend it.
SOUP CLEANSE-FRIENDLY RECIPES TO TRY
Here are some addictive Soup recipes, I made using the Superfood Soup-Making Method. I really think you’re going to love them.
- Healthy Caribbean Chicken Soup
- Roasted Red Pepper Soup
- Pumpkin Soup
- Coconut Shrimp Thai Soup
- Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
HINT: Soups make for easy ‘meal prep,’ too. Soups are your new go-to source for office-friendly lunches. (Yay!) Please leave me a comment to let me know if this post helped you.
What is your favorite soup? If you have a request for a healthier recipe for your favorite soup, leave me a comment and I’ll make it for you. : )
Your Coach and Biggest Cheerleader
xxoo
Pin this Soup Cleanse to Pinterest so you’ll have it and the recipes forever.
If you want to cancel out cravings, lose weight, and feel more healthy, energized, and confident quickly – you need my Reset Cleanse. It rids the body of everything that makes it hard to lose weight & feel good.
You can lose up to 10 pounds in 7 days by eating unlimited servings of Reset-friendly foods.
I really enjoyed this post! Thank you for all the info. I feel like if I didn’t stumble upon this post I would not have known the correct way to truly detox with soups!
Awesome! So happy this helped you. : )
I love this idea!!! Homemade soups are a hobby for me, and I appreciate new ideas. I’ve always thought they were healthy but your explanation why, makes perfect sense…..trying to lose weight, I live on chicken breast and salads …very limited diet!
Thank you !
Yay!! Your comment made my day 🙂 Thank you <3
In your you tube video you mentioned actual recipes on your blog but I do not see any. I would love a couple quick starters to get me going. I love this idea and will try anything. I am 5’1 and currently weigh 165. I have gained over 30 lbs in the last year and cannot lose the weight no matter how hard I try.
Any help would be appreciated
Scroll down 🙂
I have soup every tea time. I feel that i have lost weight feel less bloated and find that its all i need going through the menopause.
That’s awesome Belinda!! Soup is SO great! As long as the sodium is low it can really help with bloating quickly. xoxox
I have been buying from Misfits Market which has been a huge help at eating different organic fruits and veggies. I’ve been mostly juicing but I try and make a huge pot of soup every couple weeks and freeze leftovers. I see some delicious Roasted Red Pepper Soup in my very near future. 🥰🥰
That’s awesome, Lisa! I’ve used services in the past because it’s so convenient. I’m happy to know you have a routine that works for you and that you like the Roasted Red Pepper Soup. It’s one of my most popular recipes. : )