Did you know that a 2021 study found that participants who had a higher dietary intake of spinach were at lower odds for having non-alcoholic fatty liver disease? Spinach has demonstrated anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, both important for supporting liver health, and is loaded with vitamins and minerals, including iron, folic acid, vitamin C, calcium, and magnesium. Just one 100g serving (about a handful) of spinach has over a third of the recommended daily vitamin C intake!

This soup recipe packs in the nutrients with another powerhouse vegetable, broccoli, that has anti-oxidant effects as well as enzymes that aid in detoxification.

This spinach broccoli soup is gluten-free, vegan, and takes less than an hour to make from start to finish!

Gluten-free vegan broccoli spinach soup for liver health

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh spinach

3 stalks of broccoli

1 medium onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 c fresh dill

4 cups broth (veggie, beef, or chicken)

Oil for cooking

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 425.
  2. Separate the broccoli florets from the stalks. Set the stalks aside for now. Finely chop the florets, toss with oil, salt and pepper and spread across a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cook about 20 minutes, until tender and browning along the edges.
  3. In the meantime, peel the tough outer layer off your broccoli stalks. Dice the broccoli stalks and onion.
  4. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté diced onion and broccoli stalks until softened (about 5-7 minutes). Add garlic and cook another couple of minutes.
  5. Add 2 cups of broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.
  6. Stir in spinach, then blend the soup in batches until smooth.
  7. Return soup to the pot and add in the remaining broth. When florets are finished roasting, stir them into the soup.
  8. Add in lemon zest, lemon juice, dill and apple cider vinegar. Stir to combine.
  9. Enjoy!

Written by: Chinonso Miniely

Resources: 

Mokhtari E, Farhadnejad H, Salehi-Sahlabadi A, Najibi N, Azadi M, Teymoori F, Mirmiran P. Spinach consumption and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease among adults: a case-control study. BMC Gastroenterol. 2021 May 1;21(1):196. doi: 10.1186/s12876-021-01784-8. PMID: 33933019; PMCID: PMC8088717.

Roberts JL, Moreau R. Functional properties of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) phytochemicals and bioactives. Food Funct. 2016 Aug 10;7(8):3337-53. doi: 10.1039/c6fo00051g. Epub 2016 Jun 29. PMID: 27353735.