Spiced Cauliflower Parsnip Soup

Last year I found out I have Osteoarthritis.  I was shocked! I am only 43 and when I think of arthritis I think of individuals in their 60's. I still had 20 years to go!  The arthritis was in my knees. It was then I sat back and thought about my lifestyle.  I am overweight.  I work on my feet over 9 hour days.  I am up and down stairs all day long. I walk miles over the course of one week.  I was a runner and ran about 10 miles a week. So, after all this activity and working on my feet on hard floor I looked back and thought, okay now I know why I have arthritis.  People say it is because I am addicted to Diet Coke, which is true and I admit does not help, but it is not the only culprit.  It was also my diet.  I ate a LOT of pasta.  It was my go to dish because it was always a one or two pot meal.  No fuss no muss.

I will never be a carb free and no sugar woman, however, I am learning how to reduce my intake and add healthier items to my diet and weekly meal plans.  While doing research on arthritis I found there are foods called Super Foods, which obviously consist of vegetables and fish, both of which I love to eat.

I saw a recipe for Cauliflower soup that had both heavy cream and chicken stock and was just with salt, pepper and cauliflower.  While the recipe looked amazing, I wanted to make the soup a bit healthier. I ventured out and did some research on spices and the benefits to our immune system.  I found that Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory and Ginger is just plan good for you. I added my favorite Ground Mustard for more of a bite to the taste and removed the heavy cream.  I also added Parsnips. After testing variations of the cauliflower soup, I came up with this delicious soup that starts with roasting all the vegetables.  It is truly delicious. Even if you don't have arthritis and this soup is for you!

Ingredients:

• 1 head - chopped Cauliflower
• 1 pound / 483 grams- chopped Parsnips
• 1 - chopped sweet Onion
• 3 - cloves of garlic
• 4 tbsp - Extra Virgin Olive Oil (divided 2 tbsp)
• 3 tsp - Kosher Salt (divided 2 tsp and 1 tsp)
• 2 tsp - Pepper (divided 1 tsp and 1 tsp)
• 1 tsp - Ground Mustard
• 1/2 tsp - Turmeric
• 1/2 tsp - Ground Ginger (You can use fresh ginger and if you do use 1 tsp of the fresh ginger. I liked the taste with the ground ginger a bit better.)
• 4 cups / 32 ounces / 946 ml - Chicken Stock

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F /  Gas Mark 4 / Celsius 200
• Combine the Cauliflower, Parsnips, Sweet Onion and Garlic Cloves in a bowl.
• Add 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Turmeric, Ground Ginger, Ground Mustard, 2 tsp of Salt and 1 tsp of Pepper.
• Toss till combined and all the vegetables are coated.  If, you need to add more spices, including salt and pepper go ahead. It really does depend on the size of the vegetables.

• Roast vegetables for 1 hour.

• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a dutch oven
• Saute roasted vegetables for 5 minutes.

• Add all of the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  
• Add remaining salt and pepper.
• Reduce hit to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

• In a food processor, blender and immersion hand blender puree the soup in batches.
• The soup is relatively thick. If you would like more a liquid soup, add more chicken stock.
• Adjust spices as needed.
• Garnish with homemade croutons or with roasted cauliflower.

This soup is delicious and good for you! So flavorful, the kids won't even know they are eating loads of veggies!