Eating healthily can be difficult at the best of times, but when you are sick or recovering from illness or injury it can seem almost impossible. It can be difficult to know what to eat when you are sick.

Last week after my shoulder operation I had a yearning for soup… it goes back to when I was little and being ill was synonymous with a can of cream of tomato soup eaten from your lap as you rested on the sofa watching cartoons.  These days I tend to watch less cartoons but there is still something satisfying and comforting about having soup when you aren’t feeling too well.

Comfort Food = Crap

Back in the day a couple of weeks off work and major surgery would have meant one thing…COMFORT FOOD….. by which I really mean CRAP!!!  I would have stocked up the fridge and freezer with ready meals and treats.  After the two weeks of sofa eating I can almost guarantee that I would have gained more than a few pounds, but perhaps more importantly I would also have inadvertently slowed down my bodies recovery.  Its difficult for your body to put all its energy into recovery and rebuilding when its also being tasked with detoxing a load of CRAP into the bargain.

So this two weeks have been different… I have focussed on actively nourishing my recovering body, doing what I can help myself get back to health as quickly as possible.

Practice What You Preach 

So, I practised what I preach at The Body Retreat … I planned & prepared before the operation.  So before my operation my fridge and freezer were full…but this time round they were filled with wholesome dishes…and a whole lot of thai influenced dishes as I was also very keen to eat as much garlic, ginger, lemon grass as possible due to their fantastic anti-viral and anti-inflammatory qualities.

Yes it is better to prepare food from scratch to retain the maximum nutritional value…. but in the real world we are often faced with times when that is just not practical or possible.  So planing and preparing in advance can help you to fulfil your commitment to your health and weight loss goals.

Soup is one of the most effective ways of getting lots of good ingredients into your system quickly. Through my planning and preparing I created a healthy alternative to my childhood staple of cream of tomato soup.  One that ticked all the boxes, comforting and wholesome, but also full of amazing ingredients which actively promote health.  Oh and it tastes FANTASTIC…if i do say so myself.  So why not give this soup a try… it takes only minutes to prepare and once you have tried it Im sure you will never be tempted by the canned version ever again.  Did I mention that healthy recipie freezes well too…making it a perfect freezer back up for when real life takes over or you just can’t be bothered to cook :-)

Thai Cream of Tomato Soup

Ingredients

1tsp coconut oil

1 large red onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled & grated

1 stick lemon grass, chopped

1 tsp veg bullion (marigold)

1tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp chopped chillies

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 tcp tomato puree

1 can coconut milk

lots black pepper

Squeeze fresh lime

Method

Place a heavy bottom pan on a medium high heat and melt coconut oil, add the onion, garlic, ginger, lemon grass and sweat for 2/3 minutes until the onions begin to soften but not brown.

Add the bullion powder, spices, tomato puree and chopped tomatoes, reduce the heat and simmer for a 2/3 minutes.

Add the coconut milk and allow to bentley simmer for about 10 minutes.

Blend using a stick blender or carefully transfer to a table blender and blend until smooth.

Return to the pan and check seasoning and add black pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Serve topped with a drizzle of organic rapeseed oil & a few dried chilli flakes.

ENJOY 

I’d love to hear how you get on if you try out this recipe, so please leave me a comment in the comments box all the way down at the bottom of the page.  And feel free to share this recipe with anyone you think might enjoy it too.  Just use the share buttons on the side of the page.  Thank You.