As far as I’m concerned, one of the best starchy carbohydrates you could consume for both nutrition, energy, fat loss and muscle building is the yam (or sweet potato). We could argue which is which, the yam being orange or yellow I mean, but from what I understand, it’s the yellow tuber. Steamed yams are great, as are the baked versions, but for something different, I decided to combine a few of my favorite things into one nice little coconut yam soup with some kick and flavor.
Ingredients
6 Yams or Sweet Potatoes
7 cups distilled water or home made vegetable stock
2 Tbsp (or more) of fresh ground ginger root
6 Tbsp lime juice
2 cans coconut milk (NOT the lite version)
1 tsp fresh ground celtic sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp coriander
1. Dice the yams into bite sized chunks and then place them, the ginger root and distilled water into a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, simmer until yams are cooked. (stick em with a knife or fork to check for tenderness).
2. Blend
3. Return ginger yam soup mixture to the pot and then mix in, the coconut milk and remaining spices and lime juice.
4. Re-heat.
I rely on food systems and have learned to prepare enough food at once for a few meals. This LARGE pot of coconut yam soup is perfect for separating into single or double size serving containers and freezing. Take out of freezer a day in advance and re-heat in a pot on the stove. Do not use a microwave (never use a microwave actually). Spice up the soup with cayenne, chili oil, or any other favorite method you like. Excellent with a piece of chicken, some steamed broccoli and a slice of coconut flour bread
Soup Thickness: Your soup may turn out as yam soup concentrate. This may be good or bad depending on your needs. When freezing the soup, freeze the thick soup, then add your desired amount of water when you re-heat on the stove (not the microwave, remember?). Otherwise, add distilled water to create your desired consistency. You’re a grown human being, use your own judgment here.
Calories: unknown
Carbs: good ones
Fat: excellent fat content
Taste factor: awesome
Servings:14 to 20 depending
Understanding The Fat Content
First: Fat does not make you fat. Eating more calories than you expend causes fat gain, eating fewer calories than you expend creates a calorie deficit, or put another way, will allow your body to tap into body fat reserves. 2500 Calories worth of oranges consumed by someone requiring only 2000 calories per day will cause fat storage. Fat itself does not make you fat.
Second: Coconut milk, coconut oil, and coconuts in general are one of the healthiest foods anyone could put in their body, on so many levels. Coconut milk is a very healthy fat, so a generous portion of it per day is very good for you. Lauric acid in coconut oil for example is a natural antibiotic and kills candida. Coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride and is immediately used for energy, not stored. It increases metabolism, helping to reduce body fat, while making you feel good at the same time.
Third: Fat calories per serving are between 70 and 100. 2 cans of coconut milk, equal 1400 calories. 144 grams of [beautiful, loving, coconut] fat (a plant remember), 26 grams of carbs and 12 grams of protein. This breaks down to between 70 and 100 calories per serving from fat (or 7 to 10 grams per serving). If it really becomes an issue for you, cut the amount of coconut milk in half. But then, why bother with a coconut yam soup recipe? Why not just make butternut squash with almond butter soup?
Adding Vegetables To Your Coconut Yam Soup
Soup Addition Notes: When I steam my broccoli, I rarely use the stalk. I save them for soups. When I have enough, I peel the thick outer edges off, slice them or dice them and then cook them in with the soup bases I make. Broccoli is an excellent source of Vitamin C and has enormous anti-cancer properties. It’s also full of fiber. I added 6 broccoli stalks and a good thick slice of green cabbage to this soup when I made it.
Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable which has anti-estrogenic properties among it’s repertoire and cabbage is also very good for your bum. As I eat a lot of cabbage (as juice in blended salads, as sauerkraut and as cole slaw), I always have some on hand. A nice thick slice made its way into the soup. Btw, broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable as well.
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Would sure love to see some nutritional value on this. But it looks delicious, I think I might try this and have it as a treat on the weekend.
Coconut milk is extremely fatty.Healthy yes, but probably not the best choice if your in a burning fat stage.
Josh, Fat does not make you fat. You can consume 35% of your daily calories from fat and still lose body fat. I’m guessing you’re of the belief that you have to reduce fat to get into shape. I’m of the other camp.. that we must reduce calories and expend more energy than we consume to lose weight. Fat in fact, assists in the reduction of size.
This meal supports fat loss, when eaten within your caloric needs and then there’s the nutritional quality of the coconut milk. That’s why it’s in there. Its not by accident.
The recipe looks kick-ass Rob, it may be a little heavy in calories (due to the healthy fats from the coconut milk), but it is definitely a healthy recipe and it looks like a winner. I may make it over the weekend and let you know how it turns out.
J
Rob,
I do understand that fat is an important component of nutrition and that fat does not = body fat, in fact my current plan involves eating about 25%-30% fat of my daily caloric intake.
Let me rephrase,
Coconut milk is extremely fatty. Healthy yes, but be careful of portion control with this recipe as it is energy dense. As I was saying, it would be nice to have the nutritional information of this soup. It looks delicious 😉
I have made similar soups with Butternut Squash, which is also very good.
Gotcha. So, for an average male being on a 2400 calorie a day meal program (at minimum), a serving of soup might be between 100 and 200 calories. At 5 meals a day, that average man would want to consume an average of 500 calories per meal (give or take). With breakfast being the largest meal, and lunch being the second largest, calories for those meals would be higher, say 800 and 700 for example.
A bowl of this soup along with a protein component, a salad, some steamed veggies, should fit in there just fine.
This is definitely a soup I’d want to eat before 4:00 so that the carbs and the fat are used as energy earlier on in the day. I, and I’m speaking about myself here, would probably not have this soup after 4:00 pm unless it was a higher carb day for me.
Josh, you hit the nail on the head when you said portion control. Some people are on a program to get to a specific goal. Some people are at that goal and want to maintain and others simply want good food choices that are healthy.
So, this recipe option fits into any of those categories, and we must make the choice to portion control or not, depending on our goals.
It’s yummy alright! Very yummy. Everything goes better with Habanero Garlic chili oil though 🙂
Great recipe! Keep them coming!
Wow! This sounds (and looks) amazing!
This recipe sounds delicious and healthy too. Coconut has amazing healing properties; much more than just the nutrients it provides.
I will definitely be making this soup soon.