This soup I found in one of Patrick Holford’s books.

Patrick designed this soup to help his wife get over a virus.  It is now a renowned health tonic by his readers!  It is incredibly rich in vitamin E and beta-carotine as well as anti-inflamatories from onion, garlic, ginger and tumeric.  The coconut milk is a saturated fat which is not stored as fat in the body but used as energy.

I like it because it is very quick to cook and extremely nutritious!

I changed this recipe slightly by adding a whole chilli to give it an extra kick and speed up the metabolism.   Adding red lentils to give it that extra protein.  You could add chicken too. Adding courgette because I had one to use in the fridge.   Soups are always a good way to use up any vegetables you may have.

Serves 2-3

1 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil

½ red onion, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 large carrot or 2 small-mediums ones, peeled and chopped

1 large sweet potato or 2 small-mediums ones, peeled and chopped to the same size as the carrot to ensure even cooking

1 heaped tsp grated fresh root ginger

¼ tsp turmeric

2 tsp Marigold reduced salt vegetable bouillion powder

1 red pepper, diced

75ml (2 fl oz) coconut milk

1.    Heat oil in pan and gently sauté onion and garlic for a few minutes.

2.    Add carrot, sweet potato, ginger, turmeric and bouillon powder and just  cover with boiling water and bring to the boil.

3.     Cover and simmer for 15 minutes

4.    Add red pepper and coconut milk, then blend until smooth.

This recipe is one of many that can be found in my 6 week online diet and tone programme.