Celery, Water Chestnut, Apple and Carrot Soup

Why people make this soup

Eating out, Nourilo kept noticing how salty the dishes and soups were — and over-salty food does no one any favours, least of all young children, who can grow up with a taste for salt and a higher risk of conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease later on. His advice for families: season home soups lightly so children get used to a milder palate and can taste the natural sweetness of the ingredients. This celery, water chestnut, apple and carrot soup is traditionally used to clear heat, ease irritability, moisten dryness and support healthy blood pressure — particularly for the “liver-yang rising” picture with dizziness, irritability, a bitter or dry mouth, dark scanty urine or constipation.

Method

1. Peel the water chestnuts and carrot and slice. Rinse the apples, slice and core. Rinse the celery and cut into sections.
2. Put everything into the pot with about 2.4 L of water.
3. Simmer about 1 hour down to 1.2–1.5 L. Eat the soup and the ingredients together.

Nourilo’s Tips

This soup also suits people with high blood lipids or cholesterol. But those with a cold, weak spleen and stomach should use it cautiously.