I have been trying to add more healthy options to my diet, things that I may have passed over in the produce isle. They say to stick to grocery store perimeters; stay away from the interior… Produce is a great place to start getting creative.

We all know the benefits of kale, but have you ever considered watercress? I hadn’t. Just one look at the bag and you can see why it really deserves your consideration.

We’re all used to cauliflower being a star but, what about parsnips? I had never had parsnips that I can recall. What even are parsnips? I wasn’t sure. I just knew they were a zero on the SIGHI Low Histamine List. This is basically the Bible of all low histamine lists: The Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance List. Check and see the levels of histamine in the following foods you’ll need for this soup. You’ll find them all low to zero.

You Will Need:

• Cauliflower
• Parsnips
• Sweet Potato
• Onion (white is listed as zero histamine but I read yellow is fine, and use yellow most often for my soups)
• Salt
• Fennel Seed, Thyme (dried in seasoning isle)
• Olive Oil
• Ricotta
• Kale
• Watercress (if you can’t find watercress use baby kale or pea shoots, fresh basil or parsley – you can also omit entirely)

First thing you’ll want to do is get your veggies roasting. I buy my cauliflower florets frozen so it takes less time. I throw a bag on some parchment paper (use aluminum foil if you’d like) with two medium (you’ll see there are two options for parsnips: large and medium) parsnips. Peel the parsnips like you would with carrots and cut them down to as equal sized pieces as you can. I do not peel the sweet potatoes (I choose two larger sized potatoes) – I want the fiber and nutrients from the peel.

You may be wondering why if the list shows all potatoes are fine, I chose to use sweet potatoes. White potatoes are a nightshade vegetable and nightshades can exacerbate histamine issues in people (think eggplants and tomatoes). When you’re working on lowering your histamines stay away from nightshade.

Just cut your potatoes into pieces about the same size, and then take your onion and depending on how much you like the flavor, either cut a quarter to one third of the onion into two solid pieces and just lay them on the parchment as well. If you’d like to cut the pieces down you can do that – either way is fine since you’ll be blending all the veggies in the end anyway.

Drizzle with olive oil and then take your hands and smoosh all the veggies around till they’re coated in the oil. Bake the tray of veggies at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. When they’re done they will smell amazing.

If you have the Philips Soup Maker like I do, you’ll just throw them all in the pot with the kale and water to the fill line and press blend. If you don’t, you’ll need to prep your preferred method of blending.

I get my kale frozen so I can store it and add it to EVERYTHING. So, so good for you and, when going low histamine, say goodbye to spinach.
If you don’t have that soup maker referenced above, When the veggies are done, place them and water in a pot with handfuls of frozen or fresh kale (I used three handfuls), add salt, fennel seed and thyme to taste – and blend it all together.

You may find it easier to go a bit lighter on the seasoning until you’ve tasted everything. You can then add more till you get to the flavor you like. Fennel Seed is an antihistamine and an anti-inflammatory. It does double duty to help you as you’re trying to feel better. Thyme is listed as a zero on the SIGHI list and really adds a nice depth of flavor to these roasted veggies.

After I plate the creamy robust soup, and since parmesan is currently out of the question, I add a now preferred addition to soups: ricotta. I take the soup spoon I plan on using, and use it to measure per soup bowl, a scoop of creamy low histamine ricotta and stir it into my soup. It gives the soup the same creamy texture that cream would were cream something we could have.

Some lists show cream as just fine on low histamine HOWEVER, it’s the additives in the cream that cause the issue. Try to stay away from having whipping cream and half and half for now. Substitute with mozzarella and ricotta. Cream Cheese is okay as well and I have used them in my meatball recipe here, that also includes fennel seed to help bring down the histamine sometimes found in ground turkey.

I take some watercress and add it to the soup (watercress is loaded with vitamin c – an absolutely necessary addition to your low histamine diet) and finish off with one last drizzle of olive oil (after having read the oil helps lower your histamine while eating the food; every bit counts).

I loved this soup. I had it for a whole week and all my symptoms improved. Almost went away entirely. I didn’t miss the heavy whipping cream or the white potatoes… My husband asks for this soup now – almost daily.

Try this for lunch or dinner if you’re having issues and let me know if it’s helped you.