AIP ground turkey and vegetable soup - one-pot nomato broth, zinc source

Some weeks the only thing that gets dinner on the table is a pot you made 2 days ago. This soup is built to be that pot. Ground turkey with onion, celery, carrot, and fennel, a nomato broth standing in for tomato, greens stirred in at the end. Make it once and you buy yourself 2 nights off.

Zinc is the mineral this bowl leans on, mostly from the turkey. It plays a role in immune signaling, and it helps the gut lining keep up its repair work while you're on AIP. That's the quiet kind of support, the kind that adds up meal after meal rather than in 1 big gesture.

Fennel, garlic, and the stirred-in greens each do their own quiet work in this pot too. It's a humble cut of meat, ground and plain, and it's still worth cooking with care. Nothing here goes to waste. Ladle it out, sit down, and let the first spoonful be the thing you actually notice.

Ingredients

• Olive oil, about 2 tbsp
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 1 lb ground turkey
• Sea salt, about 1 tsp
• Fresh or dried thyme, about 1 tsp
• Dried rosemary, about 1/2 tsp
• Dried oregano, about 1/2 tsp
• About 1 cup nomato sauce
• A handful fresh basil, chopped
• 4 cups sodium-free chicken bone broth or stock
• 2 cups water
• 2 to 3 cups spinach or kale
• Grain-free AIP pasta, optional

Quantities are estimated from a standard one-pot soup, since the source ingredient list gives names without amounts. Flagged for verify.

Method

Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and fennel. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until softened and fragrant.

Push the vegetables to the side and add the ground turkey. Break it up with a spoon and cook until it is no longer pink, then stir it through the vegetables. Season with the sea salt, thyme, rosemary, and oregano.

Stir in the nomato sauce and let it coat everything for a minute. Pour in the bone broth and water. Bring to a gentle boil, then drop to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes so the flavors come together.

If you are adding grain-free AIP pasta, cook it separately and add it to each bowl rather than the pot, so it does not soften the leftovers. Stir the spinach or kale into the soup at the end and let it wilt for a minute or two. Finish with the fresh basil. Taste and adjust the salt.

Instant Pot variation

Use the saute setting to soften the vegetables and brown the turkey as above. Add the herbs, nomato sauce, broth, and water. Seal and cook on high pressure for about 8 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before venting. Stir in the greens and basil after opening, off the heat, so they wilt without overcooking. Pressure time is estimated and flagged for verify.

Ladle it out, sit down, and let the first warm spoonful be the thing you notice.

*Adapted from healmedelicious.com*