Comfort in a Bowl: Nourishing Soups to Support Your Nervous System

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There is a particular kind of comfort that comes from a warm bowl of soup. It’s not just the taste or the aroma, though those matter. Soup is grounding. It slows you down. It invites you to breathe a little deeper. And, importantly, it offers nourishment that supports your nervous system in the moments you need it most.

When we are overwhelmed, stressed, or moving through healing, our bodies crave simplicity. Warm, soft, easy-to-digest meals help signal safety to the body. They require less energy to break down and give more back in return. Soups are one of the most supportive foods for this reason. They offer minerals, hydration, and gentle warmth—all of which soothe the vagus nerve and help the body move out of fight-or-flight and into restoration.

Why Soup is So Nourishing for Your Nervous System

1. Warmth calms the vagus nerve
   Warm foods help stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system (your rest-and-digest state). This warmth is a cue to your body that you’re safe enough to slow down.
2. Easy digestion
   When you’re stressed, digestion is often one of the first systems to struggle. Soups are already partially broken down, making nutrients more accessible and easier to absorb.
3. Mineral-rich broth supports grounding
   Bone broths and vegetable broths provide minerals like magnesium and potassium, which play a role in muscle relaxation, nerve communication, and stress regulation.
4. The ritual of stirring and simmering slows you down
   There is something ritualistic about making soup—the chopping, stirring, waiting—that invites a slower pace, a presence, a returning to yourself.

The Basics of a Good Soup

You don’t need complicated recipes. Just a few core elements:

1. A nourishing base
   Bone broth, vegetable broth, or even a simple homemade stock from kitchen scraps. This is where the minerals and flavour live.
2. A trio of flavour-building vegetables
   Onion + carrot + celery is the classic, but leek, fennel, parsnip, or shallots can be swapped in based on season and mood.
3. A grounding carbohydrate
   Potatoes, rice, barley, lentils, or squash bring substance and help stabilise blood sugar.
4. Protein or plant fibre
   Beans, shredded chicken, tofu, chickpeas, or simply extra root vegetables make the soup actually nourishing instead of just light.
5. Fat for satiety and calming the nervous system
   Olive oil, butter, ghee, or coconut milk help slow digestion and soothe.
6. Herbs, aromatics, and salt
   Fresh thyme, rosemary, bay, ginger, garlic, sage—these bring the emotional warmth.

Recipes

Slow and Gentle Chicken & Rice Soup

A soothing, grounding, simple soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil or ghee
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery sticks, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1.5 litres chicken bone broth (or stock)
• 1 cup cooked chicken, shredded
• 1/2 cup rice (white or brown)
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh parsley or dill to finish

Method:

1. Warm the oil in a pot. Add onion, carrot, and celery. Cook slowly for 10 minutes.
2. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute.
3. Add broth, rice, chicken, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer.
4. Cook until rice is tender (20–40 minutes depending on rice type).
5. Season and finish with herbs.

Why it helps: carbohydrates + protein + warm broth equals grounding, sustained calm.

Creamy Sweet Potato & Ginger Soup

Anti-inflammatory, warming, and deeply soothing.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 litre vegetable broth
• 1 can coconut milk
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Sauté onion and ginger in coconut oil until soft.
2. Add sweet potatoes and broth. Simmer until potatoes are tender.
3. Blend until smooth. Stir in coconut milk.
4. Add salt to taste.

Why it helps: ginger supports digestion and the sweetness of the potato calms the system.

Lentil, Tomato & Herb Soup

Protein-rich, steadying, and comforting.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 cup red lentils
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 litre vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Cook onion, garlic, and carrot in oil until soft.
2. Add lentils, tomatoes, broth, and thyme.
3. Simmer for 25 minutes.
4. Season and serve.

Why it helps: red lentils break down easily and provide stable, grounding energy.

You could also try my healing pumpkin soup or my delicious tomato soup

Final Thought

Soup is more than a meal—it is a message.
A reminder that nourishment can be simple, slow, and deeply restorative.
A bowl held between your hands, steam rising, breath deepening.
A return to yourself.