PCOS-Friendly Caldo Verde Soup

This version of caldo verde soup (Portuguese potato soup) is higher in protein with a lower glycemic index and glycemic load, making it more PCOS-friendly than the traditional version. It’s also packed with vitamins and minerals!

Ingredients

1 tbsp Ghee
1.25 lbs Chicken or Turkey Sausage, casing removed (I prefer hot Italian sausage for this soup)
1 Red Onion, diced
5 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 lbs Sweet Potato, cubed into 1” chunks
4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 bunch Collard Greens, stems removed, leaves thinly sliced

Directions

  1. Heat ghee in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, break apart into small chunks, and cook until browned and cooked through, about 5 - 7 minutes.

  2. Remove sausage and add the red onion. Saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 more minute.

  3. Add chicken broth, sweet potatoes, and about 1/4 of the sausage. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.

  4. Using an immersion blender, blend some of the soup, until desired consistency of soup is reached. I like to blend about 1/3 because I like more solid chunks. You could blend it entirely if you wanted! (Alternatively, remove 1/3 to 1/2 of soup to puree in a food processor or blender. Return pureed soup to the pot.)

  5. After blending, add collard greens to the soup. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until greens are softened.

  6. Return remaining sausage to the pot and simmer for a minute or two to reheat sausage.

  7. Ladle soup into bowls and enjoy!

Serves 5

Notes - This soup was inspired by a recipe from Simone Miller of Zenbelly, found in her Paleo Soups and Stews Cookbook. First, this cookbook is amazing! You need it in your life! Second, the caldo verdo recipe in it is also amazing! But it’s just a little less blood sugar friendly than I want to be eating on a regular basis. I’ve swapped a higher protein/lower fat sausage, sweet potatoes for white potatoes (see my post on sweet vs. white potatoes and the magic of boiling sweet potatoes!), and adjusted the amount of broth to account for the lower starch content of sweet potatoes.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 467
Total Fat: 20g
Carbohydrates: 52g
Protein: 24g
Fiber: 6g
Notable vitamins and minerals:
Vitamin A: 533%
Niacin: 31%
Vitamin B6: 18%
Folate: 9%
Riboflavin: 23%
Vitamin B12: 83%
Vitamin C: 16%
Vitamin K: 78%
Calcium: 22%
Iron: 50%
Potassium: 11%
Selenium: 44%
Zinc: 27%

Spicy Cacao Cold Foam

Ingredients

1 oz. whipping cream (2 tbsp)
1/2 tbsp cacao powder (I like this one from Natierra)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/16 tsp cayenne (this is specific! I’m sorry! A dash is about right. You can always add more if you decide it’s not spicy enough)

Instructions

  1. Place all ingredients in a small bowl. Using a hand-held milk frother (I use this one), froth until the mixture starts to hold ripples. Don’t over froth or you will have a blob of cream instead of a smooth layer. (The blob will still be delicious, but it won’t gradually incorporate into your coffee.)

  2. Add a few cubes of ice to your favorite glass. Add 8 - 12 oz. of your favorite cold unsweetened coffee beverage. Pour cold foam on top. Sprinkle some extra cinnamon or cacao powder on top if you’re feeling fancy.

  3. Enjoy!

Serves 1

Nutrition Facts (excluding your choice of coffee)

Calories: 128
Total fat: 11g
Total carbs: 6g
Total sugar: 3.3 (added sugar: 2.2g)
Protein: 1.2g
Notable vitamins and minerals:
Vitamin A: 11%
Magnesium: 10%

Asian-Inspired Pulled Pork with Pickled Vegetables

Ingredients

Pickles

2 cups water
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoon kosher salt
2 cups white or rice vinegar
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, thinly sliced

Pork

1 tbsp ghee
4lb pork shoulder - I prefer bone-in pork shoulder but either will work
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine (I like sauvignon blanc for this recipe)
1 cup low-sodium tamari
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 - 3 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper, optional

Directions

  1. Heat ghee in a large skillet or cast iron pan over medium heat. Sear pork shoulder, about 5 minutes per side, to brown all sides.

  2. Remove pork and place in your slow cooker.

  3. Drain all but about 1 tbsp fat from the pan.

  4. Add onions and sauté until starting to soften.

  5. Add garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant, about 1 - 2 minutes.

  6. Add white wine and simmer for 2 - 3 minutes to cook off the alcohol.

  7. Add tamari, chicken broth, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a simmer.

  8. Pour contents of the pan over the pork in the slow cooker.

  9. Cook pork shoulder on low for 8 hours or until the pork easily shreds with a fork.

  10. While the pork is cooking, thinly slice all pickle vegetables. I like using a mandolin for this. Once sliced, put into a large glass jar.

  11. In a small saucepan, add water, vinegar, salt, and sugar and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir to dissolve sugar and salt. Remove from heat and stir in minced ginger. Pour liquid over veggies in the glass jar. Let them sit until you’re ready to eat!

Serves 8

Notes

No slow cooker? You can follow the steps above, but using a large dutch oven. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. After step 6, put the dutch oven in the oven and cook for about 3 hours or until pork easily shreds with a fork.

Don’t want to make your own pickles? Thinly slice your veggies and then save some of the extra liquid in the slow cooker (after cooking!) to use as a dressing for the veggies later.

What should you serve this amazingness on? I like quinoa, black rice, or cauliflower rice for blood-sugar friendly options. I used black quinoa in the photo above. Black quinoa has more antioxidants than regular quinoa, so it’s a favorite of mine!

Nutrition Facts
As written, this has:
Calories: 357
Total fat: 10g
Carbohydrates: 19g
Protein: 38.9g
Fiber: 2.5g
Some notable vitamins and minerals include:
Iron: 16.8%
Vitamin C: 50.9

Beet and Lentil Stew

Ingredients

1 tbsp ghee
1 red onion, diced
1 carrot, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium/large beets with their greens, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1.5 c dried lentils
4 c vegetable broth
½ tsp sea salt (more to taste)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
5 oz goat cheese (I like garlic and herb goat cheese here best!)

directions 

  1. Chop all your veggies.

  2. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the ghee over medium heat. Add all the chopped veggies. Sauté until the start to soften, about 5 minutes.

  3. Add garlic, thyme, and oregano. Sauté for 1 – 2 minutes, until garlic becomes fragrant.

  4. Add lentils, broth, and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes or until lentils are softened.

  5. While the lentils and veggies are simmering, clean and chop the beet greens. No greens on your beets? Sub 2 – 4 c spinach, Swiss chard, or kale.

  6. After simmering, stir in red wine vinegar and beet greens. Stir until greens are wilted.

  7. Top with goat cheese and enjoy!

Serves 5

If nutrition facts are your thing, as written, this has the following:
Calories: 340
Fat: 9 g
Carbs: 47 g
Fiber: 8 g
Protein: 20 g
And some standout vitamins and minerals:
Vitamin A: 51%
Vitamin B9/Folate: 80%
Vitamin C: 9%
Iron: 29%
Phosphorous: 15%
Magnesium: 10%
Zinc: 18%