Australian Pumpkin Coconut Soup

Collected from: Nourishing Newborn Mothers

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat ghee in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Gently fry garlic and ginger in ghee until soft

2. Add pumpkin, water, coconut milk, asafetida and salt and bring to boil

3. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.

4. Add coriander leaves and turn off the heat. Puree with a stick blender until creamy and serve.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2—3

2 tablespoons ghee

4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

chunk fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

600 grams chopped pumpkin

3 cups water

1 cup coconut milk

pinch asafetida

1 teaspoon Himalayan rock salt

small bunch coriander leaves, to taste

Nutritionist Comments

Contributor - Tiffany Xu

Nutritional Value & Potential Benefits

This tasty, creamy, and affordable soup is not only colorful to the eyes, but colorful in nutritional health benefits. 

1.     Mothers with lingering preeclampsia or hypertension may find garlic’s potential ability to lower blood pressure very beneficial (1).

2.     With high levels of vitamin C, from both the pumpkin and garlic, this soup boosts the  immune system to help fight off illness (2).

3.     Pumpkin is rich in vitamin A, a nutrient mothers need 7x more of during lactation in order to supply vitamin A to her infant (3). In just one serving of this soup, a breastfeeding mother can meet more than 3x her daily need for vitamin A (4).

4.     Mothers dealing with gestational diabetes or type two diabetes should expect the ginger to improve blood sugar levels. By lowering fasting blood glucose levels, improving insulin sensitivity, and decreasing Hemoglobin A1C levels, this ginger is (5).

5.     Coconut milk is a great source for energy with possible benefits of reducing inflammation and heart health risks. (6) 

Mindful Modifications:

1.     Mothers who do not have coconut milk available or dislike it for some reason, consider replacing the coconut milk, with a different nut milk like almond milk.

 Citations

1.     https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/146/2/389S/4584698

2.     https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5707683/

3.     https://americanpregnancy.org/breastfeeding/postnatal-vitamins-while-breastfeeding/

4.     https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2601/2

5.     https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29541142

6.     https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/coconut-milk#heart-health

TRADITIONAL ABORIGINAL BIRTHING PRACTICES IN AUSTRALIA:
PAST AND PRESENT

Callaghan, Helen, Birth Issues 2001; 10(3/4):92-97

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/215781043_Traditional_Aboriginal_birthing_practices_in_Australia_Past_and_present