It’s good to be home. I had the loveliest holiday break, but it’s good to be home. Even though I knew I was coming back to two weeks worth of mail to sift through, groceries to buy, meals to plan, piles of laundry to wash, it’s all good.
As I’ve mentioned several times, I am not much on detox diets or cleanses after the holidays even though they are all the rage. I notice a lot of people overdo it even more between Thanksgiving and New Years knowing they will “cleanse” it all off starting January 1. Eh. If you just try eliminating sugar and flour for a few weeks, your health will improve drastically. You don’t need to give up real food and sip juice for a week. But that’s just my opinion.
However I do want to share an amazing, healing and very digestible soup recipe called Bieler’s Broth. This soup is nothing new. In fact, it has been around for decades, invented by a doctor named Bieler. The soup is vegan and all vegetable-based. It is not a culinary soup in the sense that it is so delicious that you would want to serve it to your friends at your next dinner party, but more of a medicinal soup. It tastes absolutely fine though, just a little bland.
According to Sally Fallon in her book Nourishing Traditions, Dr. Bieler felt that this combination of vegetables was ideal for restoring acid-alkaline and sodium-potassium balance to organs and glands, especially the sodium-loving adrenal glands which suffer under stress. The broth is also supportive for liver function — recall that the liver is our detoxifying organ. Bieler’s broth is highly recommended for those under stress or suffering from stress-related conditions. Know anyone stressed out? Yep, I thought so.
When I have had a lot of travel combined with a chaotic schedule and less than desirable eating, I’ll make a big batch of Bieler’s broth every few days and drink a mugful either as a snack during the day or with my breakfast or dinner. I don’t function well without protein and fats, so I can’t use this as a meal replacement.
I always notice a big improvement in my overall wellbeing after supplementing daily for 2 weeks with Bieler’s broth. I made a batch yesterday which should last 3 days and I’ll make another batch on Thursday to get me through the weekend.
I know that the vegetables in Bieler’s broth are not in season in the winter. I am normally opposed to that, but in this case it’s just temporary. Be sure to buy only organic vegetables since this is supposed to be a healing soup and pesticides will just add more toxins to the body. Also, zucchini is now a common GMO crop, so buying organic ensures you will be buying non-GMO.
Here’s hoping 2016 is off to a healthy start for you. If you’ve gotten off on the wrong foot, it’s never to late to start fresh. Do check out the dinner planner I started posting on Sundays! It will change your life to plan out your meals. Promise!
Bieler's Broth: a Healing, Restorative Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchini, ends discarded and zucchini sliced into rounds
- 1 pound string beans, ends trimmed
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1-2 bunches parsley, flat-leaf or curly, tough stems removed (you can freeze the stems for stock making)
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Skim any foam on the surface, lower the heat and simmer, covered until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Puree soup in the pot with a handheld blender or in a blender in batches.
- Eat warm.
Notes
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
This soup was FABULOUS and my husband and I love it! I got the recipe about 30 years ago from a nutritionist who I saw to help with my health after I contracted Hepatitis A! So happy to have found it on your website now that I’m having some health issues. Thank you so much for posting. I’m going to look at your other recipes and find Bieler’s book!
I’m delighted to hear that, Julie!
what is the serving size ? I thought maybe 8 ounces?
8 ounces is about right, but it could be more or less.
My Dad was told he wouldn’t live past 30. He is now 84 and has outlived all of the doctors that told him that. He has been doing “Bieler’s Broth” throughout his life. He says it is the best thing he has found. I’m about to try it since I have similar body chemistry to his with allergies, inflammation, etc. However, I’m a vegetarian.
That’s so great to hear!
I also love this soup! I use 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to cook the veggies in until soft then add 1 cup water boil then blend. It’s really delicious with ground ginger added!! I like it spicy.
Ginger is such a healing food! 🙂
I am adding the ginger, may I also add a garlic clove?
I am adding the ginger, may I also add a garlic clove? Apple cider vinegar? Also the recipe calls for stocks of celery, should run also use the greens? Thank you so much
Sorry for the typos!
You’re welcome to add other things to the soup, but the way it’s written is the way it was designed to be consumed by Dr. Beiler. Celery leaves would be amazing here if you have them.
Thanks for th recipe. Have made it before but couldn’t remember details. I brought this to a Thanksgiving potluck one year with cayenne powder to sprinkle on top. It some seasonal color. It was quite popular. I love it Glad to see the recipe again.
That’s a nice idea to add a little kick to the broth. 🙂
Thanks, Pamela. I’ve seen several versions, but this is the original recipe. I’ve been making it for decades. Now I just cook the veggies and serve them for dinner with meat or fish. Squeeze fresh lemon on the veggies.
Have to tell you, I’m the oldest and healthiest person I know.
Good for you, Barbara!! 🙂
I do the same… steam veggies and serve . Am oldest and healthiest of my friends and when in my 40’ thinnest of my Chicago meat eating family and group. I lived on this combination veggie for years. After 10 ye absence returning to it at age 77.
🙂
Hello. After many years of suffering and finally figuring out that I have Celiac’s disease, Bieler’s Broth was recommended to me and I would say saved my life. I still suffer from fatigue, low energy along with other issues. In the beginning I ate Bieler’s Broth for just about 90 days. I make a batch from time to time. I am wondering do you recommend eating nothing else at all but Bieler’s Broth? I don’t know if I am strong enough to go without protein? What kind of regimen would you suggest? I do feel so much better every time I make a batch. I want to make sure I am getting all the benefits from it and if I could benefit more, how? Thank you.
HI Debby, I cannot recommend eating only Bieler’s Broth. I’m sure you could use it in a supervised fast, but you would need to have a practitioner make that decision after evaluating your condition.
I love cilantro. Can I add 1/2 bunch to my soup?
I don’t see why not. It’s a wonderful, cleansing herb!
The last time I made this broth was in the late 70’s in Santa Barbara, where Dr. Bieler saw patients at that time. I never consulted him but a friend of mine did and she said that one of the ingredients was chard, since it is very alkaline. I can’t remember when he died, but in the end, this broth was the only thing he ate. I must have read his book!
Oh interesting! I’ve never seen chard listed, but it sounds like you have a very good source in your friend. 🙂
Hi Pamela, I’m surprised to find Bieler’s broth on the web anywhere. Dr. Bieler healed our father in the mid-1960s when my sister and I were ten and eleven years old. I’m soon to make some for myself, and I was really curious if I could find any mention of it on the Web. One thing I can tell you: Dr. Bieler had our father make the broth in a pressure cooker. We always pressure cooked it for ten minutes. Bieler told us to do it this way in order to really break down the vegetables and make them absolutely mushy, that the nutrients be easily absorbed. Our father’s digestion was shot, after a several year stint in Washington D.C. for the company he worked for. Beiler said that the broth is rich in natural sodium and thereby would help heal Dad’s liver, and then digestion would gradually improve. And it did. After about three to four years of strict devotion to Dr. Bieler’s regimen, which included much more than the broth, our father was well again.
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and the story of the positive impact this had on your father’s health! I have never seen this information about using a pressure cooker. So interesting!
After reading more of your website, it’s funny. I grew up in Manhattan Beach, during the late 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. I could truthfully say that those were our “Bieler years.”
Now that is too funny!
Pamela, I just discovered your lovely website while looking for more info on Dr. Bieler’s broth. I love the first hand story of your dad’s use of it, Greg, and Dr. Bieler’s suggestion to use a pressure cooker. Do you recall if it was ten minutes after reaching full pressure, vs a total of ten minutes? If you can share more about the protocols your dad followed under his care, it’d be fascinating. Susun Weed, as i recall, wrote that it’s best to cook leafy greens like kale for 45 minutes in order to break them down enough to absorb the nutrients. Any thoughts on that Pamela?
Well, that would be especially helpful for anyone with weak digestion or thyroid issues.
Thank you for this recipe, we’re working on a stomach re-set and I have high hopes for it. We enjoy your recipes and eat with you at least once a week. I ended up using 1&1/2 bunches of parsley so had 1/2 bunch left over. I used it to make a parsley lemon agua fresca. I’m wondering if you’ve tried this drink and would love to get your spin on one. It’s a common Mexican drink, “agua de perejil”.
This is a very easy to digest and health supportive soup. I have made many agua frescas but never one with parsley! Sounds interesting. Is it sweet?