Souped Up at Greensmith Grocers
Soup is good for the soul – and the body, too! As we search the supermarket shelves for winter warmers, Georgia Beard explores the health benefits of nourishing broths.
The most enjoyable months of the year are the cold ones. Hear me out.
1. Winter fashion – with its layers, rich colours and flattering forms, is both comfortable and effortlessly stylish.
2. When homebodies like me want to curl up with a good book instead of going out, there’s no need to feel guilty.
3. It’s impossible to cool off in summer, but it’s all too easy to stay warm in winter.
I only need the essentials – fluffy socks, three layers of blankets, electric heaters and, of course, a bowl of steaming soup to warm me from the inside out.
Soup must be one of humanity’s greatest culinary inventions. It’s the perfect winter warmer, with a side of buttered toast, thick-cut vegetables and succulent meat stripping away into the broth. Just writing about it makes me hungry.
Nourishing your body with these staple foods is important to keep up your strength and immunity as the winter chill descends. From their rustic shelves in Stockland Birtinya, Greensmith Grocers deliver the ingredients for soups just as nutritious as they are delicious.
Imagine the broth Mum would heat on the stovetop when you got sick, but with more health benefits than usual infused in every spoonful. This is what The Herbal Doctors do with their specialised bone broths – turning simple soup into a nutrient-dense, gut health-supporting superfood.
The creamy, slow-cooked concentrates – Grass-Fed Beef, Organic Tumeric & Ginger, Healing Mushroom, Organic Italian Herbs & Garlic or Bio-Fermented Coconut, Lemon Myrtle, Turmeric & Papaya Leaf – aren’t just comfort foods.
As a key element of thick soups and sauces or water-based broths, Best of the Bone gelatin is rich in collagen, amino acids, essential fatty acids, minerals and vitamins. These nutrients are crucial for maintaining healthy systems and repairing damaged ones, especially during winter.
The chilly months increase the need for healing. Our homes are growing colder, our surfaces mouldier and our bodies dryer – not to mention the flu season on the attack. Our immune, gut, joint and skin health could all benefit from a tablespoon of bone broth in a hearty bowl of soup.
The gelatin’s probiotics can increase our immunity and digestive health, addressing issues such as acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome and colitis.
Essential fats and collagen proteins, including glycine and proline, are powerful anti-inflammatories with improvements for skin elasticity and bone density. Such nutrients can also improve tissue damage and joint conditions like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
With these benefits in mind, it feels good to know that the comforting broth I’m putting in my body will also nurture my health.
Jess Holdsworth, co-owner of Greensmith Grocers, has a favourite: Healing Mushroom blending reishi, shiitake, lion’s mane and chaga mushrooms, she enjoys the broth combined with a cup of hot water, noodles and herbs.
“You can add spiral organic rice noodles or local kimchi from Nourishing Wholefoods,” she said.
“Then top it off a sprinkle of micro greens or fresh herbs from local company Nurtured Micro Greens & Edible Flowers, a squeeze of fresh lime from local organic farmer John Tidy’s Organics and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil from Spiral Foods.”
Soup isn’t the only option, either! Jess suggests mixing the broth concentrates into rice, vegetables or sauces for spaghetti bolognese or two-minute noodles – a healthier choice for the kids.
“If you’re feeling adventurous, you can come in and get all the ingredients to make your own nourishing bone broth from scratch,” she said.
Not sure where to start? When you catch Jess and her co-owner Uwe Wullfen in the store, they love to share ideas for ingredients and recipes. Take your pick from Greensmith Grocers’ organic and locally-sourced vegetables, meats and spices with plenty of gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian alternatives.
Greensmith Grocers also stock medicinal products to boost bodily health alongside bone broths. Herbs of Gold supplements, such as Vitamin C 1000 Plus, Quercetin Complex and Cold & Flu Strike, ward off the worst of winter.
“They’re perfect for keeping immunity up when you feel like you’re coming down with something,” Jess said.
When you’re also faced with dry skin, Rich Herbal Skin Balm from Medicine Room can hydrate and nourish the skin with organic herbs, essential oils, rich and luscious moisturiser. Jess uses the cream to give her face, lips, elbows and hands a bit of TLC.
I’ve got a new midwinter routine. Medicine Room Skin Balm in the morning, Herbs of Gold immune boosters during the day and a heart-warming bowl of bone broth in the evening. The cold has never been easier to bear!
