After the fullness of the holiday season with special meals, sweet treats, and joyful celebrations, January often arrives with a quiet calm.
It’s the perfect time to consider the coming new year and set intentions. Not resolutions that’ll fade away after a few weeks, but intentions for care and nourishment for your body and soul.
St. Hildegard of Bingen, the 12th-century mystic and healer, approached health in a similar manner. She believed food was one of the most sacred pathways to healing and harmony. She emphasized balance or moderation and the natural rhythms of the seasons.
She taught that after a period of indulgence the body needs support. It needs to return to simplicity and foods that restore vitality. It needs to be nourished with what St. Hildegard called viriditas or the “greening power” of the divine life force.
A favorite winter remedy to do just this in January is a nourishing parsley soup that feeds your body and soul.
Why Parsley?
Parsley may seem like a very common herb, but St. Hildegard considered it a powerful healer.
She recommended it for
- cleansing and supporting digestion
- promoting gentle detoxification
- reducing inflammation
- lifting mood and clarity of thought
Parsley, she believed, helps the body to release stagnant energy and flow more easily both physically and energetically, leaving us feeling lighter and clearer.
Today we know parsley is considered one of the most powerful disease-fighting plants that provides great nutritional value. It’s particularly rich in vitamins K, A, and C and contains powerful antioxidants which may lower your risk of certain diseases. It’s also rich in folate, a B vitamin, that protects your heart and may reduce your risk of heart disease.
Such a simple, warming food like this soup (recipe below) can be a true gift to yourself!
Nourishing Parsley Soup
Ingredients
1 large handful fresh parsley (flat or curly)
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
½ cup spelt grain or small spelt pasta
1–2 garlic cloves (optional)
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cups water or broth
Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Warm the olive oil in a pot and sauté the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery until softened.
- Add water/broth and the spelt grain or pasta.
- Simmer for 25–30 minutes, until the spelt is tender.
- Add the chopped parsley during the last few minutes of cooking.
- Season gently with salt and pepper.
- You can blend the soup for a smooth version, if desired.
Enjoy it warm with a moment of quiet gratitude before eating. Food becomes more healing when paired with intention and mindfulness.
St. Hildegard recommended resting the digestion by choosing warm, easy-to-process foods like broths, soups, and spelt. This helps reset the body gently after a busy season.
Consider taking a couple days in January to simplify your meals with recipes like this soup. Simplicity itself can be a spiritual practice, a way of honoring the body as a sacred vessel.
Let this January be about nourishment and the quiet “greening” force that brings life.
A simple bowl of soup can be the beginning.
