If improving your health is at the top of your list this year, there’s no better place to start than with your gut. Your digestive system is the powerhouse of both your body and mind – helping you to get stronger, improve your mood and support your immune system.

So feed it well with this nourishing soup made of courgettes that contain insoluble fibre (to feed the good bacteria in your intestines for optimum function) and chickpeas (proven to prevent the overgrowth of bad bacteria while also improving digestion). Let this soup do the work for your gut, so your gut can do the work for you.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 large courgettes, thinly sliced

800ml vegetable stock

400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (with a few reserved as garnish)

200g frozen peas (with a few defrosted peas reserved as garnish)

4 tbsp vegan basil pesto (with extra to garnish)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a high heat. 
2. Add the courgettes and cook for four to five minutes, until softened. 
3. Add the stock and simmer for eight to ten minutes, until the courgettes are fully cooked. 
4. Stir in the chickpeas, frozen peas and pesto and cook for one minute. 
5. Blend until smooth with a hand-held blender and season to taste.
6. Garnish with extra pesto, chickpeas and peas.

Recipe courtesy of No Fuss Vegan by Roz Purcell – best selling cookery author, podcast host and creator of The Hike Life community

IMAGE: Joanne Murphy

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