As we begin the new year, many people are interested in letting go of the old and starting anew. In nutrition, this would be most synonymous with cleansing. That said, the cold outdoors does not signal for us to do “spring cleaning”.

In fact, winter is traditionally a time to nourish ourselves from the cold. This may seem like a mixed message but soups provide a good balance of these two forces.

Soups made with good, wholesome ingredients are able to provide your body with the nutrition it needs and yet still maintain a light, unheavy demeanor so your body can focus on doing other tasks beyond digestion. This beautiful combination can help keep you warm through this winter but keep you on track with allowing the layers that don’t serve you to fall away.

There are a wide variety of soup recipes available on the internet. Some great soups to consider making include lentil soup, vegetable soup, stew and chicken soup. About.com has a recipe for Gingered Carrot Soup. Or try Soupsong.com’s post for Mediterranean Kitchen Lentil Soup.