Sabbath Soup with Kathi Lipp

Episode 143

Dr. Vickie: The main reason I wanted you to have to have you on the podcast today is because you are an expert on connection and social connectedness is such a part of lifestyle medicine and so many people struggle with loneliness.

Kathi: I’m going to be totally honest with you. It’s something that Roger, my husband, and I have struggled with up here. And we’ve had to be super intentional about it. So, even though I may be an expert on it, it means I still have to work at it.

Dr. Vickie: Well, most people who are an expert on something have had to work through it themselves, right?  But set the scene about the red house first of all. Can you just let our listeners know what it’s like to be there, to live there, and how you came up with the idea for your newest book, which is Sabbath Soup.

Kathi: So several years ago, Roger and I, we love to go to the mountains to kind of get away and to write and to work and do all of that kind of stuff. And we started praying about, could we get a little tiny cabin in the woods that for us to be able to do that? And then, as dreams often do, it got out of control the and we ended up buying the house with the intent of living in San Jose, and going coming to the mountains, Airbnbing this place, and then also doing writer’s retreat.

Well, every time we came here, we didn’t want to leave. So we eventually sold our house in San Jose and moved up here full time. only And so we have a much bigger house than we could ever use, but we’re able to use it in different ways like the retreats and we can have guests here. We’ve had people who have been in the midst of a crisis come and stay with us. So the house gets used in ways that we never imagined. And the we just feel very lucky that we get to live here

Dr. Vickie: How far away is your nearest  neighbor? 

Kathi: It’s about a 20 to 25 minute walk depending on who’s doing the walking. We’ve had to make really deliberate attempts to be able to be connected with people. 

Dr. Vickie: So many people do struggle with connection and loneliness, and they’re like, well it’s hard for me because, and it was hard for you because, but you found a way to overcome that, and a lot of it revolved around meals.

Kathi: We had the Caldor fire come through our county and we we only lost two acres and it didn’t touch our home But one of the reasons that our home was saved was because of the volunteer firefighters who live on both sides of us. All those firefighters are living together, sleeping together, eating together Well, this was at the height of the covid pandemic, and Paul got covid and was in the intensive care unit. It was really really bad. When he got out I’m like, “Could I bring you some soup?” and come to find out, If I didn’t bring him soup, he was going home to Lunchables. That’s what he eats. So I said, Oh, we can do better than that. So we’ve just started to bring him meals every week.  I’m used to cooking for six, Vickie, we were a blended family of six and you don’t lose those muscles really quickly when you’re cooking for a crowd. And so, we bring him meals. And just yesterday way we brought Nancy and Patrick meals because they’re going through  a health crisis. And we just show up with food and it takes one burden off of them and is a very, low and easy connection point for people. 

Dr. Vickie: And I think people associate soup with health. I asked my listeners on Facebook this week, what’s your comfort food? And so many people said soup. You’ve got chicken soup, but there’s so many other soups and, I got to feast on them when I was there and it just makes you feel warm inside and it’s a big pot that you share with people.

There’s so much about soup that just screams connection.

Kathi: It really does. And, you know, I found that the easiest way to reach out to somebody, a neighbor, a friend, a coworker is to just say this simple line, I made too much soup. Can I bring some over? And it’s such a low risk way of reaching out. And it’s also a low risk way of receiving Because I think we’re very hesitant to receive from strangers, or, even people we don’t know really well, because it’s like, what are they going to want from me? Are they gonna, you know, are they going to try to recruit me for their multilevel marketing system or their religion? And to just say, no, I just care about you.

And soup’s a really easy way of doing that.  

Dr. Vickie: Well us a little bit more about Sabbath soup.

Kathi: So, you know, Roger and I have really been on a journey. I think when you kind of pull away from some of the hustle, I mean, we, we’re from Silicon Valley, so hustle was built into what we were doing. And when you kind of pull away from that, you start to see, maybe I haven’t had some of the healthiest habit. As you know, I’ve been on  a  weight journey and a food journey, and those have been going really well. But a couple of things that I was not doing great at, rest and stress management. You can go live in the middle of the forest, like Roger and I do. is And if you’re not intentional about those things, they can continue to be not great for you. So we really got intentional on about Sabbath, about saying, “Hey there’s this day set aside for rest.” And, you can’t just say, “Oh, we’re resting on Sunday. Everything  stops.” People still want to eat. It’s very annoying. And so to spend a little bit of each day preparing since so that Sunday can be taken off.

And the reason it’s soup is because if you make a soup on Friday or Saturday, one, it’s the easiest thing in the world to reheat and two, soup tastes better. Then after a couple of days, it just does. So that’s why we got into the habit of having soup on Sundays.

Dr. Vickie: So  that’s your routine every Sunday.

Kathi: And here’s the beautiful thing for those of us who are overwhelmed. Vickie, If you say I’m having soup on Sunday, your decisions go from infinity to about 25. Most of us know of about 25 soups that we like and we could make. Soup is pretty simple to make and if you are overwhelmed by decision making just saying, okay, Sunday soup and then I add a salad, even if it’s a bag salad. I don’t care if your soup needs to come from Costco or the grocery store. Do what you need to do. There are a lot of busy people who are like, I can’t even think about cooking. If you just make the decision soup, the next time you go to the store, you pick up a couple of containers, you’re buying yourself some pre decision. Taking away some anxiety about what am I going to feed these people or myself? 

Dr. Vickie: That’s so good because you’ve mentioned so many pillars of lifestyle medicine, rest and stress management. And I mentioned that this is all part of social connectedness, but also nutrition. And I have to tell you what I did the other day, I did not want to go to the grocery store. I had been traveling a lot and came home and I didn’t have a lot of groceries and I literally went into the pantry and found what I could find in the pantry and in the freezer. And I threw it all in a big pot with some vegetable broth. And I made a bean and corn and fire roasted tomatoes. And I put my secret ingredient that my husband really loves and that’s just a little bit of cloves. Cloves and beans. That’s my secret. And he loved it and I took some leftovers to my mom.  so, you’re right, it goes, I mean who makes soup for two?

Kathi: You really don’t.  There are so many things I want to respond to there. One, wouldn’t we agree that for so many people in North America, one of the biggest stressors is finances  and soup is such a beautiful way of using up those odds and ends. Beans are so inexpensive and I’m going to try your cloves because I can taste that in my mouth right now. The beans and the cloves. That’s amazing. I love it. Because also I like some cinnamon with beans. I love soup because it’s very easy to make a big batch of, it’s so easy to share like you did with your mom, it’s so easy to freeze. love these things called super cubes, S O U P E R cubes. They are just silicone molds to freeze portions of soup. And we call that homesteader fast food where you can just pop out one of those cubes, that heat up in the microwave and you’ve got lunch. And, I think about it like this, every once in a while we like to go to fast food. We’re Americans. We like to do that. But for the 2 of us to go to fast food is 30 dollars, which is nice for a treat. But leftover soup is pretty much free. And so economically, nutritionally, and community wise. It works on all levels. 

Dr. Vickie: It really does. Beans in particular are so high in fiber, so high in protein, and they’re inexpensive. You can do them out of a can, and they’re almost just as healthy as they are any other way. You’ve gotta watch the sodium content. But also, you can do them in the Instant Pot, and you don’t have to soak them overnight and do all that

Kathi: They are very blue zone. They are very, very blue zone. 

Dr. Vickie: Yes, they are. Well, what’s your favorite soup recipe in the new book Sabbath Soup? Do you have one? Because I do.

Kathi: Okay, when I  want to be a little decadent, the tomato and gin soup, That’s  my favorite. Everybody loves it. What’s yours? 

Dr. Vickie: Same. It was so good, I love it. And like I said, that would be for a sort of a treat occasion, but I love tomato soup anyway. And that tomato soup recipe was delicious. 

Kathi: Okay, Vickie, the next time you need a treat and you want to double up on your treat, there’s no more classic combination of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, right? Which has nothing redeeming about it. Let’s just be super honest, except joy. And in the book, I have a recipe for Cuban sandwiches. That’s like a grilled cheese sandwich on steroids. It’s so, so, so good. So if you, if you want something kind of decadent, it’s a real crowd pleaser. 

Dr. Vickie: That’s awesome. And I love a pickle with my grilled cheese sandwich.

Kathi: That’s that’s what the Cuban sandwich is all about is the pickle.  

Dr. Vickie: Well, I want our listeners to know all about your book and where they can find you and the book because it is a gorgeous book and it is full of so many good recipes. 

Kathi: They really did a beautiful job on it. So if you go to SabbathSoup. com, we have a lot of little gifties there for you, some menu plans, some other bonuses you can do, but you can buy Sabbath Soup at Amazon and any place you love to buy books. You can buy it there. It’s available everywhere. 

Dr. Vickie I will put the link to your website and all of the links to that. so much. In the show notes, because I know people are going to want to check that out. But I, I love the, just the connection that’s involved with, with food and with soup in particular,

Kathi: You know, I always think about it this way, Vickie, I’ve never been fed without feeling love. I did an interview yesterday and they talked to us about how God created us with the need for food. God didn’t need to do that, but God is invested in our connection and our joy and that’s what food does. 

Dr. Vickie: That’s so true. And, and I think eating a meal without someone to share it with,  magnifies loneliness. I went through a season of singleness and I said, I ate a dinner for one at a table for 10. It just magnifies the fact that you’re alone. And my father passed away about three years ago. And so my mom’s had to eat her meals alone and it’s difficult for her to go to the table and do that. So that’s why I take her my leftovers, but how beautiful that just to show up at your neighbor’s door and say, Hey, I made too much soup. And would you like to have some? I love that.

Kathi: Yeah. And I love what you said there. Show up. Don’t ask, what can I do? Just say, Hey, I made you some soup. What time can I bring it over? That works for you? It’s such a different because nobody wants to put anybody else out. But when you say it’s already done, it brings, it brings a different level of connectedness.

Dr. Vickie: You’re absolutely right.  And even better, stay with them. I remember when I was sick and people would bring me meals and a lot of times it wasn’t anything I could eat. The prednisone made me diabetic and I had to be very, very careful what I ate and I’m sort of a health nut anyway, so I was careful about what I ate, but what I really wanted was for them to stay and visit. It’s not something that you drop off on the doorstep and ring the doorbell and run away. If you can stay and visit that, that’s the, that’s the decadent cream on top.

Kathi: Yeah, and I think asking. Roger went to visit our neighbors yesterday and there was a nurse there and it just wasn’t a great time. So, Roger said, I’m going to call you later to find out when a good time would be. You’re there to serve somebody’s needs. And that is the deep connection – seeing that need. And it’s such a gift to the receiver to let them know, even if now doesn’t work, later on will, and we’re going to be back. We’re in this for the long haul.

If you can just make a decision for one day a week in advance what you’re going to eat and one, make it a little special and two make it easy on yourself. It’s going to create a rhythm in your life that is going to be life giving. 

Dr. Vickie: My husband thrives on a rhythm like that. And so we do the same thing every Friday night and the same thing every Sunday night. It’s just relaxing to me because we don’t have to talk about it. We don’t have to decide anything. We don’t have to plan anything. We know what we’re doing. 

There are tons of recipes in this book. It’s a beautiful book just to even have sitting in your kitchen. So thank you so much for being here. 

Kathi: Vickie, it’s such an honor to see everything you’ve started with this podcast and now to be a guest, it just feels like such a full circle moment and I’m so proud of you and I love what you’re doing to serve your community. It’s, it’s just awe inspiring.

Dr. Vickie: Well, thank you so much. It was great having you.    

RESOURCES (may contain affiliate links):

Kathi Lipp Website

Sabbath Soup Website

Souper Cubes

Sign up to receive podcasts by email