Monday Meals: Healing Chicken Soup

Posted by on February 9, 2015 with 0 Comments

Welcome to our new weekly series, Monday Meals! Each week I’m going to share a healthy recipe with you guys and throw in a few nutrition tips along the way.

This first recipe is a regular in our household. My mom taught me how to make chicken soup and I have never really followed a recipe, it’s almost impossible to mess up. It’s a great way to get rid of veggies that are about to turn, it’s cheap and the longer you cook it the better, so don’t worry about overcooking! Use this recipe as a guide- feel free to add in whatever veggies and herbs you have on hand. Most recently, I added a few tablespoons of tomato paste and some chopped and pan fried spicy pork sausage at the last minute. Sometimes I swirl in a few whisked eggs at the end for egg drop-style soup.

If you have a crockpot, make the stock overnight or while you’re at work and let it cook on low for 8-10 hours. There are numerous health benefits to a properly prepared stock, which store bought stock lacks. Slow cooking the bones releases collagen from the connective tissue and produces gelatin, which can aid digestion, reduce inflammation and joint pain, and promote the growth of healthy skin, hair and nails. It is also a rich source of glycine and proline, amino acids that are poorly represented in muscle meats but which are anti-inflammatory and assist digestion and a strong immune system.

Make a big pot on a Sunday night and eat it for dinner after work. It freezes well too. Depending on what additional ingredients you add, this normally makes about 10 servings for us. That’s dinner for the week for me and my husband, and by spending this time getting meal prep done, it ensures we don’t resort to chips and salsa.

If you can, invest in a good quality organic, free-range chicken as everything in the bird is going to leech into your soup.

chicken soup

Healing Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken

Approximately 8 cups of water

1 bay leaf

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped

2 carrots, coarsely chopped

2 parsnips, coarsely chopped

3 sprigs of fresh thyme

Sea salt and black pepper to season

3 potatoes (white or sweet), chopped into 1 inch cubes (optional)

Brussel sprouts, quartered (optional)

A few handfuls of kale, coarsely chopped (optional- any green veggies will do!)

Fresh herbs to garnish (optional but delicious)

Method:

  1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add onions and garlic. Cook until fragrant and starting to brown.
  2. Add the chicken, bay leaf, thyme, celery, carrots and parsnips to the pan and pour in water until the chicken is covered. Season well with salt and pepper. (If using a crock pot, add browned onions and garlic to crock pot then other ingredients and cook on low for 8-10 hours)
  3. Allow to come to the boil, then reduce to low, cover and simmer gently for 4-6 hours.
  4. Carefully remove chicken from pot and when cool enough, shred all the meat from the carcass. Discard the bones and add the meat back to the soup.
  5. Add potatoes to pot, and when the potatoes are almost soft (10-15 mins in saucepan), add in brussel sprouts, kale and any other green vegetables you might like and cook until tender. (Give potatoes about 1 hour in the crockpot)
  6. Check seasoning and enjoy! Top with parsley if you have some.
Filed Under: CrossFit Bloomfield

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