Chicken Soup

Oh, Chicken Soup how I love you!  Oh winter, I love you too - but not the couple of extra kilos I always seem to gain over the colder months, and I’m not alone. The average Australian gains two to three kilos over the autumn and winter period.  This year, why not make this Chicken Soup for the Soul AND the Waistline a weekly addition to your meal planning.  I keep it protein packed and full of veggies for my evening meal a few nights a week, adding different spices every night but always including lots of chilli.  Chili’s thermogenic properties means that the humble spice has the ability to increase our basal metabolic rate at rest.  Not a fan of the heat? You can also reap the benefits of thermogenic foods by adding a cup of green tea after dinner. If you’re a parent, I get it: you do not want to cook two meals.  I never encourage that.  I encourage cook once and eat twice…even eat three times if you can. If you need to add more substance, simply add brown rice, quinoa, freekah, chickpeas, lentils or whatever complex carbohydrate source you can find on on the shelf or in the fridge to add in  for the kids.  They need good, clean, slow carbs and most of us do not require them at night. Enjoy my Mumma’s Chicken Soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole organic chicken- protein is satiating, weigh loss promoting, and immune building
• 2 litres of chicken stock
• 1/2 litre of water
• 3 brown onions
• 3 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 stalk of celery including the stalk - fibre rich for weight loss and keeping the digestion moving
• 4 carrots - vitamin A is key for winter immunity
• 2 parsnips - sweetness and fibre and starchy like
• 1-2 swedes - looks like potato in the soup and tastes potato-ish without the carbs
• 1 fennel bulb with stalk - fibre and sweet taste
• 1-2 chili finely chopped
• 1-2 tsp of sea salt, black pepper and/or a spice mix like Mingle Spice Mix

Method:

1. Place washed chook into a large pot and cover just until the water is covering the cook. Bring to boil then simmer for 20-25 or until the chicken is cooked but not falling off the bones.
2. Place in a colander and capture water in bowl underneath (add to soup at end).
3. While chicken is cooling, chop all veggies.
4. Brown onions ever so slightly in the original pot (love a one pot wonder).
5. Add stock and water and all chopped veggies.
6. After chicken cools, pull the skin off and toss away.  Place all the chicken shredded by hand into the pot.  Set simmer for a least an hour.
7. Add salt, pepper, spices, and chili.  A bit of grated parmesan is always nice.
8. Soup is always better after resting for a day!  Enjoy and stay warm and toasty!