Soup...the salad of cold weather months.
I love salads because...
They are filling and energizing (if you know, not covered in loads of grossly processed dressing, but made of fresh produce, lean proteins, whole grains, healthy fats, etc.)
You can add lots of veggies, which personally make me feel fantastic
You can switch it up! Salads can be so drastically different depending on toppings and dressings.
But, when it's cold outside, it's harder to digest large amounts of raw food and often times they leave me feeling even colder instead of warm and cozy.
That's where soup comes in! SO many veggies can be added to soup, it's warm, and it's usually filling, but not heavy (unless cream-based of course). It's the perfect replacement for salad during the Fall and Winter, and if you live in a colder environment like I do, you really need soup in your life. I definitely feel like I'm super late to the soup game, but, I'm here now and couldn't be happier. ...Except maybe when Spring comes and I can eat salad again. I love soup, but c'mon, salad is king. It's my favorite food, though, so I'm biased. I can never get enough fresh produce.
Anyway, onto WHY this soup is so nourishing.
First, I used bone broth as the base, which contains collagen, an protein widely used in the body, especially for skin, hair, nails, and muscles. It is also a non-dairy source of bioavailable calcium, as it comes from bones, where calcium is stored.
Next, I used lots of different vegetables, which contain a host of vitamins and minerals that I won't get into in this post because it would drag on, but just know it's basically a multi-vitamin in a cup. Or bowl. Whatever you eat your soup out of. Additionally, when certain vegetables (like leafy greens) are cooked we actually absorb more of the nutrients from them. When vegetables are cooked in water, all the water-soluble vitamins leach out into the water, so be sure to drink the broth as well!
Lastly, this soup contains protein, which is important for overall health: energy, metabolism, brain function, mood, strength, muscle retention, etc. Between the bone broth, which has 9g protein per cup, and the chicken, this soup is packed with it.
I hope you enjoy this soup and feel well-nourished with every bowl.
RECIPE
Ingredients
2.5 lbs chicken (I used chicken thighs, but breast will work too, or even a whole chicken)
1 32oz container bone broth (I used Pacific Foods)
1 32oz container chicken broth
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 zucchinis, quartered
1 sweet potato, diced
1 8oz package white button mushrooms (or whichever kind you prefer), diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
5 oz baby spinach leaves
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2.5 Tbs olive oil
2 tsps spice blend of your choice (I used chili lime from Trader Joe's, an Italian herb blend would work well too)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375ºF
Heat 1/2 Tbs olive oil in a large sauté pan.
Beat and rub chicken with spice.
When oil has heated, sear chicken 1 min on either side, then turn off heat and add chicken to a baking sheet.
Put chicken in the oven and cook until internal temperature reads 165ºF.
While chicken is cooking, add onion, celery, carrots, parsley, salt, and pepper, and 2 Tbs olive oil to the same sauté pan used for the chicken, cook until translucent.
Add the rest of the vegetables to the pan and cook until translucent and the water from the vegetables begins to cook out
If the pan is big enough, you can add broth to the pan, but if not (like mine), add the vegetables to a stock pot along with both containers of broth.
When the chicken is done, dice, and add to the stock pot.
Simmer the soup until it comes to a boil, part way through adding the spinach leaves once the broth is hot enough to make them wilt.
Add more salt and pepper to taste if needed.
That's it! You're done!
Comments