Cold and flu season is upon us and the average Australian family is expected to be hit with three bouts of cold and flu this season, with more than a quarter of unlucky Aussie families being hit up to seven times.
Leading nutritionist and Cenovis spokeswoman Kate Freeman has shed light on key findings from the 2017 Cenovis Immunity Index, revealing that a regular consumption of fresh, nutritional vegetables is the cornerstone of a healthy diet and a key to boosting immunity especially during the winter months. However, when you’ve got a cold or worse, the flu, the last thing you’re wanting to eat is a boring old salad or plain steamed vegetables!
When you’re sick, you want comfort food and you want it stat! This recipe is a delicious, warming and tasty way to eat your vegetables and give your body the nutrition it needs to recover quickly while totally hitting the spot for your comfort food craving. It’s even better eaten rugged up in a blanket sitting on your favorite chair!
Packed full of superfoods like kale and silver beet, it’s super easy to make. Just chop up the vegetables (or get someone else to), pop all the ingredients in a pot and let it simmer away.
Ingredients (serves 4)
Bone broth (chicken stock)
1 whole chicken (approx. 2 kg)
4 celery stalks roughly chopped
2 carrots roughly chopped
2 brown onions roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 bay leaves
5 sprigs fresh thyme
5 sprigs fresh parsley
4 litres water
salt and pepper
Soup
400-500g cooked chicken, shredded – kept from making the broth
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, cubed
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, finely chopped
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
2L (8 cups) homemade chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns – ingredients above
1-2 pinches sea salt
1 bunch silver beet or kale, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley to serve
Method
1. Place the whole chicken in a large saucepan. Add the celery, carrot, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, parsley and water to the saucepan and cook over medium to high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
2. Use tongs to remove chicken from broth and place on a clean work surface. Pull chicken meat away from bones, shred into pieces and set aside.
3. Place chicken bones back into remaining broth and simmer for another 40 minutes. Top up with extra water if necessary.
4. Strain the broth removing all the chicken bones and vegetables. The resulting liquid is your chicken stock or bone broth ready to be used for the soup. It can also be frozen and used later on.
5. Combine onion, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley, thyme, stock and peppercorns in a large saucepan over medium to high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
6. Add silverbeet and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
7. Add cooked chicken to saucepan. Simmer for a further 2 minutes until chicken is thoroughly heated.
8. Taste and season with salt.
9. Serve into 4 bowls. Enjoy!
Nutrition information
Per Serve: (quarter of recipe)
Energy: 1034 kJ (246 calories)
Carbohydrates: 7.5g
Protein: 37.4g
Fat: 6.9g (Saturated fat: 2g)
Fibre: 3.5g
Sodium 268mg
Notes
– You can add a healthy source of carbohydrate through the addition of potato or sweet potato, pearled barley or quinoa.
– Chicken stock can be kept in the freezer for several weeks. Divide it into 1 cup portions before freezing.
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feature image via pinterest