Creamy Chicken Soup

Creamy Chicken Soup

This gluten-free chicken soup is so deliciously creamy and smooth, you would hardly know there’s chicken in it!

Ingredients:

  • 50 g parmesan cheese, cubed
  • 500 g chicken thighs, roughly chopped
  • 600 g milk of choice
  • 300 g chicken broth (see notes)
  • 1 large potato, cubed (option to peel)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 50 g butter
  • 100 g cream
  • Salt & pepper to taste (I use Herbamere)

 

Method:

  1. Place Parmesan into the Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Remove from bowl and set aside.
  2. Place chicken in bowl and chop 10 sec/speed 7.
  3. Add milk, water, broth and potato and cook 15 min/Varoma/speed 1.
  4. Add Parmesan and, butter and egg yolks and blend 2 min gradually increasing to speed 10.
  5. Add cream and blend 20 sec/speed 10.
  6. Serve as is or with crumbled bacon pieces and herbs of choice.

Note:

  • If too thick, add more milk or water and blend 20 sec/speed 10.
  • Substitute 300 g water and 1 chicken stock cube for chicken broth.
  • I have forgotten to add the cream, and it’s been fine!
  • Be creative and let me know what you come up with in the comments 🙂

 

Loaded Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup

Loaded Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup

There are 2 ways to prepare this recipe, well, there are probably far more! But these are the two I will share here. The first way gives you a chunky soup, and the second gives you a semi-chunky soup. In the second method, all ingredients are pureed except the chicken, bacon and a few veggies. Both taste great; it just comes down to personal preference and if you can be bothered blending! You could most likely make this entirely in the thermomix, but I like to make a big batch, so that doesn’t suit me.

Feel free to play with the ingredients as I often do. The first time I made this, I included a turnip. Charli and I loved it, but  Chris & Cooper thought it tasted ‘weird’. Cooper had never tasted turnip before, so that may have been part of the problem! He refused to finish his bowl and Chris loaded it up with cheese and sour cream and was a good sport about it.

As with all recipes, you must tweak it to suit your tolerances, tastes and macros. Have fun playing around and let me know what you come up with. I’m sure if Chris had his way, some extra hot-sauce or chilli would be added in there somewhere 😉

Ingredients

  • 1 head (500g) of cauliflower (or 1 500g bag frozen)
  • 350g of broccoli fresh or frozen
  • 50g butter
  • 5 Cloves of garlic, chopped/smashed
  • 1- 2 brown onions, diced
  • 3 cups of bone broth or stock
  • 350g of diced chicken thighs (omit for vegetarian)
  • 250g streaky bacon (use more if you love bacon and omit for vegetarian)
  • 400g coconut milk
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1 Tbsp. Turmeric
  • Pink salt to taste
  • 2 Tbsp. nutritional/savoury yeast flakes (optional)
  • Ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 Tbsp. coconut flour

Method 1

  1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat.
  2. Add onion and garlic and sauté until transluscent.
  3. Add nutmeg, turmeric and flour and stir until well combined.
  4. Add other other ingredients and reduce heat to low and cook for about 45 minutes.
  5. Top with fresh chives and a dollop of sour cream (omit for dairy-free).

Method 2

  1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat.
  2. Add onion and garlic and sauté until transluscent.
  3. Add nutmeg, turmeric and flour and stir until well combined.
  4. Add stock, coconut milk, brococli and cauliflower and stir to combine.
  5. Transfer the majority of the veggies and part of the liquid to a food processer and blend until as smooth as you would like it.
  6. Return to the pot and add chicken, bacon and savoury yeast.
  7. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 45 minutes.
  8. Top with fresh chives, some grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream (omit for dairy-free).

Tips:

  • I usually make this with frozen cauliflower (1 500g bag), frozen broccoli (however much I feel like adding), frozen chicken thighs and frozen bone broth
  • Partially defrost the frozen chicken thighs to make dicing easier
  • Add some sweet potato if your macros allow
  • Omit meat for a delicious vegetarian soup
  • Use regular cream instead of coconut cream if you prefer

 

   

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Bone Broth

Bone Broth

You should be making bone broth on a regular basis so you have it on hand as a base for lots of your yummy recipes. It is often used as a healing meal on its own. It’s always a good idea to have bone broth ready in the freezer!

It may seem like a hassle to begin with, but after making it a few times, you will get the hang of it. And preparing it yourself makes it really economical. Remember this is a lifestyle, not a diet, and these changes are to benefit your health long-term.

If you can’t make your own bone broth you can purchase pre-made bone broth from certain supermarkets (I know Food Works in QLD often stocks it) and from health food stores. Pre-made is more expensive but can be convenient (although often only cooked for 12 hours).

Bone broth concentrate is also very handy to have in the cupboard just in case you run out of your own. I take a jar with us when we go away in the caravan as it’s easy and saves space in the fridge or freezer. And as all caravanners know, space is precious!  I simply add it to whatever I’m cooking, or even just add it to a mug of boiling water for a gut soothing addition to my caravanning diet 🙂

You can substitute store bought stock in the recipes, but please know that the bone broth is extremely important to a true healthy way of eating. Bonox is NOT a suitable replacement.

Bone broth contains proteins and other nutrients in the marrow; calcium, magnesium, iodine, potassium, phosphorus and much more that won’t be present in stock. Bone broth can help to heal your gut, protect your joints, help you sleep better, is wonderful for immune support, can strengthen you hair, bones and nails, give you glowing skin and more energy! If you feel ‘blah’ a cup on its own works wonders.

There is a vegetarian option, but the healing properties and all the benefits from traditional bone broth, are not present.

A slow cooker is a wonderful investment in your health as it is much easier to flick it on and leave it than worrying about the stovetop burners being left on for hours on end. Slow cookers are very cheap (about $40) and are used ALL the time in our house!

 

A warm mug of bone broth while I work … yum 🙂

Chicken or Beef Bone Broth Makes about 1.5 litres

Ingredients:

  • 2.5k of mixed bones (beef marrow, knuckle bone and some meatier bones like neck and ribs) or 2-3 organic chicken carcasses (roasted or raw)
  • 2 litres filtered water
  • 2 Tbsp. vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar, but white wine or other vinegar would be fine) OR 1-3 cups of KOMBUCHA VINEGAR
  • Herbamere

Method:

  1. Oven roast the meatier beef bones for 45 minutes at 170C (optional, you can skip this part, but I love the extra flavour!) of if you have a slow cooker like mine with a sear function, brown them off before changing the setting to slow cook.
  2. Soak the less meaty beef bones in water and the vinegar (optional – you can add it later, but it draws more nutrients out this way).
  3. Sprinkle bones with vinegar (if you haven’t soaked the bones in it; if you have, add all the water and vinegar together)
  4. Add filtered water up to the brim
  5. Cook on low for at least 12 hours – if you can, leave it for 2-3 days – the longer, the better (in my opinion!) I leave mine 2-3 days. (you can also boil the broth before transferring it to the slow cooker – this can help extract more of the collagen that helps the broth to ‘gel’ when cooked.)
  6. Add water if it becomes extremely thick or the level drops considerably.
  7. Strain it into a large bowl (I use a large collander and then repeat with a sieve) and place in the fridge.
  8. Stir in herbamere to flavour (or salt and your choice of flavourings)
  9. Cool and then scoop the congealed fat from the top (set aside to use for something else if the bones were from healthy animals)
  10. Divide finished stock between containers (leave some head space if freezing) or use zip lock bags and save in portions sizes in fridge or freezer for later use. Ice cubes trays are great for smaller portion sizes. I use silicon muffin trays.
  11. I always have a 2L bottle in the fridge and my freezer is always ‘stocked’!

Vegetarian Bone Broth Alternative makes almost 3 litres

 

Ingredients:

  • 8 celery stalks, chopped
  • 6 carrots (unpeeled if organic)
  • 2  onions, roughly chopped
  • 2 unpeeled large sweet potatoes (peeled if not organic)
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 bunch coriander (with stems)
  • 4 cups mixed of fresh chopped spinach and kale
  • 1 sheet seaweed
  • Handful of peppercorns
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
  • 3  bay leaves
  •  Filtered water

 

Method:

  1. Put all the veggies in a large soup pot. Cover and bring to the boil.
  2. Remove lid, and reduce heat to low, so that the broth can simmer gently for about two hours. Add water if the level drops below the tops of the veggies.
  3. Add the coriander, parsley, seaweed, peppercorns, and bay leaves during the last 15 minutes.
  4. Strain using a strainer over a large bowl.
  5. Let broth cool, taste and season to your liking.
  6. Cool completely before storing in fridge or freezer.

 

We should all know how AMAZING bone broth is for us, and we should be drinking some EVERY DAY ….but is tasteless bone broth driving you crazy?

Have you given up having your daily dose because it’s just so ‘blah’?

Here are some simple tips to improve the flavour of your bone broth:

  • Season with something like Herbamere.
    Herbamere contains: sea salt, organic celery leaves, organic leek, organic cress (water and garden), organic onion, organic chive, organic parsley, organic lovage, organic garlic, organic marjoram, organic rosemary, organic thyme, kelp (with trace iodine).
    Use about 1 tsp. per litre.
  • Let it boil down (by removing the lid for about 15 minutes at the end to reduce the stock down and let it thicken up).
  • Roast the bones and veggies first ( I ALWAYS do this!).
  • If using veggies and herbs, don’t add them until the last few hours (sometimes overcooked carrots can give off a horrible taste.
  • Use fresh, good quality ingredients.
  • Ideally, you want bones with a bit of meat on them and bones with visible cartilage and marrow. The more collagen the better!

Is your bone broth not ‘gelling’?

Bone broth that doesn’t gel is still good for you and it probably even has some gelatin in it, just not enough to make it ‘set/gel’.  If you’d like a broth you can tumble (rather than pour) out of your jar, there are a few things you can try.

  • Adding more collagen-rich animal parts, like skin, feet, and joints.
  • Knuckle bones (from any animal).
  • Chicken feet, pork, lamb, goat, or pig or beef feet.
  • Tendons.
  • Entire chicken carcasses (I get these from my butcher).
  • Heads. Fish chicken, duck, or goose heads will work just as well. (not sure I could bring myself to try this one!) lol
  • Wingtips (chicken, duck, or goose).
  • Bring the broth to a boil first. Even if you’re making it in the slow-cooker, just boil the borth in a pot on the stove first, then transfer that straight to the slow cooker.
  • Try adding a little vinegar to your bones before you pour in the water. I use ACV.
  •  Leave it for a few days – the longer the better 🙂

 

What tips do you have for making a tasty bone broth? 🙂

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Chicken & Veggie Soup

Chicken & Veggie Soup

This was my first ever attempt at creating a meal in the thermal cooker – and it turned out fabulous! So tasty! 🙂 And it only required 30 minutes of electricity/gas.

Ingredients:

  • 2 large brown onions, peeled and chopped
  • 2 medium eggplants (cubed)
  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
  • 6 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless
  • 2 cups bone broth or stock (chicken or beef)
  • ⅓ cup white wine (optional)
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
  • 1 Tbsp. mixed herbs
  • 3 Tbsp. crushed garlic
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Oil for sautéing (I used onion infused olive oil)
  • 1 cup baby spinach (optional)
  • 1/2 cup cream/sour cream or coconut cream (optional)

Slow cooker method:

  1. Place all ingredients in slow cooker (except sour cream ).
  2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours.
  3. Stir in sour cream or dollop on top.

 

Thermal Cooker Method:

  1. Heat oil in large inner pot over medium-high heat.
  2. Add onion, garlic and zucchini and cook until onion is translucent and zucchini is starting to brown.
  3. Add remaining ingredients (except sour cream and baby spinach) and stir to combine.
  4. Bring to the boil, cover with lid and reduce to a fast simmer/slow boil for 30 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat and place into thermal pot and case.
  6. Close the lids/do up the zipper etc.
  7. Leave for at least 5 hours.
  8. Open and remove from inner pot from case.
  9. Stir through optional baby spinach and/or cream/sour cream/coconut cream.
  10. Return inner pot to heat and simmer for 1/2 hour before serving
  11. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

Surprise! It worked .. and it tastes amazing 🙂

Options:

  • Stir through some sour cream/coconut cream right before serving.
  • Add baby spinach and place pot back on stove to simmer for half hour before serving