Chicken Soup for the (Soul) Adrenals

A healthy diet to follow when your body is under a lot of stress generally includes easy-to-digest foods such as juices, smoothies and soups. Home-made meals such as this are always fresher (and tastier!) I believe than the shop bought variety and a spicy chicken soup is a great recipe to make in bulk and freeze for those nights when you are working late and need a quick, nourishing dinner. You could also take a thermos full of this delicious soup to work for your lunch the next day.

My spicy chicken soup recipe is full of medicinal herbs and spices that add a zesty, tangy flavour to the soup as well as provide numerous health benefits.

Aim for the freshest herbs and spices that you can find as the active constituents will actually degrade over time. The herbs and spices can be fresh or dried (and organic is even better if looking to reduce your toxic load of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides).

Some herbs and spices have immune building, antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Adding medicinal herbs into your everyday cooking is literally using food as your medicine because high levels of inflammation and a poor immune system are often seen in cases of Adrenal fatigue or burnout.

Both Parsley and Coriander are high in vitamin C and contain an innumerable number of phytonutrients that help your body fight disease. The addition of onions in this recipe will also boost the vitamin C content in the body, further lowering inflammation and improving immunity.

If you prefer the soup to be spicier, you can add more paprika and chilli. The hotter the chilli pepper, the higher the concentration of a substance called Capsaicin, which is a wonderful antioxidant as well as it has been shown to reduce inflammation and hence pain within the body.

Spicy Chicken Soup Recipe

Ingredients A

• 1 head of cauliflower, chopped

• 8 cups of water

• 3 tablespoons of natural chicken or vegetable stock powder

• 2 tablespoons of agave nectar

Ingredients B

• 1 heaped teaspoon of dried onion flakes

• 1 teaspoon of red chilli finely chopped

• ½ a teaspoon of smoked paprika

• 2 teaspoons of fresh garlic crushed

• 1 teaspoon of black pepper

• 1 teaspoon of dried dill

• ½ a cup of full fat coconut milk

Ingredients C

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

• 3 stalks of celery finely sliced

• 1 large brown onion diced

• 2 teaspoons of tomato paste

Ingredients D

• 2 organic chicken breasts cut into small cubes

• 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon of fresh chives finely sliced

• ½ a cup of fresh coriander finely chopped

Method

1. Using a large stockpot, add Ingredients A.

2. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low.

3. Add Ingredients B.

4. Place everything into a high powered blender able to tolerate hot liquids and blend to a puree.

5. Pour back into the stockpot and simmer.

6. In a separate frying pan, add Ingredients C and stir-fry until the onion becomes opaque.

7. Pour into the stockpot, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

8. Stir in Ingredients D and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

9. Spoon the soup into a soup bowl, garnish with sprigs of fresh coriander.

10. Enjoy!

Natasha Zervaas N.D.

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