I know it’s
the middle of summer and we have been enjoying some wonderful bright, sunny,
hot days BUT at this time of year in the UK when an unexpected gloomy , damp,
chilly day pops up I feel I need a little comfort food. Instead of turning to roast dinner (the
ultimate comfort food for me!) I used my leftovers again and whipped up a
really easy and – for the little effort it took – a surprisingly tasty chicken
soup. I know everyone probably has a
different chicken soup recipe, perhaps passed down through the generations, but
I’m rubbish at following recipes and my mother is a rubbish cook so I tend to
use what I have, use one pot for cooking and for soups, rely heavily on the
trusty blender. This method uses the
leftovers, the one pot and the blender, plus its simple, cheap and satisfying so
I thought I’d share:
I used:
CHICKEN: I had
a pre roasted supermarket (small) chicken.
I had already used it for 3 meals so for this, I literally picked the
remaining meat from the bones. I didn’t boil
the bones for the stock – this is a good idea if you have the time, but I made
the soup for lunch and in all honesty couldn’t be bothered.
There
was probably about 100g of meat.
QUINOA: I
know, I know – I never thought I’d say it or use it either, but I have to be
honest again and tell you that although it tastes rubbish (or rather tastes of
nothing at all) it does fill me up and when added to other things, or when
flavours are added to it, it can make a great, filling and protein packed
alternative to pasta, rice, cous cous etc…..anyway I had a packet of Tesco branded “red and white
quinoa with bulgur wheat”.
I had
used this 3 times already and the remainder was approx. 65g.
VEGGIES: I included 1 x medium carrot and 2 x sticks
of celery – simply chopped and cooked in a little oil in the pan with 2 x
cloves of garlic
STOCK: 1 x
vegetable stock cube with 1.5 pints of water.
MIXED HERBS:
Approx 1 teaspoon of dried mixed herbs.
SPINACH: I
added a large handful of raw baby spinach leaves to the bowl when done – as the
soup was hot these wilted in
CROUTONS: I
added a few shop bought croutons to the bowl too – you could of course toast
them yourself, or eat the soup with some bread/toast /crackers on the side.
BUDGET
This
soup is stupidly cheap:
- The CHICKEN was bought pre-roasted at the supermarket for £3. This was the 4th (and final) dish from that making it 75p worth for this recipe.
- The QUINOA was £1.99 and again this was the 4th serving, meaning less than 50p if it was in this soup.
- CARROTS were 35p for 4 so just 8p for each one, the CELERY 88p for the bunch (of approx. 9 stalks), using 2 = 19p. A garlic bulb is approx. 50p, using 2 x cloves is approx. 8pence.
- The STOCK cube again was from a budget pack = only a few pence and the pinch of herbs again were only a matter of pence.
- And finally the SPINACH was a £2 bag of fresh that I only used a handful from = approx 10-20pence worth
TOTAL
COST of ingredients = £3.20 (and this serves 2/2 portions) so £1.60 each.
METHOD
1)
Chop
the veg and cook in the pan in a little oil while you get the last bits of
chicken off the carcass.
2)
Add the
meat and quinoa mix to the pan
3)
Add one
pint of stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes
4)
Add the
other half pint of stock, plus the mixed herbs and maybe a pinch of pepper then
simmer for a further 10-15 minutes
5)
Blend
for about 30 – 40 seconds
6)
Pour into
your bowls (divide into 2 or save half for later) and add a handful of fresh
raw baby spinach leaves (and some croutons if you like)
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Of
course this isn’t just simple and cheap – at no nonsense we focus on nutrition too:
If you’re
counting: Chicken per 100g is approx. 176calories
/ 1 x carrot is 25cals / 2 x celery sticks is approx. 13cals / and 2 x garlic
cloves = about 9cals. The quinoa and
bulgur wheat mix holds 130 cals for 65g and the addition of the spinach at the
end was just another 10cals.
TOTAL
CALORIES = 363 for 2 servings so just 182 CALORIES per bowl!
The greatest
nutritional benefit of chicken is its protein content and as per www.myfitnesspal.com we can see 100g of the
meat holds 20g of protein.
In the
UK our RDA of protein is 50g. As this meal feeds 2
or holds 2 portions, we are getting 20% of our daily protein requirement from
just one bowl of soup here and that’s only including the chicken! In the UK protein is not something we tend to
lack in our diets, but for athletes for example, it’s a major nutrient required
to regenerate cells and muscles so something high on the nutrient list of priorities
to keep you full and fuel the right muscles when training.
The vegetables
in this soup – the carrots and celery both hold a good amount of vitamin A too,
along with vit C, calcium and trace amounts of iron. The benefits of vitamin A include its immune
boosting qualities (especially perhaps when combined with vitamin C as we all
know helps boost the immune system too).
Plus vitamin A is skin kind (it’s also known as retinal which I’m sure recognise
from skin cream ads!)
You can
find more info on vitamin A here if interested: www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vitamins-minerals/Pages/Vitamin-A.aspx
More
about vitamin C here: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vitamins-minerals/Pages/Vitamin-C.aspx
And
BUPA offer a great guide to proteins here: www.bupa.co.uk/health-information/Directory/D/diet-proteins
On the
note of protein, as mentioned earlier the quinoa mix is a great source of
protein too – the grain also contains a good amount of vitamin C, calcium and a
high amount of iron. Iron is great a fantastic
mineral for boosting your energy, its an essential mineral (that we cannot
produce ourselves) and deficiencies can lead to anemia. Adding the spinach adds a good amount of iron
to this soup too, so if you do have some fresh add it at the end to give a
little extra flavour, texture, colour and minerals!
You can
find more about iron and iron deficiency again from the nhs here: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vitamins-minerals/Pages/Iron.aspx
So here
you go – the finished product: 2 portions of no nonsensene
chicken soup for a chilly summer day
Let me know your own chicken
soup recipes or share your pics if you try this one. You can email info@nitakothari.com,
tweet us @nononsensenitaor like us and share your recipes and pics on facebook
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**If you are
of ill health, pregnant or a child under 16yrs, please be advised this recipe
does have a high salt and vitamin A content so may not be appropriate**
**Please
remember this is nutritional advice ONLY (as is all other information and
advice contained in this blog and the websites and social media related to it)
– none of the info or advice is intended to override any recommendation from
your GP or health professional**
