Back to balance chicken soup

Eating out frequently, together with desserts and glasses of wine and not enough healthy home cooked food often leads to weight gain, lethargy and the need to bring balance back into your life. At times like this, I try to take back control of my diet and weight with a mini detox. By mini detox, I mean giving my body a rest for a few days from fats, sugar and alcohol. This takes stress off the liver and pancreas and helps to shed the recently gained extra kilos.

The problem with detoxing is that you really need to make all meals yourself to ensure you eat a low fat, low sugar and highly nutritious diet. We don’t all have time to make breakfast, lunch and dinner and so at these feeling out of kilter periods, I make chicken soup. Lots of it.

The great thing about this soup is that it has lots of veggies, lots of protein and is low in fat and sugar. The stock also contains silica which improves the structure and function of connective tissue such as skin, hair and nails. It’s easy to make and can be used for lunch or dinner for up to a week.

For variation at each meal, it can be served over different cooked grains/legumes such as lentils, cannellini beans, quinoa, brown rice or pearl barley. Green leafy veggies are great for detoxing the liver but feel free to vary. Instead of adding extra salt to taste, top your soup bowl with a teaspoon of Umeboshi paste. Umeboshi helps to stimulate the liver and kidneys and detoxify the body of toxins.

Try to use organic meat and veg whenever possible.

Stock
· 1 whole organic chicken
· Carrot
· Onion (halved)
· Bay leaf
· 6 peppercorns

Soup
· Tbsp of olive oil
· 2 or 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
· 2 carrots (finely chopped)
· 2 celery sticks (finely chopped)
· 2 onions (finely chopped)
· 2 leeks (roughly chopped)
· Mixture of other green veg/cruciferous veg such as broccoli, kale, spinach, silverbeet, cavalo nero
· 2 x bay leaves
· Oregano
· Macrobiotic salt/unrefined sea salt
· Optional: drizzle of unrefined brown flaxseed oil to serve

In large saucepan, submerge chicken in water (enough water to cover chicken) and add onion, carrot, bay leaf and peppercorns. Bring to boil and then simmer for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Pour chicken stock into separate saucepan and skim fat off the top. Separate chicken meat from the bone removing the fat, chop roughly and set aside.

Heat the oil and throw in the chopped carrot, celery, onion and garlic and sweat on a low heat for 25 minutes. Then throw in rest of vegetables and oregano and stir for few minutes. Add the chicken meat, stock and bay leaves, bring to the boil and then simmer for 45 minutes or less if you can’t wait. Season to taste and add chopped parsley. Serve over choice grains or legumes.

Healing protein smoothie

This smoothie is great for healing the gut of those with IBS or dysbiosis or just for the morning after a big night out. It’s also a great breakfast or post workout snack and can be boosted with a good quality protein powder. You can of course forgo the slippery elm and aloe vera if you don’t feel your gut is compromised.

The fruits can be varied, try to use those in season. I always try to add berries because they contain lots of antioxidants and fibre and have a low glycaemic index. And they taste good! The addition of aloe vera juice and slippery elm powder have a soothing and healing effect on inflamed gut linings. You can make this dairy free by taking out the yoghurt or adding goat/sheeps yoghurt. You can also use oat or almond milk in the place of soy.

· 150ml of Bonsoy milk
· 2 tbsp of low fat organic yoghurt
· Handful of oats (soaked if possible)
· Tsp/tbsp of slippery elm (depending on what you feel works for you)
· 50ml aloe vera juice
· Tbsp linseed meal/LSA/flaxseed oil
· Ground cinnamon
· Optional scoop of good quality protein powder

Combination of two or more of below fruits (depending on what is in season):

· Strawberries
· Blueberries
· Banana to thicken
· Mango
· Pomegranate

Chuck all ingredients into a blender and voila

Organic puffed brown rice muesli with yoghurt, strawberries and cinnamon

It is important to start the day with a healthy and nutritious breakfast that includes complex carbs, protein and good fat. Eating just simple carbohydrates for breakfast (e.g. raisin toast) will leave you hungry after the initial high and grabbing for a snack. You are also more likely to suffer from the mid afternoon craving and lethargy that so many of us experience.

This is one of my favourite breakfasts, its high in B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, complex carbohydrate and protein and low in saturated fat. So many mueslis bought in the supermarket are toasted (high in fat), high in sugar and full of preservatives. I like to know what I’m eating and keep it pretty simple. Raw nuts and seeds can be added, as can linseeds in place of flaxseed oil. Other grains can be used instead of the puffed brown rice such as puffed millet, buckwheat or amaranth. I make a mix of oats and brown puffed rice and any additional seeds at the beginning of the week so I don’t need to make it every morning. Adding cinnamon to breakfast is a great way to sweeten cereals without adding calories. Cinnamon is also fantastic for controlling blood glucose and therefore cravings.

I like to use fruits in season, blueberries are perfect in summer and in winter you can use grated organic apple or top with some stewed rhubarb and ginger.

• 3/4 tbsp of puffed brown rice



• 3/4 tbsp of organic rolled oats



• 150 ml Bonsoy milk



• 3 tbsp of organic low fat natural yoghurt



• 4 Chopped strawberries



• Ground cinnamon



• Tbsp of unrefined brown flaxseed oil drizzled over the top