Paleo Chicken Minestrone Soup

When I was growing up, my family would go out for Sunday afternoon meals every week. Many of those meals would be enjoyed at Olive Garden. I loved ordering minestrone soup as my soup or salad choice. What a comforting bowl of veggies, pasta and beans (definitively not Paleo). And what's better than using a buttery, garlicky breadstick to soak up the last bit of soup?

Answer: Paleo [chicken] minestrone soup with Paleo Herb Crackers!

I can't take all the credit for creating this soup. Even though I grew up eating Olive Garden's minestrone soup, I had a Paleo version at Mmm...Coffee back in January. They were my ultimate inspiration for this soup.

Paleo Chicken Minestrone Soup
Rating: 10 clubs
Serves: 8

Ingredients:

2-3 T. olive oil or fat of choice

1 onion, diced

4 celery stalks, diced

4 carrots, diced

2 zucchini, diced

1 yellow squash, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

8 oz. sliced mushrooms

6 oz. can of tomato paste

28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

5-6 cups chicken broth (preferably homemade)

3 T. fresh basil, chopped

2 t. dried oregano (or 2 T. fresh)

2 t. dried parsley (or 2 T. fresh)

1 t. dried thyme (or 1 T. fresh)

2 – 2 ½ cups chicken, shredded

A few large handfuls of spinach

Sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Heat your fat of choice in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add onions, carrots, zucchini, squash, garlic and mushrooms to the pot. Season with sea salt and pepper. Sauté for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally (I use a wooden spoon), until veggies are tender.
3. Add the tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Mix well to distribute the tomato paste.
4. Pour in the chicken broth and mix.
5. Add in all the herbs. Mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes, stirring a few times.
6. Add the chicken and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted and chicken is warmed through, stirring frequently.
7. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
8.  Ladle into bowls and enjoy! 

Questions for today: Do you have any childhood memories of eating out with your family? What were some of the restaurants you and your family frequented? In addition to Olive Garden, we often went to Red Lobster and the MCL Cafeteria (all 5 of us could eat for $20 at the cafeteria). I have many fond memories of going out for Sunday afternoon meals with my family.

Whole30 - Day 29

I'm getting excited! Tomorrow is the 30th and final day. I cannot believe how fast this month has gone by. This last week has been the toughest part of the month since I've been sick. I really need to feel better ASAP. I am feeling better. I am healthy. I'd like to get back to my running and regular routine. I'm a Type-A personality and have a difficult time slowing down. Even when I'm sick, I probably do more than I should. That's just who I am. I like to be productive. I measure productivity in the kitchen by what I make and by checking things off my to-do lists (whether it's work or personal).

I was a little slow moving this morning due to the congestion. I took more medicine (including antibiotic). I opened up the work laptop for a couple hours just to keep on top of things. I have a few reports to run, but will need some assistance from our vendor to get them created. That phone call is on my to-do list tomorrow, along with some User Acceptance Testing in an upgraded system. Hopefully that'll take less than 2 hours, since I have quite a bit to accomplish between tomorrow and Friday. That's what happens when you get sick. It's a part of life. I may have to work a little on Friday night or the weekend to completely catch up. We shall see how productive the next two days are.

Breakfast: Egg casserole with some leftover banana-blueberry pancakes. The main ingredients were bananas, almond flour, coconut flour and eggs. I threw some blueberries into the batter, since there isn't any sugar/sweetener otherwise. I can't say these are the best pancakes in the world, but they tasted good. The blueberries were a good addition.

Lunch: Leftover chicken minestrone soup with crackers. I still need to write up the recipe for the soup.

Dinner: Chicken pot pie with an almond flour crust. I made my own filling with carrots, celery, parsnips, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach and shredded chicken with a cashew-chicken broth sauce. I used this crust recipe and loosely used this sauce, but added my own seasonings to it and used less chicken broth. I need to write up the recipe this weekend. It was fantastic! The crust fell apart a bit when I was transferring it from the counter onto the pot pie mixture, but it still tasted delicious. It would work better in small pieces to top single ramekins.

We are finishing our evening with some frozen bananas blended in the Vitamix. I topped our banana "ice cream" with sliced strawberries and raw cacao nibs. They add a nice crunch. I love my Vitamix.

We're watching the Purdue vs. Indiana basketball game, since Purdue is my alma mater. My beloved Boilermakers aren't looking so hot tonight against the Hoosiers. I still love 'em.

Well, I'm going to relax for a bit longer and then hit the hay early. I'm feeling about 70% tonight, so back to work tomorrow. Here's to hoping I feel 80% or above when I wake up tomorrow.

Whole30 - Day 27

Oh my goodness - I have survived 27 days (technically 28 days) completely sugar free (other than natural sugars found in fruit). That is the longest stretch of time without sugar that I can remember in my 28 years on this planet. I very rarely went a day without sugar. Even on Paleo, I would make dishes with honey or maple syrup (breakfast N'Oatmeals, waffles, pancakes, etc). I've always loved baking, so I would regularly bake Paleo cookies, granolas, cookie bars, etc. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I will bake Paleo goodies after this Whole30 is over. Will I make something sweet every week? No. I might bake something every other week. Even then, I will share with our neighbors and/or coworkers so we don't eat them all (because I will). 

I was home sick from work today, due to the sore throat and sinus issues I've been having since Saturday. This has nothing to do with the Paleo Lifestyle or the Whole30. In fact, this is the first time I've felt sick since converting to Paleo last June. I strongly attribute this to my severe allergies. I've been going through immunotherapy (a.k.a. allergy shots) for the last 5 weeks and haven't been able to take my nasal spray since then. It was a perfect storm inside my sinuses. 

So, my day off was pretty relaxing. I didn't really nap, but I did lie around for a while. I also sat in my recliner for a bit, browsing Pinterest and watching House Hunters International (love that show!). I did log in to my work computer for a few minutes around lunchtime. I wanted to see the damage in my inbox - 53 messages. I got through most of the emails and then logged out for the day. 

Breakfast: Baked egg casserole with a little bit of (not-so-pretty) avocado on top and a grapefruit. Yum! My favorite part was the grapefruit. 

Lunch: Leftover minestrone soup with crackers. 

Dinner: I switched my menu a little and decided to make the almond butter and strawberry burgers tonight, since I had some time to cut up my sweet potatoes (technically, they're yams) for baked fries. I followed this recipe for the burgers minus the green onions on top. I also subbed the Sunbutter for Almond Butter. If you remember, I made this recipe on my first day of Whole30, except with blackberries. I prefer the strawberries, but both are delicious. 

I love burgers. I think they may be one of my favorite foods. Burgers are so versatile. You can use a variety of meats, add mix-ins (such as veggies, garlic, seasonings, chilies, eggs, nutritional yeast, almond flour), cook them in different ways and add various toppings. We don't have a BBQ grill readily available, so I cook my burgers inside on the stove. 

Question: What is your favorite way to eat a burger? Do you have any crazy and delicious combinations? 

Whole30 - Day 26

Happy Monday morning! 

I am sitting here at home, still under the weather. I'm afraid my throat is still sore, but I don't feel the soreness as much because 1) I have gotten used to it and/or 2) My throat is coated with a layer of mucus. Yes, I know, too much information. I feel like my chest is heavy, yet I don't feel stuffiness when I take deep breaths. I'm not sure what the deal is. I've done a sinus rinse two days in a row now. Yes, I took the plunge. I was hesitant, even though my allergy doctor gave me one to test out. Looks like I'll need to go to the drug store to buy more of the saline packets. I did the saline rinse last night before bed. Bad idea! I was lying in bed and could barely breathe because of the drainage. It was going down my throat and into my nostrils. That's fun. I lied there for over an hour trying to sleep. Thank goodness for giant handkerchiefs to get you through the night. I'm certain it's my sinuses at this point. My head and ears are definitely feeling clogged. I really hope this improves today. 

So, it seems like when a woman is sick, she still does chores/cooks. I had food prep that needed to get done, so I spent time in the kitchen in the morning. I accomplished a lot, but it definitely didn't help the cause. I probably tired myself out even more. I cleaned and chopped veggies, made a breakfast casserole for the week and cooked a whole chicken in the Crock Pot. The chicken was so easy. I sliced one onion for the bottom. Next time, I will include carrots and celery too. I put the whole chicken on the onions and seasoned it with sea salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried onions. It cooked for 5 hours on high. The chicken just fell off the bones when I took it out. I saved the bones and cooking liquid to make chicken broth for the chicken minestrone soup (last night's dinner). Yum! 

Midday, I took a break to run with my husband. I read online that running can sometimes be a positive thing. I actually ended up running really slowly and only did 3.6 miles (my husband did 10.8!). I had very little energy in my body. I was happy to finish one neighborhood loop. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of time before my half marathon, so I feel like I'm up against a wall. It looks like my weekend long runs will be longer than scheduled, just to get myself ready in time. I've run nine (maybe more) stand-alone half marathons and two half marathons as part of Ironman 70.3 races. My body will remember when race day comes, but I would prefer to be conditioned properly. 

Wow, I'm exhausted just reading that. By spending a few extra minutes on the weekend to prep for the week, it saves a huge amount of time when getting home from work and trying to get dinner on the table at a reasonable time. 

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with sliced beef hot dogs, zucchini, mushrooms and red bell peppers with diced avocado on top and a Pure Wrap on the side. I love making little breakfast tacos out of the Pure Wraps. I sipped on some Cranberry Kombucha throughout the morning. I was hoping the probiotics would help me. 

Lunch: I'm so happy for leftovers. We had beef stew from a few days ago. I did cook up some cauliflower (very small pieces) in a bit of coconut oil. I got distracted, so it didn't get stirred enough and burned a bit. It still tasted fine, but that's the black specks you see in the beef stew. We also ate our leftover Paleo "Corn" Bread. 

Dinner: I put together some chicken minestrone soup. It was inspired by Mmm...Coffee's minestrone soup that we ate on Thursday. I've made vegetarian minestrone (with beans) in my Pre-Paleo days and loved it. After the inspiration from Jami at Mmm...Coffee, I knew it couldn't be hard to put together a Paleo version. Recipe will be posted later (post-Whole30). While the soup was cooking, I made another batch of Paleo crackers. We ate a bit of freshly-cut pineapple on the side (they were on sale for $1 each last week!). The pineapple was quite sweet and a perfect ending to the meal. 

I'm hoping to get back on track and post today's meals before going to bed tonight. Hope you're all having a good start to your week. 

Question: Can you believe it's almost February?! Where did the time go?