Elina's Green Chicken Soup

Here is a recipe for an easy, hearty and very healthy soup that was created by a fellow VSG'er, Elina. This soup is especially great when your eating has become a little out of control and you need to do some damage control. Or if you feel you are consuming too many carbs and sugars this will help your body detox in a healthy and natural manor (no funky cayenne lemon drinks folks!). Many people that have had weight loss surgery like to rely on the 5 day pouch test to get their eating back on track. But there is a problem with this. I don't have a "pouch" like a gastric bypass patient, I have a sleeve. A great modification on the 5 day pouch test would be protein shakes and this delicious soup for a few days. It's filling, easy and really tasty. I also love that you can customize it however you like. I omitted the dill and zucchini, added broccoli instead of broccolini and I also added chopped green bell peppers. Add or remove whatever you like!

Green Chicken Soup

3          Large chicken boneless/skinless breasts with fat trimmed (31oz)
2          Large cans of fat free chicken broth, low sodium (49.5 oz per can)
1          Bunch of Broccolini chopped (8oz)
3          Baby Bok Choys chopped (9oz total)
4          Small zucchini chopped (10oz total)
4          Large celery stalks chopped (9oz total)
5          Medium garlic cloves chopped
½         Bunch green onions chopped (1oz)
3          Large Carrots chopped (11oz total)
1          TBSP Dill Weed chopped
½         Bunch fresh parsley chopped


In a large pot, combine all ingredients. Keep the chicken breasts whole (you’ll shred them later). Boil for about 30 minutes. Once the chicken breasts are completely cooked , remove them to cool (pull them apart a little bit  they’ll cool faster).

Meanwhile, put the vegetables and broth through a blender. (When doing this, it is a good idea to carefully pulse them in a blender with a towel around the blender lid and hold the lid firmly, as sometimes pressure can build with hot liquids in the blender. ) Then transfer the blended soup back into the large pot.

When the whole chicken breasts have cooled a bit, pull them apart by hand and shred them . They should be a little stringy when in shredded form, with no large chunks. Add the shredded chicken back into the pot. Cook for about 10 more minutes, add salt & pepper to taste and enjoy!
 

1 Cup serving:

57 calories
3 Carbs
8 protein
1 fat
1 sugar
91 sodium

* Please remember the nutritional information is approximate and will vary depending on changes to the recipe.