Superfood Chicken Vegetable Soup

This recipe uses a whole chicken. I find that’s one of the most cost-effective ways to be able to eat organic chicken.  It also gives me the option of mincing the giblets. Adding giblets to chicken soup has been the simplest way for me to make sure my family benefits from organ meats on a regular basis.

Serves 10-12

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 large white or yellow onions
• 7 stalks celery
• 1 whole ~3.5 pound chicken, preferably organic and with giblets
• 8 cups filtered water
• 8 large carrots
• 2 medium zucchinis
• One 10-ounce bag of cubed butternut squash
• 4 tablespoons Celtic sea salt
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2½ tablespoons dried basil
• 2½ tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions

1. Chop the onion and celery and place in a large (8 quart) soup pot.  Add filtered water to the pot.
2. Remove your whole chicken from the wrapper. If there are giblets inside, remove them from the body cavity.
3. Add the whole chicken, 3 tablespoons salt, and bay leaves to the pot. The chicken should be breast-side up and nestled down into the water. If there are giblets, feel free to add them for extra flavor.
4. Bring the pot to a low simmer. Put a lid on the pot and set the heat to maintain a simmer. This will need to simmer for about 45 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked.
5. Meanwhile, peel and chop the carrots. Mince the garlic.
6. Once the chicken is fully cooked, carefully remove it from the pot and place it in a bowl to cool. (Also remove the neck and gizzard if you added those in.)
7. Add the carrots, butternut squash, garlic, basil, and parsley to the pot.  Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring the pot back to a simmer.
8. Slice the zucchinis. Once the carrots have simmered for about 15 minutes, add the zucchini to the pot.
9. Meanwhile, separate the chicken meat from the bones. It works well to pull off the thighs and separate the breasts to allow these to cool quicker. Once the chicken has cooled, pull the meat and skin off the chicken carcass. Set the bones and any chewy bits/tendons aside; if desired, use them to start a pot of broth cooking after dinner. Chop the chicken and skin into bite-sized pieces.
10. Optional: Chop the chicken heart and liver into tiny bits. Kitchen shears and a bowl work very well for this. Once the vegetables are fully cooked, turn off the heat and stir the liver/heart into the pot. This will allow them to cook gently for a few minutes to maintain most of their nutrition.
11. Stir the chicken meat/skin back into the pot. Taste test the broth and adjust the salt as needed. Ladle into bowls and serve! If desired, add a scoop of nutrient-dense white rice or noodles to each bowl.

Reprinted from www.nourishedandnurturedlife.com.

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sarah R. Smith is Vice President of the Raw Milk Institute. She is also a homeopathic practitioner and homeschooling mother of two teens. Since 2011, Sarah has written about real food and health on her website (nourishedandnurturedlife.com). As a homeopath, she works with children and adults to heal acute and chronic imbalances, leading to healthier, happier lives. Formerly, Sarah worked as a NASA Aerospace Engineer for a decade, prior to shifting her focus to health and wellness.

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Published in the Journal of Health and Healing™
Winter 2024-25 | Volume 48, Number 4
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