Chicken and Kale Soup

I LOVE this immunity-boosting turmeric chicken soup and make it often!  Click HERE for the original recipe.  Below is my take on the soup.

1 Tablespoon avocado or olive oil

1 onion - diced

4 large carrots, peeled and diced (I like them small)

1 large parsnip, peeled and diced (I like them small)

3 stalks of celery, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 to 2 pounds boneless chicken thighs (can use breasts, but I like dark meat better), chopped (I like them small)

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1 1/2 inch (ish) of fresh turmeric, finely grated (can use 1 teaspoon of dried turmeric)

1 inch (ish) of fresh ginger, finely grated (can use 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (more if your bone broth isn't salted) - to taste

4 cups chicken bone broth

2 cups water

1 can full-fat canned coconut milk

1 head kale, chopped (remove the leaves from the stalk)

Heat the oil in a large stock pot.  Add onions and sauté until translucent - stirring occasionally.  Add the carrots, parsnips, celery, and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes - stirring occasionally.  Add chicken and cook until the meat is browned.  Add spices, broth, water, and coconut milk.  Cook at a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, for at least 30 minutes (up to one hour).  In last 10 minutes of cooking, toss in the kale, stir, and finish cooking.  Add more salt if needed.  

Enjoy!!

Elderberry Juice

Elderberry is a great supplement for cold and flu season...and sure couldn't hurt anything right now!  It is easy and cheaper to make my own.  There are recipes that get the juice to more of a syrup, but this is my favorite, go-to recipe (a combination of a couple of different recipes that my lovely aunt first concocted).  

In a pot combine:

1 1/3 cups dried elderberries (I buy them on Amazon)

7 cups water

1 T whole cloves (I put them in a tea ball and drop it in)

2-3 cinnamon sticks

1 T fresh ginger (I like to grate it)

Optional - 12 oz fresh blackberries (I don’t always add these…just if there is a good sale)

Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for one hour.  

Remove from heat and let cool enough to be handled.  Remove the cinnamon sticks.

Mash the mixture with a spoon or flat utensil through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl or jar. 

Discard or compost what remains in the strainer (or if you have a husband like mine who likes to eat the elderberries, add it to some plain yogurt with a little honey and he's set for breakfast for a few days!).  

Add up to 2 cups  agave or honey (I use agave because I’m allergic to honey) to remaining liquid and stir well.  I usually just squeeze and stir until it feels about right.  So sometimes it is sweeter than other times, depending on my mood!

Store in the fridge in a container that is easy to pour from...I love these glass bottles that I have from other supplements and save them for using for elderberry juice. 

I give our littles (age 3 and 5) 1 teaspoon per day and all the big people get 1 tablespoon per day.  

If a cold or flu begins, you can take the normal dose up to once every 2 to 3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms stop and hopefully it will help shorten the duration of the illness. 

*I have no idea how this is against other viruses (such as Covid-19) and this is not intended as medical advice...if you are ill please contact your doctor and not the beans blog!  For me and my family, anything that might boost our immune system or give it a fighting chance, seems like a good thing to do - but use your own wisdom to decide what is right for you and your family.  Cheers to 2020 turning a corner to a healthier year!