Turmeric Bone Broth Chicken Soup
Growing up my mom would call my grandma's chicken soup penicillin. One cup of her soup and whatever was ailing you was magically gone. Turns out there's actually science to back that up. So when I happened upon this turmeric chicken soup at my favorite local juice bar, True Juice, I was inspired by this idea of making healthy food even healthier. I added bone broth plus the turmeric to make this chicken soup a superfood on some sort of natural steroids.
Curcurmin, the healing compound in turmeric, has been found to reduce inflammation, lessen pain, even moods, prevent blood clotting, reverse certain cancers, stabilize blood sugar and manage digestive issues. Dosing the powder you may want to have 1-2 tsps a day. It is recommended to have it with black pepper to aid in absorption. Another doc I followed, Dr. Josh Axe, recommends this one to take. As always, though, talk to your doc before taking any supplements. Personally I don't supplement curcurmin, so I welcome any opportunity to get it in my diet.
Bone broth, slow simmered organic bones for over 24 hours, contains high amounts of proteins and minerals and has been shown to improve connective tissue and digestive health. Since I'm not a fan of leaving anything on, even at a simmer or in a slow cooker, for 24 hours, I prefer to buy my bone broth.
For this recipe, though, I simply simmered a whole roaster chicken for about four hours. That alone can be intimidating for any home cook, but it's super easy and gives the soup a richer flavor. While many of the chicken bones broke down easily after four hours, it still doesn't qualify as real bone broth, if you're getting technical. Either way, Grandma would be proud!
Ingredients
1 organic whole roaster chicken, remove giblets
3 32oz cartons of organic chicken broth or bone broth
6 washed carrots, don't peel them - there's nutrients on the outside of the carrot!
4 stalks of celery
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1 T olive oil
1 T turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Chop 3 carrots in 1/4" rounds.
Chop 2 stalks of celery.
Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat.
Add carrots, celery, onions and 1/2 tsp salt, sauté for roughly 5 minutes.
Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Add whole chicken (No need to risk spreading bacteria by rinsing the chicken. The boiling water will do the trick.)
Add 2 cartons of broth and as much as you need from the third carton to cover the chicken. If legs pop up above the water, don't worry. I rotate the chicken throughout cooking.
Bring to a slow rolling boil for about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for about 4 hours, less is fine, but longer tastes better. Rotating chicken several times if necessary.
Skim foam off top periodically.
Remove chicken and any remaining pieces that have broken off. Let cool.
Strain broth through a fine mesh sieve to remove veggies and chicken "bits". Add broth back to pot. Let sit for 30-60 minutes.
Skim fat off top of broth.
Add turmeric and stir. I brought out my emulsifier to blend broth.
Dice remaining carrots and celery in even pieces and add to broth. Heat on medium.
Shred chicken and add to broth. Cook for about 30 minutes until veggies are cooked yet still crunchy.
Salt and pepper to taste.
TIME: 5-6 hours
SERVES: 8
HEARTFUL RECIPE - One of our real food recipes that focuses on veggies, protein, healthy fats and/or healthy carbs and doesn't include gluten, dairy, soy, refined sugar, corn or peanuts.
