Creamy Chicken, Tomato, and Vegetable Soup
Oct 11, 2018
This nourishing and satisfying creamy chicken and vegetable soup is one of my favorites.
Sometimes life takes a turn and you end up in a place you never even imagined. That’s what happened to me. In 2008 I suddenly developed hives from the neck up that wouldn’t go away. My hair began falling out. I became very depressed and spent many days in bed with ice packs on my face because my skin was burning, red and peeling.
I spent nine months going from doctor to doctor without anyone really listening to me or running tests. I finally found a doctor who listened, ran the required tests and in the spring of 2009 diagnosed me with an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.
The doctor’s prognosis was unsatisfying: I could take medicine to potentially manage my symptoms, but my thyroid would eventually stop working and I’d be on medications for the rest of my life. I decided to look for another path.
Years ago, I overcame chronic migraines, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and eczema by switching to unprocessed foods, so I called a highly recommended nutritionist and asked for her help with my new health issue. She helped me understand that when the body is taxed, grains and processed foods can cause inflammation. By removing the offending foods, I could let my body rest and encourage recovery.
This new path required a dedication to changing my diet unlike anything I’d experienced before. I couldn’t cheat at all – just one dose of gluten could have caused my body to start attacking itself again! I omitted all processed foods, grains and most sugars. I was allowed to eat small amounts of traditionally prepared fermented soy, though.
So what did I eat? I ate a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids from pastured meats, healthy fats, eggs, unprocessed dairy (I never had an issue with unprocessed dairy, and in fact, it had a very positive effect on my recovery), seeds, nuts, lots of vegetables, small amounts of natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup.
It sounds extreme; it felt extreme, too! I was determined to reverse my disease, though. Once I got going, it wasn’t as hard as I’d anticipated. More importantly, my hives eventually went away (I haven’t had any since November of 2009), my hair grew back, my disease is in full remission and I can now spend time with my family and friends. Changing my diet helped me get my life back!
Nourishing soups were the backbone of my diet for many years. My Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Soup is one of my favorites. It keeps in the refrigerator for a few days and you can easily pack some in an insulated thermos for a hot lunch.
Creamy Chicken, Tomato and Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, or palm shortening for a dairy-free option
- 4 large carrots, chopped
- 1 large leek, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 2 teaspoons Celtic sea salt, divided
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
- 4 cups chicken stock, homemade preferred
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 24-ounce jar crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, or canned coconut milk for a dairy-free option
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large pot. Add carrots, leek, celery, and garlic. Stir. Cover pot and reduce heat to low. Cook for 30 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and 1 teaspoon sea salt to pot. Stir and cook for 10 minutes.
- Stir in Italian seasoning and cook for 1 minute.
- Add stock, chicken, tomatoes, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
- Remove chicken from pot, chop into bite-size pieces and add back to the soup. Pour in cream and season to taste. Serve.
Nutrition
Could you also just throw everything (chicken already cut up) in the crock pot? I love having dinner ready and waiting for me when I get home.
Made this last night and we loved it! I had the benefit of using home grown leeks, carrots and tomatoes from my garden too.
Soup sound delish. In your story you said that you switch to unprocessed dairy. Where do you get your dairy and is it the same as raw dairy.
James – Yes, this is the same as raw dairy. I’m in FL and there is a local farm that I purchase dairy from. To find a farm in your area, here’s a great site: http://www.realmilk.com
Ooooh! This sounds great!! Making it this weekend!! Thank you!
I am soooo making this. Soup is my favorite dinner.
This is an FYI for anyone wondering about nutrition information. Anytime I have a recipe that does not include the info., I go to the site recipes.sparkpeople.com. There is a tab on the home page for the Nutrition Calculator. You enter the ingredients (they have a huge database of common and brand-name foods), enter the servings, and all of the nutrition information pops right up!
That’s so awesome. I remember manually doing that math in college when I was cooking and counting calories – such a pain!
Pinning for this weekend…nothing says fall like homemade soup!
Karen,
I got this from a friend on facebook and it looks delicious! I also have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (have for over a decade and taking levothyroixine to control it) and have had unexplained hives (I’m currently taking a daily antihistamine to keep them at bay). I want to get drug free like you have, but don’t know where to start. Can you help me?
Thanks so much!
I’m so sorry to hear of your health issues. I know how frustrating Hashimoto’s and hives can be. I’m not a practitioner, so I can’t give specific advice, but I can tell you what I would do if I were in your shoes. 🙂 I would look into a grain-free, nutrient-dense diet. My nutritionist taught me that all grains can aggravate the thyroid when you struggle with thyroid disease, so cutting them out is a great idea. Here’s a link to my grain-free recipes on my site: http://deliciouslyorganic.net/category/index-categories/grain-free-2/ I know grain-free sounds daunting, but once you get started, it’s really not that difficult! 🙂 And, not to try and sell you on anything, but my next cookbook is the one where I put everything in there I could think of to teach people how to start reducing inflammation and begin healing from disease. I’m offering a free 3-month meal plan… Read more »
Sounds really good! wondering if you have any of the nutrition info available! THANKS!
Karen – I don’t have them, but I know there is cooking software that you can enter recipes into and it will give you the nutritional info.
My fitness pal will give you recipe nutrition break down.
I’ve been following Carrie for the past couple of years and she is SUCH an inspiration to me. This soup looks amazing! Pinned to my soup board for cooking VERY soon 🙂