Chicken Tortilla Soup

Whether you’re bundled up on a cool winter day or nearing the end of summer and looking for a refreshing soup, this recipe is perfect for any occasion.

It’s packed with all kinds of nutrients found in bone broth, turmeric, tomatoes, squash, and zucchini. It’s delicious, nutritious, easy to make, and great for leftovers.

Check it out!

Ingredients:

• 2 -3 raw chicken breasts
• *1 medium squash
• *1 medium zucchini
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• *1 -2 cups of cooked lentils
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can mild rotel
• 1 can mild enchilada sauce
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups bone broth
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 1 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, garlic powder
• 3 tsp taco seasoning
• Toppings: Avocado, shredded mozzarella cheese, cilantro, lime, and tortilla chips

*Ingredients can always be swapped out! Winter squash fan? Swap out the summer squash for your favorite winter squash! Don’t like lentils? add a cup of quinoa or brown rice. Only have black beans? Swap it out!

Directions

1. Place raw chicken breast in a crockpot with 2 cups chicken broth (enough to cover chicken), on low heat for 6 – 8 hours. *In the morning (saves a step while cooking later)
2. Slice squash & zucchini into round slices, then further into fourths.
3. Dice onion
4. In a large pot, add squash, zucchini, onions, 1 tbsp olive oil and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes
5. While veggies are cooking (stir every 1-2 minutes), drain the cooked chicken from liquid and begin to shred into small pieces.
6. Once veggies are sautéed, add bone broth, 2 cups chicken broth, beans, rotel, enchilada sauce, lentils, turmeric, salt, pepper, garlic, and taco seasoning.
7. Mix ingredients and let simmer on medium heat for 10 – 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
8. Top with shredded cheese, a few avocado slices, cilantro, and enjoy with tortilla chips!

Behind the Ingredients:

This meal provides a great balance of carbohydrates (from the beans, lentils, squash), fat (from the oil, cheese, avocado), and protein (from the chicken, beans, lentils).

Turmeric – You may have heard about this golden spice, most commonly used in curry. It’s been used since ancient times and has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties and anti-oxidative properties. The secret to this spice is that it’s best if consumed with pepper, other spices, and fat. Combining pepper and turmeric can increase its bioavailability in the body by 20 fold.

Squash is actually considered a fruit, but I like to call them vegetables because that sounds better in soup! Most varieties of squash are rich in vitamins C, A, and carotenoids. These nutrients help protect against certain cancers, heart disease, support eye function, and health, and keep the immune system strong.

Lentils have about 9 grams of protein and 20 grams of carbohydrates per serving, along with a moderate amount of fiber. Because of the protein content in these legumes, it’s not necessary to pack this meal with large amounts of meat – which is why I suggested only 2 – 3 chicken breasts.

Bone Broth is a great source of vitamins and minerals, such as calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. It also contains trace amount of vitamin A & K, the minerals selenium, iron and a few others. Many people don’t get enough of these nutrients in their diet, so consuming bone broth along with fruits and vegetables is a great way to get more!

All of these animal parts also contain the protein collagen, which turns into gelatin when cooked and yields several important amino acids. This source of collagen has also been linked to having protective effects for joints.

Unfortunately, because every batch of bones is different, it’s impossible to know the exact amount of each nutrient contained in the broth.

That’s all I’ve got! Thanks for joining today, I hope you enjoy this recipe.