Slow Cooker Paleo Chicken Soup

Winter is in full swing here in Connecticut and the weather is only getting worse. There’s practically nowhere left to push the snow. Meanwhile temperatures are dropping like girls’ panties to Tom Brady after the Patriots Superbowl win.

Remember when your mom would give you chicken soup when you were sick? Why chicken soup? And why only when you’re sick? Well, it’s packed with easily digestible lean protein, gut-healing gelatin, aromatic vegetables, and warm broth to fill your soul with comfort and smiles. Yeah, this soup fills you with smiles. My mom would always whip up a batch of chicken soup if someone got sick or even just to start the winter season. I think she still does… Ma, you reading this? How much chicken soup you got goin’ on over there?

This is a gluten free and grain free recipe, too. That means this chicken soup doesn’t have traditional noodles or, pastina like many Italians may add. It’s perfectly clean and will clear out your cold while soothing your digestive distress. Best of both worlds if you ask an ulcerative colitis person with a cold.

As the winter months approach I always like to stock up on soups and easy warm comfort meals. The holidays can get really busy. So if you have errands to run AND you catch a cold the last thing you want to do is cook a meal. Make a huge batch of soup and reheat it when you’re hungry!

If I catch a cold (which is very rare since I began paleo) my ulcerative colitis says, “oh, you’re getting sick? Here, let me flare up so your whole body won’t function!”. And boom… my immune system crashes.

There’s no better cold remedy than a hot bowl of paleo chicken soup straight out of the crockpot.

Ingredients:

• 6 carrots
• 5 stems celery, chopped in rings
• 4 pound free-range chicken
• 2 large white or yellow onion
• 2 garlic clove
• 3 liters water (approximate)
• 1 liter vegetable or chicken stock (approximate)
• Salt & pepper to taste  (omit pepper for AIP)
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 sprigs thyme

Directions:

1. First, roughly chop half the amount of veggies: 2 celery sticks, 3 carrots, 1 onion, 1 garlic clove. Roughly chopped in half is fine. You only need them to line the bottom of the slow cooker. 
2. Next, place the chicken ontop of the veggies in the slow cooker. You may season the bird with salt & pepper or other favorite seasonings. Fill with water and cover.
3. Let cook on high for about 4-5 hours
4. Once cooked, remove the bird and set aside to cool. Skim out all the veggies and discard them… for the family pet or save them to add to another broth.
   Keep the broth! This is packed with flavor and healing nutrients needed for the soup.
5. When the bird is cool enough to handle, remove all the meat from the bones. Shred and/or chop the meat back into the slow cooker.
6. Chop the rest of the unused vegetables: 1 onion, 3 carrots, 3 celery stalks, 1 garlic clove. Add them to the slow cooker with the meat. Then add more chicken broth to fill up the crockpot. You can use water instead, but your soup may not have as much concentrated flavor. Lastly, throw in your fresh thyme and bay leaf. Let summer on low for another 4 hours.

Remember to remove the bay leaf and thyme stems before serving.

Store some of the batch in freezer friendly containers. That way you won’t have to make a whole other pot of soup the next time you feel under the weather.

MANGIA!

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