Thanks to some miracle-beyond-all-miracles, my family and I have managed not to catch the flu (yet) this year. *Knocks on every piece of wood in a five mile radius* Actually, it’s not entirely thanks to luck. Since I’m immune compromised, we’ve been doing a lot of preventative measures to try to keep this nasty, nasty bug out of our house.
We’ve stopped going to most public places, and if we do, we just deal with all the looks and wear masks. We take homemade elderberry syrup daily. We have hand sanitizer within reach at all times. And, maybe most importantly of all, we’re eating to support our immune systems. I think that probably means something different for each person, but for us, one way to do that is by eating lots and lots of anti-inflammatory herbs, spices, fruits, and veggies.
I’ve been making a batch of this Turmeric Chicken Zoodle Soup every week since early Fall, and I 100% believe it has helped keep us from catching the nastiness that’s going around. This is health in a bowl. It also happens to be paleo-friendly, AIP, and SCD. When a dish works with so many healing, therapeutic diets, you know it’s gotta be packed full of goodness—and this soup most definitely is.
The biggest change between this Chicken Zoodle Soup and my regular Chicken Noodle Soup is swapping out the wheat noodles for zucchini noodles. Now, I’m not a huge zoodle fan. No matter what tricks and tips I use, they always seem to turn out soggy and watery and just not-even-a-little bit like real noodles. But, trust me, they flat out WORK in this soup. All those problems of sogginess and wateriness are gone because, well, the noodles are soaking in bath of broth! It’s the perfect use for zucchini noodles.
Of course, I also made sure to add lots of turmeric to this dish. We talked about why turmeric is so freaking awesome back in this post, so I won’t rehash it, but basically—turmeric is super good for you, and it’s super tasty, so why not eat it whenever you can?
In the recipe, I’ve include both from-scratch (cooking from a whole chicken) and quick-and-easy (using precooked rotisserie chicken) methods. Both end up making awesome chicken zoodle soup, but like all things in the kitchen, the from-scratch method is a little bit tastier and will save you a bit of cash.
I order roasting chickens in bulk from a local farm, so we always have them stashed in the freezer. The from-scratch method is how I roll. But if you’re feeling sick and short on time? Grab yourself a rotisserie chicken and go from zero to soup in about 20 minutes. When I feel the first tickle of a sore throat, I do two things: I start taking elderberry syrup every two hours, and I make a batch of this soup. That way, I have soup in the fridge for the next few days of yuckiness (and hopefully the elderberry syrup does keep it to just a few days).
If you haven’t picked up a spiralizer yet (this is the one I have and it’s done me well), you can also make zucchini noodles two other ways. First way: use a vegetable peeler and peel long, thin, wide noodles from the zucchini. Second way: get out your knife and julienne the zucchini. Both take a little bit longer than the spiralizer, but both will definitely work! Of course, you could also just chop the zucchini into half-rounds and throw them into the soup—easy peasy.
I hope you and your family stay well this season! Enjoy.
Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric Chicken Zoodle Soup
Stay ahead of the game during cold and flu season with this Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric Chicken Zoodle Soup. It is paleo-friendly, Whole 30 compliant, AIP, and SCD. When a dish works with so many healing, therapeutic diets, you know it's gotta be packed full of goodness—and this soup most definitely is.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon ground turmeric (I buy in bulk at my local health food store)
- 2 medium onions, diced (about 3 cups worth)
- 6 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tablespoons worth)
- 3 large carrots, peeled and diced (about 2 cups worth)
- 3 large celery stalks and leaves, diced (about 2 cups worth)
- 4 cups cooked, chopped chicken (mix of white and dark meat, a rotisserie chicken works great!)
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth or chicken bone broth
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- 2 medium zucchini
Instructions
- In a large stock pot or Dutch oven (I love my Lodge Brand Dutch oven), heat the coconut oil or avocado oil over medium-high heat. Add in the turmeric and cook for about 90 seconds, just to let the flavor “bloom.”
- Add in the onions and garlic, and cook until just translucent and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the carrots and celery, and cook until the veggies just begin to soften up (no need to cook them all the way through—you’re just giving them a head start), about 10 minutes.
- Add in the chicken, broth, bay leaves, sage, rosemary, thyme, and sea salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are starting to fall apart and all the veggies are very tender. Check for seasoning, adding more salt if desired.
- While the soup is simmering, fit your spiralizer with a small noodle attachment, and spiralize the two zucchini. Using a big knife, cut the zucchini noodles into 2-3” pieces. I like to just make a big pile, and then cut through it a few times. No need to be precise about it.
- Remove the soup from heat, discard the bay leaves, add in the zucchini noodles, and stir well. The heat from the soup will “cook” the noodles enough to soften them, without them getting too soggy. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- You can also make this recipe from scratch using a whole chicken. Place a whole chicken with gizzards removed in a large stock pot, cover with water (until it’s about an inch over the chicken). Add in one quartered onion, two smashed cloves of garlic, one roughly chopped carrot, and two roughly chopped celery stalks. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and falling off the bone. Remove chicken, cool to touch, and then remove all the meat and reserve for the soup. Remove the vegetables, and use the chicken cooking water as the broth for the soup.
- No spiralizer? No problem. You can use a veggie peeler to create zucchini ribbons, or just use a sharp knife and julienne the zucchini into short noodles.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 248Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 64mgSodium: 453mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 22g
At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.
