All-In Chicken Soup #SoupSwappers

This month, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm kicks off her new group: Soup Saturday Swappers. And our January theme is Healthy Soup Options. Sounds like the perfect way to start off the year.

Wendy wrote: "Since so many of us resolve each year to start living a more healthy lifestyle, let's help each other meet our goal by posting our favorite, healthy soup recipe. Perhaps it is a lightened version of a classice favorite or a creamy soup that contains no cream or a hearty soup chock full of vegetables. Whatever it is that helps you in your goal to eat nutritously, healthily and deliciously."

I'm not sure how I want to consider this healthy. I think it qualifies in a multitude of ways: (1) I can identify and pronounce all of the ingredients - unlike some canned soups; (2) it includes a ton of veggies; (3) there is no added salt; (4) there is no added oil; and (5) when we eat it, we just feel healthier. It's my go-to soup for when my family is under the weather. A steaming bowl of this on the table makes us all smile.

I'm calling it my 'All-In' Chicken Soup because I just added all of the veggies in my bin. And for those who are following my blog and know that I'm currently on a Whole30 Adventure, note that this is not compliant. I made this for the household before I kicked off the Whole30. So, if you are following Whole30, just skip the rice and add in cubed potatoes instead!

Ingredients

• 1 whole organic chicken
• water
• 2 C diced organic celery
• 1 C diced organic white onion
• 2 C diced organic carrots
• 2 C thinly sliced organic chard
• 2 C thinly sliced crimini mushrooms
• 1/2 C fresh herbs (I used parsley, thyme, and oregano)
• 2 C rice (I used Thai jasmine rice)
• lemon wedges for serving

Procedure
Place chicken in a large souppot. Fill the pot with water, making sure that the chicken is covered by, at least, 2" of water. Bring the water to a boil. Cover and cook for an hour. Add in the celery, onions, and carrots. Cook for another 30 minutes. By this point, the chicken meat should be tender and falling off the bone. Gently remove the chicken from the pot and place in a colander over a bowl.

Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones. Separate the meat from the bones and shred into bite-sized pieces. Reserve the bones. I use the bones again to make another stock for soup!

Place the rice in the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until tender, approximately 30 minutes. Stir in the chicken, mushrooms, and chard. Cook until the chard is just wilted. Fold in the herbs. Ladle into individual serving bowls. Serve hot with a lemon wedge.

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