Chicken & Lime Soup

I know we're exiting the cold weather time when soup is the choice of meal for dinner, but I just had to share this! It was DELICIOUS!! My awesome cousin, Brittnee of Journey to Fitness with a Jogging Stroller, shared this recipe with me!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1-2 carrot, peeled & sliced

1-2 stalks of celery, diced

2+ cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp fresh, minced ginger (I would use less if you aren't a ginger fan)

1/4 tsp cumin

salt & pepper to taste

6 cups chicken stock/broth

1-2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded 

2 tbsp cilantro, chipped

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Juice of 6-10 limes

Directions:

1. In a pot, saute onion, carrot, and celery in olive oil for until soft & starting to brown.

2. Add ginger, cumin, salt & pepper and saute for another 1-2 minutes.

3. Add chicken broth and bring to boil. Reduce & simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Add chicken, cilantro, vinegar, and lime juice and simmer for 5-10 more minutes

Yummy Rating (1 being the worst & 10 being the best/closest to traditional recipe): 9

Why? The original recipe calls for 1 chopped jalapeño...seeing as how I can't have them, but LOVE spicey things, I can imagine this recipe would be even BETTER with a jalapeño! I also shredded the chicken TOO much and it was just a weird texture. Overall, this is was a PHENOMENAL soup recipe! 

Carrot & Sweet Potato "Chili"

We have been having an abnormally chilly end to our March, so I started craving a chili. I scavenged Pinterest & other websites for any sort of recipe that falls within my regulations that resembles chili.

I found this recipe for Carrot & Sweet Potato Chili. The problem I run into, is when I think of Chili, I think of spicy. Unfortunately, at this time I have no type of peppers (jalepeños, chili peppers, red peppers, etc.) in my diet. I decided to try this out.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 cup carrots, cut into large chunks
2 cup sweet potatoes (not yams), cut into large chunks
2 cups chicken stock/broth
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 pounds grass-fed ground beef
1 avocados
cilantro for garnish (optional)

Heat your coconut oil in the bottom of a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring. Add the carrots and sweet potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, or until gently browned. Add the stock/broth and sea salt and bring to a boil, cover and then simmer for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Meanwhile, cook the ground beef in a skillet until thoroughly cooked throughout and browned. Set aside. When the vegetables are finished, add the ground beef and stir to combine. Continue cooking for another 15 minutes covered at a simmer. Serve each bowl garnished with avocado slices and fresh parsley.

Yummy Rating (1 being the worst & 10 being the best/closest to traditional recipe): 3 

Why? I'm not a fan of plain ground beef -- I like to spice it up. I ate 1 bowl of this, and did not eat any leftovers. It lacked flavor, in my opinion. Brian, on the other hand, who does like plain meat, would likely rate this recipe around 5-6. Because I'm such a picky eater, I probably will not make this again.

Did you try this? What do you think? Do you have any autoimmune pale/RepairVite diet approved chili recipes?