Spicy Asian Chicken Soup

This healthy soup can be prepared in just 20 minutes, and it makes a great lunch. I made a big batch on Sunday, and it was enough for 3 lunches. Making lunch on Sunday is a nice way to get ahead for the week, and if you pack all your lunches ahead of time, it saves time, and you won’t be tempted to go out to lunch during the week. Right now, I am able to go home for lunch since we live across the street from my office, so I only make and pack lunch for Charles. Starting next month, I will be packing my own lunch too.

Earlier in the year Charles and I tried the Paleo Diet for 6 weeks, and we both lost weight. Often people ask me if we are still eating paleo (which involves cutting out eating diary, sugar, and carbs) and we do most of the time when we cook at home. Charles lost 13 pounds in 6 weeks, and we believe that this is because he was eating packed lunches from home instead of going out to eat for lunch. It makes a big difference, and he has continued to bring lunch to work.

This soup recipe is paleo, and incredibly healthy since it is has lots of vegetables and lean protein. You can add any vegetables you want to this meal. We change it up every week. You can add pasta or rice if you want to make the soup a bit more filling. You can use the quick and easy method of making soup to make any type of chicken soup.

You will need:
1 (24 ounce) carton of Chicken Broth
2 Chicken Breasts
1 cup Mushrooms (I used Buna Shimeji)
1 Bell Pepper
4 Serrano Peppers
1 Bok Choy

Step 1:
Bring the broth to a boil. Cut each chicken breast into 3 equally sized pieces (this is just so they will cook faster). Add the chicken to the boiling broth and cook for 5-6 minutes, until no longer pink in the center.

Step 2:
While the chicken cooks, clean and chop the stems off the mushrooms. Slice the peppers and boo choy into small thin strips. I sliced the serrano peppers into small round circles, keeping the seeds in to add a little spice. Keep the boo choy separate (it cooks fastest and needs to be added to the soup last).

Step 3:
Once the chicken is fully cooked, use a fork to remove it from the broth, set it aside and let it cool.

Step 4:
Add the mushrooms and peppers to the bubbling broth and cook for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, dice or shred the chicken.

Step 5:
Add the chicken and bok choy to the soup, and cook for 2 minutes. Then either serve the soup, or let it cool and pack it up for lunch.