Thyme and Again Chicken Soup

Despite the beautiful weather we’ve been having I found myself with the sniffles today. Nothing to slow me down any, in fact I did get some exercise running for a tissue more than once. Getting up at night to nurse the baby is definitely worth missing out on some sleep, but I guess it’s not as restorative and immune system boosting as a solid 8 hours. Not to mention that there might be a little stress from having a contractor do some work on the house, which we are putting on the market in five days (yikes!), and all the little things I need to do to have the house worthy to show to potential buyers, on top of the normal day to day activity that comes with a 3 year old and an 8 month old. Oh, did I mention that my husband has been out of the country and won’t be back until the day the house goes on the market? Yep, I can always count on the Marine Corps for the best timing.

Nevertheless, I woke up in a good mood and we baked some homemade wheat bread (which is delicious and so soft and really needs its own post one day) and then baked some butternut squash to use the next few days. So when 4 o’clock rolled around, I was seriously debated taking the girls to go grab something quick to eat. By then I had realized that my startling sneezes (yes, I made both girls jump with my sneezes) were more than just allergies. Then I decided that a little chicken soup might make me feel much better. So I pulled out a package of chicken breast from the freezer and surveyed the fridge to see what we had. Not much. Especially since I put off grocery shopping for another day. I swear I’m going tomorrow. But I like to keep things simple anyways, so I pulled together just a few ingredients, and, I’m not kidding you, this was the best chicken soup I’ve ever made. And it was easy, which is a must if I’m even entertaining the idea of cooking. I will be making this time and time again. Which is why I got cute and named it Thyme and Again Chicken Soup. I think I’m clever; you may call it something else.

I encourage you to keep this simple. The ingredients I have here are a great base, the seasoning was perfect. Add in whatever vegetables you have on hand. I really wanted to throw in some kale but I was out. This is definitely not a recipe to try to stick exactly to my measurements (to be honest I didn’t exactly measure everything out). The thyme is what gives this soup such great flavor; you won’t need more than a little salt and pepper in it. Now I’m sure I’ll be feeling so much better tomorrow because I ate two bowls of this. And maybe I’ll get some sleep. Or maybe not.

Thyme and Again Chicken Soup

32 ounces chicken broth
2 chicken breasts
1 onion
4 whole cloves garlic
2 cups carrots
1 tablespoon Thyme (more or less to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

Pour the broth into a large pot, bring to a boil and add chicken breast. Mine was still frozen, so I plopped it in whole. I peeled off the outer layer of the onion, cut it into four pieces and threw that in. No need to chop it up into little pieces, it cooked down so much that it wasn’t overpowering to get a large piece in a bite. Add the whole garlic cloves…again, you don’t need to waste time cutting and chopping when the flavor will come through just as well.

It’s all about saving time when you’ve got two little ones! Chop the carrots into large chunks and add to boiling pot. Add the seasoning and cover. When the chicken is fully cooked, take it out and cut into chunks if you haven’t already. Return to pot, turn heat to low and recover.

Let simmer for about 30 minutes and you’re ready to eat. So simple, so easy.

And I bet you’ll make this thyme and again. ;)

Pineapple Date Balls

I couldn’t decide what to call these and I’m not sure what category of “treat” they would fall under. But they are really easy to make, you don’t have to bake them, and they’re delicious. They’re also vegan, raw, gluten free, dairy free, with no added sugar and made with whole foods. Did I mention it’ll only take you about ten minutes to make? And while if you eat five servings of these the calories will add up, they are a healthy alternative to cookies, candy and granola bars. They do travel well, so if you‘re packing lunch or snacks to go these are easy to bring along. And I promise they taste better than they look!

Now, I have been known to try new healthy recipes to replace “normal” not so healthy things, and sometimes they turn out great (like these) and sometimes they don’t. At all. And sometimes I like them and nobody else does. So I need to test my creations on people who eat “normal” food. My husband is a really good sport about tasting what I make and will give me an honest, but nice, review. He says these are “addicting” so I’ll take that as a compliment. I also brought some to a friend who also has a 3 year old (they eat “normal” food). They both really liked them and she’s been bugging me for the recipe. So, add this to the fact that Joy and I were eating them as we were making them, I think I found a winner.

Pineapple Date Balls

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups almonds
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups dried pineapple, chopped
2 cups pitted dates
1/3 cup and ¼ cup shredded coconut (you can buy unsweetened coconut at health food stores if you can't find it at your local grocery store)

Directions:
In a food processor, blend almonds and salt until it’s a fine powder. Slowly add the chopped pineapple and dates and blend until it's really well processed. It will start to get sticky as you process it.

Place it in a large bowl and mix in the vanilla and 1/3 cup of the coconut. Use a spoon and roll the “dough” into balls. Then roll in ¼ cup coconut. Place on parchment paper.

They’ll last over a week in the fridge (although they were so good they only lasted about a day and a half in our fridge!).

For 24 servings, Per serving: 131 calories, 6g protein, 21g carbohydrates, 5g fat, 15g sugar, and 11% of your dietary fiber

This recipe is from Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen by Ani Phyo. In it, the recipe is called “Dreaming About Donut Holes” but they don’t taste like donuts to me, so I went with Pineapple Date Balls. Not sure if it’s appetizing, but I felt it’s more accurate!