Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Paleo, Soy Free
Serves: 6
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Description

This dish is the perfect winter fix and is such a great way to get all your vegetables eaten in one place.

Comfortably warming and soothing, this stew contains rosemary and thyme, two fragrant herbs that infuse flavour and deliciousness into each bite.

If you are wondering what to pair this dish with, a serving option is to enjoy this stew with a small side portion of homemade mashed potatoes and some garden peas. Or simply enjoy it on its own.

There’s always that old saying that chicken stew is what everybody needs to help fight off a cold. Since our immunity, mood, hormones and stress are all influenced by what we eat, you can be sure that this recipe gives you the ingredients you need to be on your way to health and happiness:

• Chicken – eating protein at meal times can help to regulate appetite. The way that this works is because protein is the most effective macronutrient to promote satiety, which is that feeling of fullness that terminates a meal (Morell et al. 2017). Keeping your hunger at bay is the best way to ensure you aren’t craving lots of sugary snacks throughout the day.
• Coconut oil – coconut oil is hailed as a superfood by many, and rightly so. Its properties include its antibacterial and anti-parasitic power (which comes from lauric acid and monolaurin) (Kabara et al. 1972), whilst also being full of medium-chain triglycerides (i.e. MCTs), which are super easy to digest and can be used by the liver for energy.
• Onion and garlic – both are part of the allium family that contain health-beneficial sulphur compounds. Allicin, found abundantly in garlic is known to hold antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties, whilst a component in onion, known as allyl propyl disulphide has been studied to have a positive affect in balancing blood sugar levels, which is great for those who suffer with hypoglycaemia or diabetes (Augusti et al. 1975).

You can count this dish as a great way to boost your daily intake of vegetables that are all full of fibre and nutrient-dense. I hope you enjoy, and please do let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Ingredients

• ½ tbsp coconut oil
• 2 large onions, finely diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 6 boneless chicken thighs (try opt for organic if you can)
• 2 pints chicken stock or bone broth (opt for organic if you can source this)
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary sprigs
• 3 carrots, halved lengthways and cut into chunks
• 2 parsnips, halved lengthways and cut into chunks
• 3 leeks, washed and thickly sliced
• A pinch of salt and pepper (to season)
• Serving suggestion: serve with mashed potatoes and garden peas (optional)

Method

1. Heat the coconut oil on a medium heat in a stewing pot or large saucepan. Once heated, add the onion and garlic to sweat for a couple of minutes.
2. After no more than 5 minutes, pour in the chicken stock and stir in the rosemary and thyme leaves.
3. Now add in the chicken thighs and bring to the boil, gradually adding in the carrots, parsnips and leeks.
4. Simmer on a medium-low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste.
5. Using a ladle, serve up the stew with each chicken thigh in a bowl and enjoy.

Note: you can cool and freeze any extra portions of this dish. Make sure you consume it within 2 months and always thaw the chicken at room temperature. Always reheat thoroughly in a pan.

 

References:

Augusti, K.T and Benaim, M.E. (1975). ‘Effect of Essential Oil of Onion (Allyl Propyl Disulphide) on Blood Glucose, Free Fatty Acid and Insulin Levels of Normal Subjects,’ Clinica Chimica Acta, 60 (1), pp. pp. 121-123 NCBI [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1126028 (Accessed: 28 May 2018).

Kabara, J.J. Swieczkowski, D.M. Conley, A.J. et al. (1972). ‘Fatty Acids and Derivatives as Antimicrobial Agents’, Antimicrobial Agents & Chemotherapy, 2 (1), pp. 23-28 NCBI [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC444260/ (Accessed: 18 May 2018).

P. Morell and Fiszman, S. (2017). ‘Revisiting the Role of Protein-Induced Satiation and Satiety’, Food Hydrocolloids, 68, pp. 199-210, Science Direct [Online]. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268005X1630340X (Accessed: 27 May 2018).