Restorative Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

Almost a year ago I pulled a hamstring in a yoga incident (a carelessly taken triangle pose for any yoga enthusiasts who may be reading this) and I am still working hard to recover flexibility.

In conjunction with a yoga bridge pose to strengthen my hamstrings by exercising my quadriceps (the muscles opposite my hamstrings on the front of my thighs) I asked Michelle of Organa Wellness for additional guidance.

Continuing our January series with Michelle, we focus on Restore, the second chapter of the program. Step 1 shares our weekly recipe, followed by Step 2 and a printable exercise from Michelle.

I thought carefully about a recipe to complement Michelle’s exercises for restoration and strengthening. Hot soup conjures up an image of enjoying a warm, cozy remedy. It was also the perfect dish to take to a good friend Erin who arrived home, in the depths of the big freeze, from hospital with her new born baby girl last Saturday. The gift of fresh, hot soup for new parents.

Made with chicken broth and chicken breast, while low in calories, chicken and wild rice soup is filling and yields approximately half of your daily protein requirements. Wild rice, to be precise water grass seed is grown in Minnesota, cooks beautifully in the slow cooker because it takes a lot longer to soften than other rices. Combine with that the fact that wild rice also yields more protein than even brown rice and we have a nutritional and delicious dish.

Step 1

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp light olive oil
• 1 cup / 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1 cup / 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup / 3 celery ribs, diced
• 1 tsp / 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
• 1/2 cup wild rice
• 3/4 lb skinless chicken breast
• 6 cups chicken broth

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the carrot, onion and celery. Soften gently over a medium heat for 2 – 3 minutes. Transfer to your slow cooker.

Stir in the garlic, flour, thyme, salt, pepper and wild rice to the onion mixture in your slow cooker.

Lay the chicken breast on top of the mixture in your slow cooker.

Pour the chicken broth over the chicken and wild rice mixture in your slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.

Remove the lid from your slow cooker and use 2 forks to shred the chicken breast in the soup.

Serve in bowls while still steaming hot.

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Step 2

I asked Michelle to help specifically with my hamstring injury but her recommended exercise has the overall benefit of increasing endurance and improving lower body performance. 

Zen Moment

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Stepping into Freedom: Rules of Monastic Practice for Novices