Herbed Lemon Chicken with Celery and Leek

This savoury chicken main makes for a perfect Phase 1 meal. It's also a great recipe to make in bulk and freeze.

Herbed Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

• 8 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into bite sized pieces
• 1 tsp grapeseed oil
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 1/4 tsp dried jalapeño 
• 1/2 tsp garlic cloves, minced 
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup leeks (white part), sliced
• 1 cup celery inner soft ribs, sliced

Directions for one serving:

1. Add spices to lemon juice in a small bowl. Set aside. 
2. Heat grapeseed oil in frying pan on med high. 
3. Brown chicken in the pan for 5 minutes. 
4. Lower heat to med low and add leeks, celery, and lemon juice mix. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Directions for more than one serving:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Multiple the ingredients for the number of servings that you want.
3. Assemble everything in an oven safe baking dish. 
4. Bake in oven at 350 for 60 minutes, stirring half way through.
5. Let cool slightly before serving or completely before packing and freezing.

Zesty Tomato Horseradish Celery Salad

Do you love the taste of the celery stalks that come in a bloody mary or a caesar? You don't have to miss out while on program. Try this recipe, which pairs wonderfully with grilled steak.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp tomato paste
• Juice of 1/2 small lemon
• 1 scant tsp prepared horseradish
• 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp finely dried parsley flakes
• Lots of black pepper
• Tabasco sauce, to taste, (optional)
• 2 cup small stalks celery, thinly sliced on an angle

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except celery in a bowl.
2. Add the celery, tossing to coat completely. Let chill for an hour - the longer you leave it the more flavour the celery will absorb.

Soup's On! Recipes

Miss our Soup's On! Workshop? You can find the delicious recipes here and try making them yourself.

Creamy Curry Vegetable (vegetarian)

Spicy Mexican Vegetable (vegetarian)

Chicken Noodle Soup

Low Carb Vietnamese style Pho

Low-carb Vietnamese style Pho

This LillyPad adapted Vietnamese Beef-Noodle Soup is a wonderful warm option to add some variety to your soup choices.

LillyPad Pho

Ingredients:

• 1 cup beef stock
• 2 star anise pods
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 package Miracle Noodle Angel Hair - rinsed
• 3/4 cup bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup bok choy, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup green onion for garnish
• (optional) add lime juice, fresh cilantro, hot thai chilies to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the beef broth along with the anise, ginger, and onion powder, to a simmer in a soup pot for 20 minutes.
2. Add the fish sauce, and soy sauce. Simmer for 5 more minutes.
3. Ladle the hot soup into a serving bowl and add noodles, bean sprouts, mushrooms, and bok choy. 
4. Garnish with green onion and serve.

Optional
For additional protein, add thinly sliced beef that has been browned.

Chicken Noodle Soup

There's nothing more comforting when you're sick than Chicken Noodle Soup. This recipe is deliciously low carb and packed with protein thanks to the addition of Ideal Protein Rotini.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Ideal Protein Rotini

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp grapeseed oil
• 1 cup turnip, cubed
• 1 cup celery, sliced
• 2 cup chicken or turkey stock
• 1 package Ideal Protein Rotini
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Sauté turnip and celery in a soup pot for 10 minutes. 
2. Add chicken broth, simmer for 20 minutes.
3. When the vegetables are soft add Ideal Protein Rotini and cook another 5 minutes.
4. Serve and enjoy!

Creamy Curry Vegetable Soup

This creamy soup is savoury and you can vary the spices to your preferred level of flavour.

Creamy Curry Soup garnished with green onion

Ingredients:

• 1 cup celery root, cubed
• 1 cup fennel, sliced
• 2 cup sugar free vegetable stock
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp grapeseed oil
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• salt and pepper to taste
• green onion, sliced (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat the grapeseed oil in a soup pot on medium heat.
2. Add celery, fennel and garlic sauté on medium heat for 5 minutes.
3. Add vegetable broth and spices, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the celery and fennel are soft.
4. Puree with a hand blender or let cool and puree in blender on liquefy.
5. Garnish with optional green onion and serve.

Optional
For added Protein blend in some silken tofu or Ideal Protein mushroom or leek soup mix.

Spicy Mexican Vegetable Soup

This spicy soup will warm you up in a hurry with its healthy low carb vegetables.

Spicy Mexican Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup okra, sliced
• 1/3 cup celery, sliced
• 1/3 bell peppers, diced
• 1 cup Salsa (sugar free)
• 2 cup vegetable stock (sugar free)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• hot sauce to taste
• jalapeño, diced

Directions:

1. Sauté okra, celery and peppers for 5 minutes.
2. Add broth and spices. Bring to a simmer and cook another 20 minutes.

Optional
Add Ideal Protein Chili or rehydrated textured vegetable protein. If you want meat, add cubed chicken or beef that has been browned first.

Soup Stock and Broth - is there a difference?

Stock or broth is used as a base for soup making, but also in many recipes to add flavour.

Soup Stock
Stock is a liquid made from boiling or simmering meat, fish, vegetables or bones in water. Often herbs and spices are also added in the process.

Broth
Broth uses stock and adds to it, making what is basically a light soup. Many products that are stocks are labelled as broth. You'll need to check the ingredients and nutrition label to avoid any with added sugars or extra ingredients.

What kinds of soup stock are available?
The most readily available in stores are vegetable, chicken and beef. You may be able to find, or certainly make, other types of stock as well, like lamb, ham or fish.

How to I read the label for prepared soup stock?
The most important things to look for on a nutrition label for prepared stock are carbs and sugars. Some soup stocks have added sugars. It is also good to be aware of any extra fat or sodium, look for reduced sodium options. You can always add more salt later.

Can I make my own?
Absolutely! If you do, you can control the process entirely. Making stock requires meat and/or bones for simmering, except in the case of vegetable stock where only vegetable are used.

• Chicken Stock 
• Beef Stock 
• Vegetable Stock

What do I do with it, other than make soup?
Stock is often used in place of water in savoury recipes to enhance flavour, like casseroles, sauces, stir fry, and so on. You can experiment with different kinds of stock to see what you like best.

Celery & Jicama Salad

This simple salad is a crunchy crisp accompaniment to many dishes or served on top of a bed of baby spinach with the protein of your choice for a delicious salad main.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup celery, thinly sliced (remove strings if possible)
• 1/3 cup jicama, in matchsticks
• 1/3 cup fennel, in matchsticks
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare the vegetables as noted. Using a Mandoline to slice the vegetables will help.
2. Mix ingredients in a bowl, tossing well until evenly coated. Serve.

Crunchy Celery

Celery - crunchy and perfect for filling with dip, cheese or peanut butter right? Don't sell this crisp vegetable short, there's a lot more you can do with it.

Head of Celery

Mostly used for its stalks, celery is also grown for its seeds, which you will find in stores and ground up as part of celery salt. Celery stalks can be eaten raw or cooked and are a staple in soups, especially in French cuisine. It's generally available year round. Celery is also very low on the glycemic index and contains dietary fibre.

celery stalks and slices

What to do with Celery?

Raw, the crunchiness of celery makes it a great addition to salads, either green salads or as part of tune or chicken salad mixes. It can also be combined with other diced vegetables for an alternative salad like our Celery Cucumber Salad or our LillyPad Tabbouleh.

Cooked, celery is excellent for use in soups or making stock, stir fries, casseroles and more. It's usually best to slice or dice celery to reduce cooking time, and some recipes will ask you to peel some of the fibrous strings off.

Look for our recipes this month for new ways to prepare and enjoy celery!

Previous vegetable posts:

• cauliflower
• zucchini
• lettuces
• asparagus
• celeriac or celery root
• turnip

Indian Spiced Celery with Cumin and Lemon

This recipe makes a great side for any grilled or pan-fried protein.

Ingredients:

• 2 cup celery, peeled & sliced as directed
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp grapeseed oil

Directions:

1. Cut celery into 1/3 inch pieces on the extreme diagonal, creating chevrons. In small bowl, combine water through cayenne. In small bowl, add cumin seeds. Have both bowls and wok lid close to stove.
2. Over highest heat. heat wok to smoking, add oil and heat to smoking. Add cumin, followed immediately by celery. Stir well for 3-4 minutes. 
3. Stir in garlic mixture, quickly pouring over the celery, and top immediately with lid. Reduce heat to low and cook 15-20 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.