Chicken Vegetable Soup

A great time of year to incorporate a bowl of soup into your diet before you eat dinner, which has been shown to reduce the total amount of calories you eat at dinner time. Leeks and onion based soups also help to rid the body of extra fluid.

Ingredients

2 skinless chicken breast fillets
1 litre reduced salt chicken stock
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 leeks, washed and thinly sliced
2 carrots, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
6 cups young green leaves (watercress, rocket, sorrel, baby spinach), washed
3 tablespoons fresh pesto
Cracked black pepper to taste

Method

1. Put chicken in a pot, add just enough chicken stock to cover and poach gently for about 10 minutes or until just cooked. Set aside to cool.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot, add the leeks and cook gently for about 2 minutes until soft. Add the carrot, celery and garlic, strain the chicken poaching stock through a fine sieve and add to the vegetables with the rest of the stock. Simmer for 10 minutes. Chop the greens finely, add to the soup and cook for a further 10 minutes.
3. Tear the chicken breasts into fine shreds and add them to the soup. Stir in the pesto and season with plenty of cracked black pepper.