Happy New Year!

The beginning of a new year always encourages new goals, plans and resolutions.  I usually make at least one resolution each year and this year I decided to go Gluten Free.  A long story short: I have thyroid disease and after doing some research, it seems that gluten might be a factor in making the symptoms worse even with treatment.  So I am going to be Gluten Free for 6 months and see how this affects my overall health.  My hope is that this will work well for me and that I can just continue the diet and feel better and better.

With that said, I am taking this very seriously and am encouraged to find new recipes and excited to see that many of the recipes and foods that I have already been eating that are gluten free!  Yesterday I was in the process of making my new favorite soup, Thai Chicken Vegetable Soup.  Click here for the recipe.

This is a super easy-to-make soup using this new Swanson Thai Ginger Infused Broth.

Well, imagine my disappointment that after starting to make this soup, I realized that the broth is not gluten free.  Apparently most soy sauces are not gluten free (although there are gluten free versions) and that was the culprit in this broth.  So I decided to replicate the entire recipe and make it 100% gluten free.  I used this Thai Soup recipe from Julia's blog and altered it to make it more like the Thai Chicken Veggie Soup that I adore.  So here is that I came up with.

Gluten Free Thai Chicken Soup

2-Tbs. Coconut Oil- divided

2-Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1-Large Carrot, peeled & cut into 2" matchstick-thin strips

1-Medium Red Bell Pepper, peeled & cut into 2" matchstick-thin strips

1-(32ox) Box Chicken Stock

1- 2" Piece of Ginger, peeled & cut into 4 pieces

2-(14 oz.) Cans of Coconut Milk

2-Tbs. Red Curry Paste

4-1/2 Tbs. Fish Sauce

Juice of 1 Lime

4-Tbs. Brown Sugar

1-8oz. Container Sliced Mushrooms

3-Scallions, thinly sliced

1/4-C. Cilantro, chopped

Salt & Pepper

In a dutch oven or large pot, heat 1 Tbs. Coconut Oil on med. heat & cook Chicken until no longer pink.  Remove from pot.  Heat the remaining 1 Tbs. Coconut Oil on med. heat and cook Carrot & Red Bell Pepper for 3-5min. Remove from pot.  To the pot, add Chicken Stock, Coconut Milk & Ginger.  Bring to a boil while scraping the bits from the bottom of the pot.  Add Red Curry Paste, Fish Sauce, Lime Juice and Brown Sugar.  Stir to combine, turn heat to med-low & simmer for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, shred the Chicken.  After simmering for 30 min, remove Ginger and discard.  Add Shredded Chicken, Carrots, Red Bell Pepper and Mushrooms.  Bring to a boil.  Add Onions & Cilantro. Cook for 1 minute more.  Serve.

This turned out great!  It tasted just like the Swanson version!  It did take a bit more time but it was completely worth it!  I also added a few quartered grape tomatoes into the bowl before pouring in the soup like Julia's recipe and it was also yummy!  I hope you like this as much as I do!  

Until next time, Happy New Year!