Sweet Potato & Chicken Soup

 

Sweet Potato and Chicken Soup

This healthy chicken soup recipe gets the sweet flavor from sweet potatoes, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper. Check out the health benefits of sweet potatoes at the end of the post.

If you can make your own Chicken Broth, it should have less sodium than store bought. Simmer bone-in chicken breasts in the broth before adding the rest of the soup ingredients.

Ingredients

1 cup chopped sweet onion

2 cloves of minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon of crushed fresh ginger

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

8 cups of low sodium chicken broth

2lbs chicken (skin removed)

3 cups of diced sweet potato

2 cups diced bell peppers ( your color of choice)

2 cups of green beans

1 can rinsed Chick peas

½ teaspoon ground pepper

2 tablespoon extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Directions

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes.

 Add cumin, cinnamon and cayenne; cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

 Add broth and chicken. Cover, increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Uncover and cook, turning the chicken occasionally for about 20 to 22 minutes. 

Skim any foam from the surface as the chicken cooks. Shred the cooked chicken.

Meanwhile, add sweet potato, bell pepper and green beans to the pot; return to a simmer. 

Cook until the vegetables are tender, 4 to 10 minutes. Stir in the shredded chicken, chickpeas, pepper and cook until heated through.

Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes earned the name "superfood" because of the amount of nutrients they have and has shown to lower your LDL and may reduce the risk of heart disease.

One sweet potato has:

• Calories: 112
• Fat: 0.07 grams
• Carbohydrates: 26 grams
• Protein: 2 grams
• Fiber: 3.9 grams
  
  Just one sweet potato gives you 400% of the vitamin A you need each day. This helps keep your eyes healthy as well as your immune system, your body's defense against germs. 
  
  Compounds in sweet potatoes could help control blood sugar. When boiled, sweet potatoes are low on the glycemic index (GI), which means they won't raise your blood sugar as quickly as high-GI foods.