pressure-cooked whole chicken and butternut squash soup with spinach and lemon, Core-compliant as written

Breakfast is the meal most likely to fall apart on the elimination phase, because the fast, easy defaults, toast, cereal, a coffee shop pastry, are the first things gone. It is 7am with nothing thawed and no time to cook that makes most people cave first, not dinner. This soup solves it in 1 long, low-effort cook: a whole chicken and squash simmered until both fall apart, then ladled into bowls all week.

The orange flesh of the butternut squash holds beta-carotene, and the body converts some of that into vitamin A, thought to help support immune and mucosal health. The spinach goes in at the end so the greens stay vivid, not stewed to gray. Nothing here is trying to be a treatment. It is just a bowl of real food, ready before you are awake enough to cook one.

Using a whole bird, broth, meat and all, is a good use of the animal, so let a little of that gratitude sit with you as you portion it into containers for the week. Ladle it out steaming, and give yourself a few seconds to actually notice the color, orange squash against green spinach, before the first bite.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp solid cooking fat
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
• 3 cups water
• 1 small whole chicken (about 4 lbs)
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded, and cubed
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 lb baby spinach
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Swap note: no swaps were needed. The recipe is Core-compliant as written, with no nightshades, seeds, or other excluded ingredients.

Method

Warm the cooking fat in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and rosemary and cook gently until softened and fragrant.

Pour in the water and add the whole chicken, the cubed butternut squash, and the salt. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat, cover, and cook until the chicken is fully cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 F and the squash is tender, topping up with a little water if needed to keep everything covered.

Lift the chicken out and let it cool enough to handle. Pull the meat from the bones, shred it, and return it to the pot, leaving the bones out. Stir in the baby spinach and let it wilt in the hot broth, then stir in the lemon juice. Taste and adjust the salt. Serve warm.

Instant Pot variation

The Instant Pot is the easy path for this one. Set it to Saute and soften the onion, garlic, and rosemary in the fat. Add the water, whole chicken, squash, and salt. Seal and pressure-cook on high until the chicken is cooked through to 165 F and pulls easily from the bone, then release the pressure. The exact pressure time for a roughly 4 pound whole chicken is untested for this dish and should be confirmed in your kitchen. Lift out the chicken, shred the meat, and return it to the pot. Switch back to Saute, stir in the spinach until wilted, then add the lemon juice and adjust the salt.

*Adapted from autoimmunewellness.com*