Italian Wedding Soup, Rebuilt for the Elimination Phase

This is the kind of soup that feels like it should be off the table during elimination, and it is not. The classic version leans on egg, parmesan, and breadcrumbs in the meatballs. Here the meatballs are bound by firm packing and a little riced green plantain instead, so they hold together and stay tender without anything that belongs on the excluded list. The soup itself is simple, green, and bright, and it makes enough to carry you through several meals.

Ground chicken gives you clean, easy protein, the raw material your body uses to rebuild tissue and steady blood sugar through the middle of the day. The baby spinach folded in at the end is a source of folate and vitamin K, and the fresh lemon at the close brings vitamin C, which is involved in collagen formation and gut-lining repair. Green plantain adds resistant starch that supports the beneficial bacteria in your gut, the quiet allies in this whole process.

When you shape the meatballs, slow down and let it be a small ritual rather than a chore. Acknowledge the bird that became this meal. Then ladle the soup into a wide bowl, scatter the dill across the top, and let yourself eat at a real table, unhurried. Healing happens in a calm body.

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• about 2 tbsp of the riced green plantain below, set aside as a binder

For the soup:

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 2 cups riced green plantains (reserve about 2 tbsp for the meatballs)
• 2 quarts bone broth
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 4 cups loosely packed organic baby spinach
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method

Heat the oven to a moderate roast, around 375 to 400 degrees F (the source does not state a temperature, so this is a range). Line a sheet pan.

Make the meatballs. In a bowl, combine the ground chicken, minced garlic, lemon zest, parsley, dried basil, 1 teaspoon sea salt, and the reserved 2 tablespoons of riced plantain. Mix just until it comes together, then pack firmly and roll into small meatballs about an inch across. Pressing them together tightly, with the plantain in the mix, is what holds them without egg. Set them on the lined pan.

Bake the meatballs until cooked through and lightly firm, about 18 to 22 minutes (time flagged, source unstated). Set them aside.

While the meatballs bake, build the soup. Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and the remaining riced plantain. Sweat the vegetables until the onion softens and turns translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Pour in the bone broth and the remaining teaspoon of salt. Bring to a simmer and let it cook for about 10 minutes so the flavors come together. Slide the baked meatballs into the pot and simmer another 5 minutes to marry everything.

Turn off the heat. Fold in the baby spinach and let it wilt in the residual warmth, about a minute. Stir in the fresh dill and lemon juice last, taste, adjust the salt, and serve warm.

Instant Pot variation

Bake the meatballs as above. Use the Saute function to sweat the onion, celery, carrot, and riced plantain in the olive oil, then press Cancel. Add the bone broth and salt, seal the lid, and pressure cook on high for about 5 minutes (untested, flagged), then quick release. Switch back to Saute, add the meatballs to warm through, then turn off and fold in the spinach, dill, and lemon at the end.

*Adapted from wendisaipkitchen.com*

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*Provenance: source-derived (re-grounded). Method rebuilt in ARM's own words from the ingredient list in /Users/Christopher/Documents/Claude/01-Projects/ARM/aip-source-archives/wendis-aip-kitchen/aip-italian-wedding-soup.md (wendisaipkitchen.com). Ingredient quantities used as factual reference. Introduction and health framing written fresh from ARM's food-as-medicine framework. No third-party method text reproduced. The source ingredient list contained no egg, parmesan, or breadcrumb, so the meatballs are bound by firm packing plus a small amount of the riced green plantain in place of an egg binder, flagged. Dried basil retained as a permitted leaf herb. Servings, meatball bake time and temperature, and Instant Pot time estimated and flagged.*