Spiced chicken, tomato and chickpea soup – low GI

This spiced chicken, tomato and chickpea soup is full of flavour, is low in carbs and GI and is a hit with all the family. Its seriously easy to make too, particularly if you cheat a bit and use shop roasted chicken thighs.

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The days are now so much longer here in beautiful Edinburgh. After the children are in bed, Dave and I enjoy our views right across the city, watching the sky change colour as the sun slowly sets. The other evening I found Dave in the kitchen, cup of tea in hand and lights off, just staring at the twilight pink sky.

If spring has finally come, why am I posting a thick, warming, hearty soup recipe? Surely all we’ll want to eat is salad and fruit? Well, regardless of the weather I always enjoy soup. Maybe it’s a Scottish thing. If it was 30°C/86°F perhaps I would feel different. But at 18°C/64°F, a fair temperature here, soup is still a winner to me.

In fact this soup is gently spiced, the chilli flakes adding just a hint, while the cumin and coriander give good flavour rather than spice. The test is that our 1 year old loves this soup. The chickpeas give great texture and bulk, while not adding the carbs that potato would. They also keep the GI nice and low, so it should release it’s energy slowly, meaning you don’t get such a spike in blood glucose.

I roast the chicken thighs in the oven at 200°C for 40 minutes. I then leave them to cool a little before removing skins and shredding them. Worried you might burn yourself? Here’s my godmother’s tip: wear washing up gloves in the kitchen when handling hot things. I haven’t tried it, but I know she keeps a clean pair of Marigolds for exactly this sort of job.

The chicken is added to this soup after blending, so the chicken provides good texture. I also prefer to leave some texture from the onions, chickpeas and tomatoes. Somehow this soup wouldn’t feel right if it was completely smooth.

Spiced chicken, tomato and chickpea soup – low GI

This soup freezes well and doubles up easily.

• Author: Holly
• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 15
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 4

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1/8-1/4 tsp chilli flakes
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 400g tin of chopped tomato
• 400g tin of chickpeas, drained
• 350ml vegetable stock
• The meat from 2 roasted chicken thighs – either shop bought or roasted at home, shredded
• Fresh coriander to garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan which has a lid. Add the onions, stir well, cover and sweat for 5 minutes. Stir in the spices and cook uncovered for 2 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent.
2. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, stock. Bring to the boil then simmer for 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and use a stick blender to blend until most of the soup is smooth; I like to keep some texture.
3. Stir in the chicken, cook for 3 more minutes.
4. Serve and garnish with fresh coriander.

Carbohydrate content of ingredients

Here is the carb info for each ingredient in case you want to substitute anything out or in.

2 tbsp oil – 0g
1 onion, sliced – 15g
1/8-1/4 tsp chilli flakes – 0g
2 tsp ground cumin – 2g
2 tsp ground coriander – 1g
400g tin of chopped tomato – 6g
400g tin of chickpeas, drained – 40g
350ml vegetable stock – 3g
The meat from 2 roasted chicken thighs – either shop bought or roasted at home, shredded – 0g
A handful of fresh coriander – 0g
Total – 67g
Per serving 16g

Type 1 latest

As many of you with type 1 will know, in November last year The NHS Business Service Authority approved the FreeStyle Libre on the Drug Tariff. This means that, subject to local health economy approval, the Libre will be available for patients across the UK. I spent half of last Sunday in a training session at my hospital, attendance at which was part of the criteria I had to meet in order to be prescribed Libre. The session also covered the Libre app, so, hey presto, now I can scan with my phone and see my blood glucose level. What’s not to like?

I know the picture of provision across the UK, let alone beyond, is very mixed. I feel so lucky that my Health Board are providing the Libre. I paid privately for the Libre through most of my second pregnancy and returning to finger prick tests after our baby was born felt like a massive step back. Before I had children I’d never really appreciated what a feat of organisation doing a finger prick test can be when you are also mum. Breastfeed and get blood out of your finger and onto a test strip while meeting the needs of your toddler too – that’s just a joy in itself. Scanning my Libre sensor with my phone is a massive improvement!