So Hubs has been on a bit of a fitness drive since January, (and I am super proud of him for it!) which has required something of a rethink of how and what we eat. Suddenly we’re thinking about macros and measuring protein. So anyway, we realised that lunches needed a bit of a revamp. We’ve experimented with tuna salad, which is, ya know, fine, I guess. And we’ve eaten so much humus I think I might BE a chickpea. But a winner so far is this one. A warming, comforting, filling soup with chicken AND quinoa for a protein double whammy. 

I used homemade chicken stock, because it makes me feel smug. (You can see my recipe for slow cooker stock here) 

Makes 4 lunches:

1 onions, finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed 

2 medium carrots, finely diced 

2 sticks of Celery, finely diced

2/3 cup of quinoa

1.25 litres chicken stock 

As much left over Roast chicken as you can muster (about a cup?)

Half a lemon 

Parsley 

Plenty of salt and black pepper 
Method

• Sweat your onions, garlic, carrot and celery in a little oil or butter for 5mins until the onion is soft. 
• Add your quinoa and swoosh it around with the veg and oil so it takes on lots or flavours
• Add the stock, bring to the boil. 
• Cover and simmer for about 20 mins until the quinoa is translucent and tender.
• Add your chicken and stir through to warm.
• Squeeze in half a lemon and a good handful of finely chopped parsley. 
• Check you seasoning – this will need plenty of ground black pepper. If using a stock cube you probably won’t need much salt. If using homemade you can be a little more liberal. But remember, you can always add more salt – you can’t take it away.
• Enjoy!