The Intro Diet Chicken Soup is the foundational piece of the SCD Intro Diet. I wanted to put this post together to help get you started with the intro diet. Most of this material is directly from one of the best chapters of our book and you can grab the rest of the Chapter: “How to Start the Intro Diet in 24 Hours” for free… just enter your name and email in the boxes above.

Elaine has put together the basic diet, or Intro Diet, with each piece of the puzzle in a specific place for a specific reason. The chicken soup is incredibly important because it is very easy to digest and incorporates many natural anti-inflammatory properties to aid in your body’s recovery. It is also going to keep a steady supply of vitamins, minerals, and hydration going while your body works hard to eliminate the pathogens it has been flooded with. The remaining foods are meant to be supplemental to the chicken soup and to provide some variety throughout the day. Bottom Line: Eat the soup!

Ingredients:

• 2 Lbs. of Chicken Thighs and Legs, skin and all
• 10 Large Carrots (or equivalent)
• Sea Salt

Directions:

Hour 0: Let’s get the chicken soup started.

– Take out your slow cooker and dump in the 2 lbs. of chicken thighs and legs, skin and all.

– Grab 10 carrots and peel them. To peel the carrots hold them on one end and run your swivel peeler down the length of the carrot to remove a thin layer. Slowly rotate the carrot 360 degrees and peel around the carrot until you have done the entire surface. Switch the end you’re holding and finish off the part where your hand was before.

– Cut the discolored part off each end.

– Drop the 10 carrots into the slow cooker.

Hour 0: Peel the Carrots

– Sprinkle sea salt all over the carrots and chicken parts

– Fill the slow cooker ¾ full with water

– Set the slow cooker on high for 4 hours and write down what time you started it!

Hour 1.5:

– Stir your chicken soup.

Hour 3: Now the chicken soup has been cooking for 3 hours and needs some maintenance. We’re going to remove the parts of the chicken we don’t want.

– Get out a plate and some tongs.

– Pull out each piece of chicken one at a time, and use a fork and a knife to scrape the skin off the chicken.

Hour 3: Pull the Chicken Out Carefully

– Once the skin is cleared, cut all the chicken off of the bone and dispose of the skin, bones, and cartilage.

Hour 3: Remove the Skin and Bone

Hour 3: Discard What’s Leftover

– Add the chicken meat back into the soup.

– Stir everything well.

Hour 4: We’re going to remove the fat from the soup. It is hard to digest and not necessary for the Intro Diet.

– With a fine strainer or spoon, skim off the layer of fat that is forming on top of the soup (you may just notice it as a different color or that it looks like bubbles on top of the water). Do this twice to remove as much fat as possible.

– Let the slow cooker run on high for another hour just to get everything nice and broken down.

Hour 4.5: Now it’s time to puree the carrots that have been cooking in the slow cooker.

– Take a fork and stab the carrots that are boiling. If they’re ready, the fork should pierce through with no problem and almost make the carrot fall apart if you try to lift it out. If they are not done, let them cook for another half an hour and keep checking. Otherwise it’s time to puree everything.

– Pull out all the carrots from the chicken soup and put them on a plate.

Hour 4.5: Puree the Carrots- Cut them up into 1-inch sections.

– Fill your food processor about ¾ of the way with carrot chunks.

– Add about a ½ cup of water to the food processor (it helps break down the carrots).

– Run the food processor for about a minute until you don’t see any more chunks left.

– Add the pureed carrots back into the soup and stir it up really well.

Hour 5: Your chicken soup should be all set to go at this point.

The Next Day: Remove the Solidified Fat Layer

If there is still a layer of fat on the top, skim it again with the strainer before you put it away. You can always leave it on low for a couple more hours to make sure everything is cooked well, or just unplug it and put the container in the refrigerator. More fat will magically appear overnight, which you’ll have to strain again in the morning (it will be a solid white layer on top of the soup and very easy to scoop/strain out).

Good luck and let us know how you’re doing on the diet. Anyone have some better suggestions for the soup?

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-Jordan