Course: Low-lift workday lunches, Stress-free weeknight meals

Keywords: Recipe for sleep
 

Hearty, healthy, and soothing, this chicken and coconut soup will warm you up from the inside out. The coconut palm is often referred to as “the tree of life,” and rightly so — coconut milk contains MCTs (or medium chain triglycerides), a type of fat that converts quickly into ketones, an alternative to glucose and a super-efficient energy source for your brain.

*This recipe (with a few modifications) comes from “Everyone Eats,” a cookbook by Dr. Cheryl Pegus of Walmart, featuring delicious American meals with a Caribbean flare.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts cut into chunks and seasoned with ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tsp chili sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 cups light coconut milk 
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 stalk of lemongrass
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
   

Prep

1. Heat the coconut oil in pot and saute chicken chunks until cooked on both sides
2. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, mushrooms and spinach and continue to cook on medium heat
3. Add in all seasonings and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add the spinach and cook for another 5 minutes
5. Taste, and add additional chili sauce or soy sauce if desired.