I am not one for making New Year resolutions as I find it hard enough to get through the dark and dreary month of January without making it even tougher. Anyway most resolutions tend to be based on things we feel guilty about like eating and drinking too much over Christmas. (Why do we do this to ourselves?!) I would encourage anyone who is considering going on a diet now to scrap the guilt and instead consider being kind to yourself by cooking and eating real food and cutting back on sugar and processed foods. However, making wholesale changes to eating habits can be overwhelming and difficult to do all at once so another approach is to  start gradually by focussing on one meal in the day for a start e.g. for the first week / month resolve to eat a good, healthy breakfast or lunch each day.   This week’s recipe will fit right into any healthy lifestyle and is deceptively filling because it includes protein in the form of skinless chicken breasts which will keep you feeling full and satisfied for longer. It is really easy to make – any work is in preparing the veg. Once it is made then it will keep in the fridge ready to be heated up as needed. Perfect to bring to work for lunch, to eat at the end of a long day or for after a training session or match. The recipe comes from Derval O’Rourke’s book “Food for the Fast Lane”. It makes quite a decent quantity and came in very handy this week in my house as people came in late in the evening after work and after football / camogie training. This soup really hit the spot, tasty, filling, nutritious, easy to digest late in the evening and only had to be re-heated. Perfect!

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins.

Serves 4

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 4 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 2 skinless chicken fillets, diced
• 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• ½ butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced
• 500ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
• 300ml milk
• Salt & Pepper

Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the celery, carrots and onion and cook for 10-15 minutes until softened.

Add the chicken, potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, stock and herbs to the pot and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove from the heat, stir in the milk and purée until smooth with either a stick blender or transfer to a jug blender.

Season to taste and enjoy.