Build a Meal with Turkey Leftovers: Healing Turkey and Rice Soup

Let's talk turkey! Turkey leftovers that is! Growing up in a traditional Italian home, turkey was never on the menu, holiday or otherwise! It wasn't till I married an Irish-English NewFoundlander that turkey became a holiday favourite!

While generally I am the chef in the family, there are two, sometimes three times a year, that I hand the kitchen over to my husband, who makes the turkey roast, the stuffing and all the vegetables! He is a great cook and has perfected the art of making the perfect turkey! I, on the hand, am happily relegated to providing the bread for the stuffing (my homemade gluten free sourdough) and the dessert! Poor me, I know! But hey, after the turkey dinner is done, if I get to the leftovers before he does, it's soup and sandwiches!

This is what I do best, building meals. Meals using scraps or leftovers and turning them in healthy delicious dinners or lunch! Very rarely does anything make it to the compost if I can use it to make a bone or vegetable broth!

The turkey leftover, bones and meat are used to make this "Healing Turkey and Rice Soup" and Caramelized Onion and Turkey Chipotle Sandwiches. Click here to learn how to use the turkey scraps to make a healing bone broth from scratch! Of course, you can also use a store bought broth or make a vegetable broth.

Nourishing and healthful, this soup is a true comfort food on any cold winter day. Here is a rundown of a few healing properties of making your own bone broth:

Each cup of broth contains:

• gelatin which helps to detoxify your body, aids with joint pain and tissue health

• collagen, a protein that helps with skin, lean muscle mass

• nutrients which help with the gut lining and intestinal inflammation

• healing compounds like glucosamine, chondroitin, collagen, help with joint pain, inflammation, skin, hair and nails

• provides minerals like calcium, iodine and phosphorus in an easily absorbable form

• and provides amino acids like glutamine, glycine and proline necessary for skin, joint and connective tissue health.

Once turned into a delicious soup each bowl boasts:

• an array of vegetables providing soluble and insoluble dietary fiber (carrots, parsnips, celery, onions, potatoes, rice/wild rice)

• anti-oxidants (from spices like garlic, red chili peppers, black pepper)

• anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and anti-cancer function (garlic, onions)

• many B-complex groups of vitamins that support digestion and energy production such as folic acid, vitamin B-5 and vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine)

• healthy levels of minerals like iron, calcium, copper, potassium, manganese and phosphorus (turkey, broth, vegetables, herbs)

• many more micro-nutrients and macronutrients

Buon Appetito!

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Healing Turkey and Rice Soup

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp of olive oil

• 2 large leeks, rinsed and diced

• 1/2 of medium large yellow onion, diced

• 3 carrots, scrubbed and diced

• 4 celery stalks with leaves, diced

• 1 tsp each of dried mountain savoury, thyme, basil and oregano, parsley

• 1/2 tsp of black pepper, ground

• 1 tsp of red chilli pepper

• 3 medium yellow potatoes, scrubbed and diced

• 2 parsnips, peeled and diced

• 8 cups of a bone or vegetable broth

• 3/4 cup of red rice or wild rice, rinsed

• 2 cups of dark or white turkey meat, diced

• 1 tsp of salt or herbamare seasoning salt, or to preference ( salt will depend on whether you use store bought broth or making your own)

Preparation

• heat oil in a large size soup pot on medium high heat

• sauté miripoix (leeks, onions, carrots, celery with leaves) till translucent

• add spices and herbs, sauté additional 30 seconds

• add the potatoes and parsnips, mix in and sauté additional 2 minutes

• add the broth in

• allow to come to a boil, 5-8 minutes

• add rinsed rice (or grain perference)

• lower temperature to mdeium-low simmer and allow the rice to cook, 35-45 minutes

• test flavour; to preference, add salt if needed

Meal Preparation/Tips

• red rice cooks sooner than wild rice, therefore check your rice during the cook time;

• quinoa or lentils can also be substituted (must rinse quinoa throughly before adding)

• salt will vary in the recipe depending on whether you made your own broth or if you purchased your broth. Taste test before adding additional salt.

• add additional greens like baby spinach, kale or chard, or microgreens just before serving to increase the vegetable count!