I love chicken soup. It is the ultimate low cal, comfort food. I also love that I can find pre-cut soup veggies at Trader Joe’s and a rotisserie chicken at the market, which is a huge time saver.
I used the lowest sodium stock I could find at 35 mg/cup. The rotisserie chicken I picked up was not seasoned and can be found at Whole Foods. I simmered this for a few hours, but you don’t need to. One hour would be ok too if you are in a hurry. It is during the pandemic that I write this, so there is time…sigh.
Kidney Stone Diet Safe Tips: Ok, so you are asking, “What are these pre-cut soup veggies, and where do I get it?” It’s called Mirepoix, and I found it at Trader Joe’s. If you can not find pre-cut soup veggies, use three celery stalks, carrots, and 1/2 onion. I like parsnips and cut up three of those to put in the pot. If you want different veggies, go for it. I like my chicken soup to have classic veggies.
You may also be thinking, “Why carrots, Jill? Aren’t they higher oxalate veggies?” Carrots, once cooked (Harvard says), are 7 mg/cup. It takes about two carrots to make one cup and add one more for about 1/4 cup. So you are looking at so little oxalate per serving (less than 7). Portion, not perfection. I use higher oxalate foods to show you that you don’t have to eliminate all the foods you think you do.
The same goes for the celery. About two stalks are cut up in one cup, which is 10 mg/oxalate—1/2 cup more for the third stalk used in this recipe. There are at least six servings, so the amount of oxalate is not a problem. Remember, unless otherwise told by your doctor, you can safely have 100 mg/oxalate per day. If you would like lower oxalate, use two carrots and two celery stalks.
The chicken stock I used was a weird generic brand and I couldn’t find it on the nutrition calculator. It had 35 mg/sodium per cup. When you buy your broth or stock, look around. Even though the label says “low sodium,” not all boxes are indeed “low sodium.” Some boxes can still have way too much, so like I always say, “turn it around, buster brown,” and read your nutrition labels! Never trust the front of the package!
Because the soup is so low sodium, I did top it with some parmesan cheese. So if you do, it will add some sodium. When you eat a very low sodium diet, you always have room for foods like a bip of cheese to put on top of dishes. It adds up quickly, so mind how much you sprinkle on top!
PrintLow Sodium Chicken Soup
Low-sodium, low-oxalate chicken soup.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 120 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 Servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoon dill
- 1 plain Rotisserie Chicken Whole Foods
- 1/2 lemon
- 32-ounce unsalted chicken stock
- 1 box Trader Joe Mirepoix
- 3 parsnip
Instructions
- Put a tablespoon of olive oil in a stockpot and put on medium-high.
- Pour the pre-cut onion, celery, and carrot, into the stockpot and heat until slightly softened.
- Pour the chicken stock into the pot, add a bay leaf.
- Take the skin off the rotisserie chicken and white meat off as well. Put white meat aside.
- Put entire chicken (breast meat and skin) into the pot and add apple cider vinegar.
- Add enough water to cover the chicken completely.
- Put on high and bring to boil.
- Once boiled, set to simmer for 1-4 hours with a lid slightly ajar. You choose the time. I like mine to simmer a long time, but you can do it for one hour if you are in a rush.
- When done, take bones out of the soup. Keep the dark meat in there if you like it. I don’t, so I take bones and dark meat out.
- Add your white meat and garnish with lemon and dill (or any herb you like).
Notes
Oxalate: <7mg per cup Calcium: 95mg Added Sugar: 0g
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 235
- Sugar: 4g
- Sodium: 105mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 21g
- Cholesterol: 67mg
Thank you Jill, I did sign up to received your newsletter and enjoy your comments and reassurance. For example your comments about carrots and celery above. I make lots of soups all winter they always have included celery, carrots, onions and mushrooms. My husband has had kidney stones for years, but we didn’t get the right information back then, so now making changes based on eliminating the high oxalate foods. He is 80, has heart problems, allergic to legumes and A1C of 7. I’ve never been interested in eating out, so we cook every day and attempt to keep meals interesting and healthy. The dietitian at our Hosp recommended keeping his oxalates to 50 mg, so I find your oxalate lists very helpful.
This AM I forwarded your newsletter to a friend and a cousin with their own kidney stone concerns. Thank you so much for your help. Susan
Hi Susan,
Typically keeping oxalate under 100 is great enough. Unless there are malabsorption issues like that from bowel disease or gastric bypass surgeries. Does he have any of those issues?
j
I gave the chicken soup a 5 star rating, but have not yet tried it. Its different from what we make. We make our own chicken stock using wing tips, spines and ribs from 3-4 chickens, a blend of seasonings and diced veggies. I cook this for a few hours, strain and cool it, removed all the visible fat then freeze it in quart jars to use in all sorts of soups. Your comments would be welcomed.
Until recently one of my favorites was leek and potato soup in addition to
veggie, or chicken soup. We enjoy all sorts of veggies, and miss leeks and potato’s, and especially fresh spinach. I used spinach in place of lettuce in salads and sandwich’s due to “eat the rainbow”.
★★★★★
Hi Susan,
I also make my own stock, but my recipes will be for those that want quick and easy. I am trying my best to get my patients to start cooking!
j
The recipe looks very good…I cant have chicken stock..it doesn’t agree with my system…so I use water unless their is something else…Is Whole Foods the name brand of the chicken..if I cant find that brand what chicken could I buy with the highest level of salt in the chicken that would be ok…..i live near Meijer and Kroger in MI
Hi Vicki,
Use whatever you like for the soup part. Water is absolutely fine and sometimes I do that as well. You can ask your local grocers to start making a few weekly rotisserie chickens without added salt.You can also just add less chicken to each batch or just make a veggies one or make your own chicken breasts with bone in!
j
Jill, what about celery and carrots that are high in oxalates. Do the oxalates drain out when you boil them?
Mary
The oxalate is minimal in each portion! Check your safe oxalate list. Totally doable and one of the reasons I posted this! You can eat way more than you think if you watch portion on foods!
Thanks for writing-
J
I have read and seen that lentils are high and low in oxalates. I saw a recipe with red lentils that is supposed to be low oxalate. Which is true? Thank you.
I don’t see any mention of parsnips, except for in the ingredients list. How should they be cut and when do you include them? Step 4 says to put the white meat aside. But, Step 5 says to put entire chicken (breast meat and skin) in the pot. I assume you meant the remaining carcass, dark meat and skin. When you take the bones out are you supposed to leave the skin in?
Hi S Neidigh,
Cut them up as you would carrots. Small chunks. Yes, I meant the remaining carcass. I take the skin off but you can keep it on if you like!
j
Does the <7 mg oxalate per cup include the oxalate that results from collagen when simmering the bones?
Hi Becky,
Because I would have no idea exactly how much collagen in a portion size might effect oxalate, the answer is no. But portion will always be key so I am not worried about it.
j
Are you talking fresh dill or dried dill?
Hi Lawa,
Fresh, always fresh. But you do what you have on hand. I like fresh herbs on a low salt diet bc it helps with flavor enhancement.
j