The Soup I Keep Coming Back To

I used to overthink food more than I should have. Not in a serious way, but in the daily sense of trying to get it right, something healthy, something filling, something the kids might actually eat, something that didn’t take forever to make or clean up afterward. It’s a small decision that shows up every day, and like most small decisions, it adds up.

Over time, I’ve started to let go of trying to get it perfect. What I’ve found instead is that there are a handful of meals that just work. They’re not impressive, they’re not complicated, but they’re consistent. They fit into the rhythm of the day without creating more friction. This soup is one of those meals.

It started out simple enough, chicken, lentils, vegetables, broth. No tomatoes, nothing heavy, nothing that required a second thought. It was just something I could put together without much effort, let it simmer, and know that by the time it was done, it would be good enough.

Part of that is practicality. It’s filling without feeling heavy, which matters more than I used to realize. It’s healthy without feeling like a compromise, and it holds up well for a couple of days, which makes the next meal easier before it even happens. But there’s also something about the way it fits into the house. It doesn’t demand attention. If I get distracted, it doesn’t fall apart. If I need to adjust it, more chicken, fewer vegetables, whatever happens to be on hand, it adapts without much thought.

That’s become more important lately. Between work, the business, and everything else that comes with having a young child, the margin for overcomplicating things just isn’t there. Meals like this don’t solve anything big, but they remove just enough friction to make the day feel a little more manageable.

I sauté onion, carrots, and celery, add garlic, then pour in broth with lentils and seasoning. The chicken goes in whole and cooks right in the pot, which keeps it simple. After about half an hour, I pull it out, shred it, and return it to the soup. A handful of spinach at the end, some lemon juice, a splash of red wine vinegar, and it’s done. There’s nothing complicated about it, and that’s exactly why it works.

This isn’t the best soup I’ve ever had. It’s just the one I keep coming back to. And at this stage of life, that kind of reliability is worth more than anything else.

Ingredients

• 24 oz chicken breast (whole)
• 1 cup lentils (rinsed)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2–3 carrots, chopped
• 2–3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3–4 cloves garlic, minced
• 6–7 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups fresh spinach (or a few big handfuls) ( I haven’t opted to actually put the spinach in at all yet… but you can)

Seasoning

• 1 tsp oregano
• Black pepper (to taste)
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt (to taste, start light)

Finish

• Juice of ½–1 lemon
• Splash of red wine vinegar
• Olive oil (drizzle at the end)

Instructions

1. Build the base
   • In a large pot, sauté onion, carrots, and celery in olive oil for ~5 minutes
   • Add garlic and cook another 1 minute
2. Add everything in
   • Add lentils, broth, spices, and bay leaf
   • Place whole chicken breasts directly into the soup
3. Simmer
   • Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer
   • Cook for 25–30 minutes until chicken is fully cooked and lentils are tender
4. Shred the chicken
   • Remove chicken, shred it, return to pot
5. Finish
   • Add spinach, let it wilt
   • Stir in lemon juice + splash of red wine vinegar
   • Drizzle olive oil before serving