The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook Review + Green Breakfast Soup Recipe + Giveaway

Reviews December 7, 2016

“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

Mickey Trescott and Angie Alt of Autoimmune Paleo are two leading lights in this Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) health caper for those of us seeking to mitigate autoimmune symptoms through diet and lifestyle. Their collaborative guide – The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook: A DIY Guide to Living Well with Chronic Illness – is a patient-centred approach to improving quality of life even when living with autoimmune disease.

And, it’s a corker.

Reading this baby is like having Mickey and Angie in your living room with you.

The book is divided into seven chapters of the key steps to wellness;

Inform – what exactly is your flavour of autoimmune disease; where do you go for a diagnosis and how can you process this overload of information?
Collaborate – build a team of experts who advocate for you and support you
Nourish – what you eat matters
Rest – sleep is not optional
Breathe – recovering vitality through stress management
Move – the importance of moderate exercise
Connect – with both people and nature

There are loads of quizzes, infographics and self-assessments to help you work out just where you are on your path to healing. And, if you are right at the beginning of your personal healing caper, your options on just how you can start on your autoimmune protocol – either jumping in head-first by going cold turkey, or taking more of a slow-and-steady transition – is entirely up to you.

Of course, since the elimination phase of the protocol is not meant to be forever, you will at some stage be keen to begin reintroducing foods, so there’s help with that too.

And, while the Autoimmune Protocol is a fantastic template and is just what many of us need, if the elimination diet doesn’t achieve the results you may have hoped for there’s advice on troubleshooting. Things like Small Intestinal Bowel Overgrowth (SIBO), Histamine intolerance, FODMAPS, dysbiosis and a range of common digestive issues are addressed.

And, it’s all communicated in an informative and empowering way.

What makes the Autoimmune Wellness Handbook different is that it truly is your personal roadmap to navigating your health caper. It’s all about making it yours and comes with all sorts of great tools to help you succeed – meal plans, shopping lists and even a lifestyle guide.

The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook is a GREAT resource to add to your toolbox!

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The recipe: Green Breakfast Soup

Mickey and Angie have given me permission to share one of the 30 recipes from their lovely-jubbley Autoimmune Wellness Handbook. I chose the Green Breakfast Soup – mainly because I’m always on the lookout for a soup number I can make in bulk and have on hand for those times I just can’t be arsed cooking…

I have a personal rule on my blog – I don’t post any recipe that I haven’t personally tried. So, you can trust me when I tell you that this nutrient dense, not-so-little soup number is seriously good nosh. I recommend that you give it a go – the ginger is the secret ingredient that elevates it to something very special.

In the interests of transparency, I should let you know that I can’t eat mushrooms. So, in my version I added summer squash instead. And, it was a most acceptable alternative, in my view…

This recipe makes LOTS of soup. Enough for a crowd. Or, for you to freeze in portions. Perfect for people like me who need something quick and easy to whip up for those days when I forget to have something ready for lunch…

Green Breakfast Soup

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This recipe is AIP-friendly (reprinted with permission of Mickey Trescott and Angie Alt)

Author: Mickey Trescott & Angie Alt

Recipe type: Soup

Serves: 8 - 10

Ingredients

1 large, whole pastured chicken (5–6 pounds)
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sea salt + additional, to taste
2 tablespoons solid cooking fat
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
⅓ cup peeled and minced fresh ginger (3- to 4-inch piece)
2 large sweet potatoes, chopped into 1½ -inch chunks (about 6 cups)
2 large zucchini, chopped into 1½ -inch chunks (about 2 cups)
1 bunch swiss chard (silver-beet), stems and leaves divided and chopped
2 cups button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bunch green onions (ends removed), thinly sliced, for serving
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Method

Begin by cleaning the chicken (rinse it under cold water and remove loose bits of fat and other tissue). Place it in a large stockpot. If it doesn’t fit, you will have to cut it into halves or quarters (kitchen shears help here - start by cutting up one side of the backbone).
Add the bay leaf, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon sea salt. Fill the pot with cold water until the chicken is just covered. Bring to a boil, and then cover tightly and lower the heat to a bare simmer. Cook until the meat is tender and falling off the bone, 60 to 90 minutes - the lower the simmer, the more tender the chicken will come out. Skim the surface of the broth to remove any scum that may appear during cooking.
Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer, being careful to save the broth in another pot! Discard the bay leaf.
Place the empty pot back on the stove, add the solid cooking fat, and turn the heat to medium. When the fat has melted and the pan is hot, add the onions and cook, stirring, for 7 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for another few minutes, until fragrant.
While the onions are cooking, remove the meat from the chicken carcass, shred it with two forks (CAUTION: hot!), and set it aside in a bowl. Keep the bones to add to your next batch of bone broth .
Add the sweet potatoes and broth back to the pot, bring to a boil, and then cover and turn down to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes.
Add the zucchini, chard stems, and mushrooms, and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Turn off the heat and stir in the chard leaves.
Carefully transfer half of the soup to a blender, blend for 30 seconds, and transfer back to the pot. Alternately, you could use an immersion blender to blend about half of the vegetables. (CAUTION: Make sure you have a blender that can handle hot liquid, and make sure to use a towel above the lid to protect your hands from getting burned.)
Return the blended liquid to the soup pot, with the chicken. Add salt to taste.
Serve each bowl garnished with green onions and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
storage: Keeps for a week in the refrigerator. Also freezes well.

Notes

note: Depending on the size of chicken you have, this recipe may take a fairly large (7- to 8-quart) soup pot. If yours isn’t that large, you will want to use a smaller chicken (2 to 3 pounds) and scale down the sweet potatoes.
Breakfast

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The giveaway

ENTER TO WIN A PRINT COPY OF ‘THE AUTOIMMUNE WELLNESS HANDBOOK’ BY MICKEY TRESCOTT and ANGIE ALT.

I think The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook is such a great resource I’m personally ‘gifting’ a copy to one lucky reader…

There are 2 easy steps to enter the giveaway –

1. Subscribe to my newsletter. Either signup HERE or click the link at the top right corner of this page. If you already receive my newsletter, you’re good to go! No need to sign up again.
2. Leave a comment on this post telling me just why you’d like to win a copy of Mickey and Angie’s wonderful handbook.

A Couple of Things to Note:

This giveaway is open to Australian and New Zealand residents only. I know that’s frustrating if you’re further north! So often down here, giveaways are limited to US residents – so, I’m continuing to turn the tables.

The winner will be chosen at random on Friday, 16 December at midday Australian Eastern Time. An early or late Christmas pressies – depending on the postal system!

Please note the giveaway is no longer open.

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Joanna Frankham / About Author

Joanna Frankham helps you to make lasting diet and lifestyle choices that serve you. Jo is your AIP Mentor and Certified Health Coach who uses tools, rituals and group programs (like her foundational AIP Reset group program) to help you break down the AIP framework into manageable pieces; all to enable you to implement positive changes to improve your health. Jo’s special sauce is her ability to facilitate bringing AIPers together in a way that is informed, inclusive and encouraging. Chronic illness doesn’t have to be isolating.