it's soup: home-made chicken & veggie soup

I am really REALLY trying to simplify soup day for me and the kids. When I first thought of making soup every single Monday I knew that communally it would be great. I didn't put a lot of planning into what types of soups we would make because we always have ingredients to make a healthy batch of soup.
Now that we've been doing it for 2 months, I have seen that some planning is needed. If not for the sake of planning...for the sake of ensuring that the majority of the kids will eat the soup. I don't remember ever liking soup that much and the boys are pretty much the same, but Z loves all things soup.

The problem is that the kids don't like vegetables and unfortunately our soups are all about veggies. Seeing them overlook or eat around the veggies each week has been a bit disheartening, especially when big boy says things like, "I can't eat this...it has vegetables".

I started thinking about what I want to achieve from our time in the kitchen (and) over all. For example, in the summer I hope to use/eat some of the veggies that we grow. Thinking about it now, I realise that the kids are not too young to start learning about nutrition and the beauty of enjoying every meal, especially when it is prepared by their hands and eaten with friends.

I hope to do this by...

• continuing to cook with healthy ingredients 
• creating a dialogue and promote a positive/healthy attitude about food 
• encouraging each child to "try"/taste new things
• stressing the importance of food being a sustenance...should never be wasted 
• encouraging each child to participate to his/her ability choosing recipes that are easy to follow

Let's see how that goes...

Recipe

Classic Chicken & Vegetable Soup
makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter, or coconut oil
1/2 a yellow onion, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
3 celery stalks, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup broccoli
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
5-6 cups of water, as needed to cover
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt, plus more to taste
black pepper

Directions
In a large stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat and gently saute the onion, garlic and chicken for about 5 minutes, until the onion is tender. Add the carrots, celery and green broccoli, thyme leaves, and enough water to just cover the vegetables (about 5-6 cups). Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.