The short version

  • Gentle, warming and full of fluid, which matters in the early weeks and while feeding.
  • Soft rice and shredded chicken make it easy to eat with a baby on you.
  • Ginger and lemon lift it without making it heavy.

The early weeks ask a lot of you, and warm, soft, easy food is its own kind of care. This soup is gentle on a tired system, full of fluid for the days your own cup goes cold three times before you finish it, and soft enough to eat with one hand while the other is busy.

Ingredients

  • 1 litre good chicken stock
  • 2 cooked chicken breasts, or the meat from a small cooked chicken, shredded
  • A thumb of fresh ginger, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 carrot, finely diced
  • 1 celery stick, finely diced
  • 75g white rice
  • 2 spring onions, sliced
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Sea salt and a little pepper
  • A handful of soft herbs, if you have them

Method

  1. Bring the stock to a gentle simmer with the ginger, garlic, carrot and celery. Cook for ten minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
  2. Add the rice and simmer for another twelve to fifteen minutes, until the rice is soft and the broth has thickened slightly.
  3. Stir through the shredded chicken to warm it. Add the lemon, spring onions and herbs, and season to taste.
  4. Serve in a deep bowl. It keeps for two days in the fridge and reheats gently with a splash more stock.

The ginger is there for warmth and comfort more than anything clever. If you are not in the mood for it, leave it out, the soup is still exactly what you need.

Bubba & Me tip

Cook the rice right in the broth so it turns silky and the bowl is genuinely one-handed. No knife required.

Nourishing everyday food rather than medical advice. If recovery feels hard, or you are depleted or low, please speak to your GP, midwife or health visitor, and our registered nutritional therapists can help you rebuild gently.