Chicken soup has the best flavor when the chicken is boiled in the pot with water, salt and just a couple of vegetables. The most common vegetables added to chicken soup are (onions, carrots, and celery). You can change that up by adding other less common things like garlic, parsnip, sweet potatoes. It really is up to you and what’s available. Here is America we tend to add noodles to our chicken soup.

If you take the time to skim off the fat from the broth chicken soup can be very low in fat. The easiest way that I know to remove the fat is to put the fresh hot broth into the refrigerator and when it is cold the fat will come to the top and solidify. Just skim it out at that point and you have a low fat healthy broth for your chicken soup.

3 lbs Chicken, cut in pieces
1/2 cup Uncooked barley
9 cups Water
2 tablespoons Lemon juice
3 Celery stalks with leaves
1 tablespoon Salt
1 small Onion
1/2 teaspoon Pepper, freshly ground
1/2 cup Chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon Celery seed
1/2 cup Finely chopped carrot
1 1/2 cup Green beans cut, fresh
1/2 cup Chopped fresh parsley

Place chicken, water, leaves from celery and small onion in a large
saucepan. (Reserve celery stalks.)

Cover saucepan and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours
until chicken is tender. Remove chicken. Strain broth into bowl;
chill until fat sets on top. Remove fat.

Remove skin and bones from chicken, discard. Cut chicken into
bite-sized pieces, set aside. (My note: if you want less than 8
servings, freeze extra broth and chicken separately in meal-sized
portions.)

Return broth to saucepan. Chop reserved celery stalks, add to broth
with chopped onion, carrot, parsley, barley, lemon juice, seasonings.
Cover and simmer 20 min.

Add fresh green beans and chicken; continue cooking 15 min or until
beans are tender.