Last week, Jack was very, very sick with the flu. Most likely it was swine flu since it responded so well to Tamiflu drugs. While he was asleep for days, I created an awesome soup for the sick.
First, you put on a HUGE pot of boiling water. Do not worry about measurements at this point. Leave room to boil your chicken. Add in all sorts of scraps from your potato peel, celery leaves & ends, onion, cabbage, carrot and garlic skins. I also put in a couple of serrano peppers which will add a little heat for the sinuses. All these things will help flavor the water as well.
After the chicken is done (hour or so), remove it and let it cool until you can debone it. Then, get another huge pot and strainer. You're going to strain out all the skins and gather just the broth for your soup. That broth is packed with vitamins & minerals the body is craving.
While all that was cooking, hopefully, you were busy chopping up all those veggies in the food processor. Don't worry about mixing & keeping separate. I just layered veggie upon veggie.
After the broth is strained, back on the stove, add your shredded veggies. Debone chicken and add that too. Now, you want to salt/ pepper to taste. I also add in some herbs at this point, like oregano or Italian spices.
Add some egg noodles (or rice) to build it up, if you'd like. Remember, this will eat up some of your broth. If I add rice, I put it is already cooked. This pot has egg noodles.
Here's why it is so good FOR YOU.....
Onions (Red in particular) - ease constriction of bronchial tubes
Red Pepper - have a substance similar to that found in cough syrup
Cabbage - maintains healthy estrogen levels (benefits me only at this house) AND helps with Jack's healing ulcers (erosions).
Chicken is low in fat and doesn't seem to upset the tummy like red meat.
Potatoes - make me happy & fill you up.
Carrots - good for the eyes, filled with Vitamin A
Celery - lowers blood pressure.
Yes your kitchen is destroyed after making this, BUT, you can make plenty to freeze for when you're sick again. It thaws & reheats very easily. Great for give-aways to sick friends & still have leftovers for your own family.
1 comment:
YES! Soup is awesome. Also:
Garlic is anti-inflammatory, contains vitamin C for healing and boosting your immune system.
Fresh ginger eases nausea and also boosts your immune system, so I throw it into chicken soup too. (Most ginger ale does not contain real ginger).
Supposedly spicy food is healing as well.
I heard from one of Iggy's nurse friends that a great remedy for a cold is hot tea with honey (coats the throat, stimulates your immune system, and is antibacterial) and lemon (vitamin C + antibacterial). It tastes good and really helps with a sore throat.
I'm a huge fan of food-as-medicine.
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