When I was little, my grandmother loved to make chicken soup to ease cold and flu symptoms. I couldn’t smell the delicious broth, but it sure felt good going down.
Julie McCombs
Food Editor, GreerToday.com
This is a warm, soothing beverage any time – now more so with temperatues dipping and flu and cold season upon us.
Chicken soup does actually help clear nasal clogging. Salmon stew helps with omega-3 fatty acids from the salmon, which have an ant-inflammatory effect. Dark greens added to hot vegetable soup are loaded with vitamins A and C and Ginger seems to settle stomachs. Adding these components to your immune systems gives it strength to fight off those nasty winter colds and infections. I have added a few of my favorite recipes that you can make this cold and flu season.
Grandma’s Chicken soup
Ingredients
1 chicken, cut into 8-10 pieces (remove skin, leave bone in)
8 cups of chicken broth (homemade is preferable, but unsalted, low-fat canned is fine.)
3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 carrots, peeled, thinly sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
8 ounces dried wide egg noodles or 1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried thyme
Preparation
• Pat chicken parts dry. Salt/Pepper. Brown chicken parts in a heavy Dutch oven with 1 teaspoon of canola oil over medium-high heat for about 6-8 minutes, turning once.
• Add chicken broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover partially and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
• Carefully add chicken to large bowl. Cool chicken and broth slightly. Discard bones from chicken. Cut or pull apart chicken meat into bite-sized pieces and reserve.
• Spoon fat off top of chicken broth. Return broth to simmer. Add onion, carrots, celery, and thyme.
• Simmer until vegetables soften, about 8 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead, but be sure to store broth and meat separately in the fridge.)
• Stir in noodles, parsley, and reserved chicken. Simmer until noodles are tender, about 5 minutes. If using rice, simmer until rice is done. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish if you like with parsley.
Hot Ginger Tea with Cinnamon
Ingredients
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh ginger
6 cups water
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
lemon wedges for garnish
In a saucepan, simmer ginger, cinnamon, and water 20 minutes, or more for stronger tea. Add honey or sugar and strain tea through a sieve.
• Email me your favorite food remedies for winter cold and flu season. The best will be published with your photo.