Immune Boosting Chicken Soup
My husband came home from Melbourne last week with man-flu
How did I know it was man-flu? Well I didn’t get it!
There’s only two things you can do for man-flu
The first one is to provide lots of sympathy
The second and almost as necessary panacea…Chicken Soup!
So this is what I made for him
And it obviously worked, as he survived!
The ‘magical’ immune-boosting benefits of this chicken soup include…
Garlic – has antibacterial and antiviral properties
Turmeric – stimulates immune function, anti-inflammatory
Carrots and Pumpkin – both excellent sources of beta-carotene, which your body converts to Vitamin A as needed. Vitamin A is a powerful antioxidant that improves immune function and promotes mucus membrane health
Broccoli – cruciferous vegetable, contains sulforaphane which helps protect your immune system from age-related decline
Cabbage – can increase your body’s ability to fight infection
Other veggies – promote general health
Parsley and Coriander – excellent sources of Vitamin C which protects you against, and helps your body fight colds and flus
Homemade Chicken Stock – or what some people now call ‘bone broth’ – rich in minerals that support healthy immune function
But best of all, it’s deeelicious!
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large brown onions, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh turmeric, finely grated or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 cups diced pumpkin
- 1 head broccoli, stalks and florets separated, stalks diced finely
- 1 cob corn, cut into 8 or 1 cup corn kernels
- 2-3 litres chicken stock (see link to recipe below)
- 2 cups cabbage, sliced
- 2 cups cooked chicken, roughly chopped
- 1 bunch flat parsley, leaves picked, washed and roughly chopped
- 1 bunch coriander, washed and roughly chopped
- Heat the oil in a large pan, and gently fry the onion until soft, about 7–8 minutes.
- Add garlic, turmeric, celery, carrots, pumpkin, broccoli stalks, corn and chicken stock.
- Bring to the boil, then turn heat down and simmer for 20 mins, or until vegetables have softened.
- Add broccoli florets and cabbage and cook for a further 10 mins.
- Then add cooked chicken and allow to heat through.
- Turn heat off. Stir through parsley and coriander just before serving.
- Enjoy
Note – Other ingredients you could use to boost the immune powers of this soup include Asian mushrooms (e.g. shiitake), ginger and greens, including spinach, silverbeet and kale
Instead of using precooked chicken, use 4 chicken drumsticks, skin removed. Add along with celery and carrots. Cook for 30 mins rather than 20 mins so that drumsticks cook all the way through.
