Immune boosting soup is great to make and share with your family during cold and flu season.
General dietary principles:
- Avoid cold and raw foods, such as salads, when you are feeling unwell
- If you are congested, it is best to avoid dairy
- Through out the day, have as much soup and hot liquids as you can
- Use organic ingredients where possible
Recipe makes enough for four servings.
Ingredients:
- Onion – 1-2 peeled and diced whole onions
- Two long celery stalks, sliced
- One large carrot, peeled and sliced
- Garlic – chopped 4-5 cloves
- Fresh ginger – about a square inch of ginger chopped or sliced
- Extra protein: Chopped organic chicken, one egg (optional), OR if vegetarian, one cup of soaked and washed lentils
- Organic chicken broth or if Vegetarian can use vegetarian broth.
- 10-12 cups of water
- Thyme 1 tsp Rosemary 1 tsp
- Sage 1 tsp
- Black pepper OR Cayenne pepper (enough to make you sweat but not too much to make it uncomfortable)
- Fresh lemon – 2 slices or squeeze juice of lemon to taste
Additional optional ingredients:
- Green onions/chives
- Cilantro
- Shitaake mushrooms
- One potato, chopped
Do not use: Broccoli, cauliflower, green or red peppers (capsicum), eggplant, pasta, white rice, or regular mushrooms
- Chop and dice your ingredients
- Add two tablespoon of oil to a large pot, or an Instant Pot (soup setting). Order of preference among cooking oils is: avocado oil > grape-seed oil > extra virgin olive oil
- Add the onions, ginger, garlic, celery and began to sautee until the onions are clear.
- Add chicken or lentils and keep sautéeing
- Once the chicken starts to appear white and cooked add in the chicken broth And Or water
- Add other ingredients: potato, shitaake mushrooms, and carrots
- Cover pot with lid, or close Instant Pot lid
- Leave cooking another thirty minutes.
- After this, remove the lid and check that the carrots are soft to eat. Cook on mild heat until vegetables are soft
- For extra protein, poke a hole in the egg, and slowly let the egg white and yolk drip into the soup. Egg should turn white, indicating it is cooked.
- Leave soup simmering and add the remaining seasonings, herbs and spices: thyme, sage, cilantro, black pepper or red pepper, salt to taste
- Remove from heat and add lemon juice to taste
- Serve warm and consume liberally