Chicken soup for the soul

Beat the flu with this lip-smacking soup — which might take a bit of time to prepare, but it’s well worth the wait

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Published: Fri 3 Feb 2012, 6:40 PM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 2:56 PM

If you’ve been feel-ing a little under the weather lately with all the crispy winds that have been blowing our way, I have just the perfect antidote.

When the weather is cold, our bodies crave the warmth of foods that bring us warmth, just like it craves things that will cool us down in the summer. Soups, stews and hot beverages are to winter what salads, ice-cream and cold teas are to summer.

This past week — with its sudden drop in temperature — brought sore throats, coughs, and even the flu as we battled the change in weather. It has been a while since I shared a recipe, so the time is right to give you one I developed that effectively fights off these ailments and still manages to soothe our taste buds in the process. You know how I love a recipe that provides both healthy nutrition and utmost deliciousness!

On top of it, it is a low-carb recipe that is suitable for diabetics. Chicken soup has been famously touted as nature’s penicillin and for good reason. It seems to be the cure-all for almost everything. This recipe is certainly not your typical chicken soup. The tanginess of this soup helps to relieve an itchy or sore throat and the cabbage is packed with Vitamin C, as is the lemon, and both coconut oil and garlic are two of nature’s best antibiotics. Coconut oil is also high in antioxidants, which have helped to treat colds and flus in traditional societies for thousands of years. Fresh ginger helps to alleviate coughs and fever and spices up the dish even more, bringing welcoming heat to the body.

Beat Flu 
Chicken Soup

Makes: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

· 4 chicken thighs

· 1tbsp virgin coconut oil

· 1 head garlic (yes the whole head)

· Half a lemon

· 500gm roughly chopped cabbage

· Green onions

· 1-inch peg of fresh ginger

· Salt

· Pepper

METHOD

Season chicken with salt and pepper and allow to marinate (if possible) for 30 minutes. Heat coconut oil in pot. Add chicken and sear on both sides to carmelise and get some colour. Chop off just the tips of the cloves in the head of garlic. Place garlic in oven at 180°C or 350°F.

When chicken is browned, add water and cover. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for about 40 minutes. Chop cabbage. Check on garlic. When it starts to loosen and you see the cloves coming out in a puree form, it is done. Squeeze garlic into pot with chicken and stir well. Add cabbage and ginger. Top up with boiling water.

Add green onions.Taste. 
Adjust salt.

When cabbage is cooked, squeeze half a lemon in pot and remove from heat and serve.

HOME 
REMEDIES

For other natural remedies, you may look into the herb Echinacea, a natural antibiotic that relieves congestion, or Olbas oil, a mixture of essential oils, that can be dropped on your pillow or inhaled from a hot steamer or a bowl of boiling water. Only a few drops are needed as it is very potent. There are also sugar-free Olbas oil pastilles that may offer some relief.

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