Chicken Soup & The Common Cold

My mom always gave me chicken soup when I had a cold. It was hot and soothing and made me feel much better. The neighbors called it Jewish Penicillin and have prescribed it for generations. WebMd.com also lists a recipe for chicken soup that will help with cold relief. http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/chicken_soup_and_recipes_for_cold
In addition, a homemade recipe is listed below.

New medical research has shown that hot soup doesn’t cure the common cold but helps open sinus passages and loosens mucus which allows you to breathe better and eases coughing, sneezing, sore throat, runny nose, chills and fatigue. “The fact is, there is no cure for the common cold, and for the most part it's not considered a dangerous condition. Caused by more than 200 different viruses, most notably rhinoviruses, the cold makes you a sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy-headed and feverish patient, but it passes in a week or two.” http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/10/30/news/local/news05.txt

Doctors now advise parents to lay off the sweet tasting cold medicines and antibiotics and instead prescribe rest, hot soup and plenty of fluids. Last year parents spent $500 million on over 95 million bottles of child cold medicines.

Besides making you feel better and help ease cold symptoms, soups are also a good choice for a healthy diet. Most can soups sold today are tasty, contain meat and vegetables, minerals and vitamins and have low calories and low salt. A look at the soup counter at the local grocery store reveals lots of choices. You can see some photos at the link … http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Soup1809


Although there are many different brands, I prefer Progresso Soups. They sell a variety of can soup choices that have 60 calories per serving and 45% less sodium. Most can soups contain two servings, so you have to double the calorie and sodium figures.

A bowl of hot soup is now part of my daily diet. I have found that a diet of 1000 calorie per day allows me to lose weight although 2000 calories a day is recommended for a normal diet. To maintain this weight loss goal, I try to stick to the following diet menu: Breakfast – Cereal (300 cal), Lunch – Salad w/ Chicken (400 cal), Dinner – Soup (300 cal). In addition, I add plenty of fruits and vegetables.

A quick variation to homemade soup is to add a small package of frozen mixed vegetables to a can of chicken stock like College Inn. Bring to a boil and simmer a few minutes. Each can of chicken stock will make two servings. Fresh vegetables can also be used instead of frozen. Season to taste.

I also try to vary the choices of soup by periodically switching from can soup to the home made variety. Homemade soups are better in the long run since you can season to taste and use less salt. Although I help, my wife is the chief cook. She has learned all those time honored recipes from my mother and her family. The secret to a good soup is the amount of seasonings and that only comes from experience.

Although she has used many family soup recipes, I recently asked her to make a “15 Bean Soup” that I saw at the grocery store on a package of dried beans. You can see the recipe in the photo link above or the simple description below.

Pour the package of dried beans in a pan of water and let soak over night. This swells and softens the beans and breaks the skin to allow the flavors out when you cook the soup. Discard the soak water and add about 3 quarts new water with the following ingredients (small smoked ham shoulder, carrots, celery, onion, 6 cloves garlic, small can of diced stewed tomatoes, chili powder, pepper, 2 large handfuls of barley). No additional salt is needed since some comes out of the ham shoulder. Cook and stir occasionally for 2 hours.

Comments are always welcome. Do you have any soup recipes?