Magic Soup
Prescribed by Doctor Mom
I got that dreaded call today, from the father of my two children that my oldest daughter was feeling under the weather. Instantly, those super mom instincts kicked in, and I had to go to the rescue! I stopped by the store to pickup a few cold and flu season staples at our house, and I grabbed all the ingredients I needed to make my special, magic soup.Magic soup is nothing more than my chicken noodle soup recipe. I call it magic soup, because the kids are more curious and excited about eating soup if they think that it truly is magical. This little trick also works for grown men that are particularly pitiful when they are feeling puny. Keep this little trick up your sleeve, ladies. ;)
Before I jump into the recipe, I thought I'd share some cold and flu season tips that I use around my house with myself and the kids. I'm a single mom of two kids. I hate the ugly looks and sighs of disappointment I've gotten from supervisors in the past when I've had to miss work to take care of my sick kids...and it always seems we pass it back and forth, and back and forth. I've learned a few tricks for prevention and recovery over the last few years for this reason though.
These tips are not a guarantee that you or your family will not get sick. They are not a cure all. You must take yourself and your children to see your physician as needed. Magic soup does not actually contain magical properties. Magic soup is not an actual cure for sickness or disease. This is nothing more than a list of little things I do myself during cold and flu season. I think that just about covers the disclaimer. If there is anything else I may have left out, please exercise common sense.
During a doctor's visit last winter, my doctor asked me how we managed to dodge the flu that year. I told him we were oozing with vitamin C. I am a big believer in products such as Airborne, EmergenC, etc. We take our vitamins daily, especially during cold and flu season. I don't always buy the name brand products. Today, for instance, I found this multi-vitamin:
In my home, I also increase our intake of fruit juices high in vitamin C such as lemonade, made with real lemons, orange juice, there are other great options that incorporate mango juice and/or pineapple juice also. We eat fresh fruits such as mango, pineapple, grapes, and apples. I love unsweetened applesauce, but my kids are not fans.For stomach bugs, I like to get the frozen lemon treats usually found in the ice cream section at our grocery store.
I also like to sip on lemonade, root beer, and/or ginger ale. Once I am able to hold the liquids down, I start to slowly nibble on salty crackers. My favorite salty cracker treats are the Chicken Crackers pictured here. And, avoid greasy foods.Of course, during cold and flu season, you mush wash your hands, wash your hands, and then wash your hands! When one of our household family members gets really sick, I wash the bedding, disinfect the door handles, light switches, and sink faucets. For runny noses and coughs, I break out the humidifier, swab everyone down with Vick's vapor rub, take a nice, long, hot bath, and get PLENTY of REST! Check out my blog post: http://blogworthybyabby.blogspot.com/2012/11/pin-worthy.html for information on how to prepare a detox bath. I swear by it!
Take care of yourselves mom's! Get your rest too! Start sipping on that vitamin C you're pedaling to everyone else, and throw some of this magic soup in the crock pot. This is a good time to snuggle up under a warm, cozy blanky watching movies with the kids.
So, without any further rambling, I present to you the recipe for magic soup:
Magic Soup
1 pound shredded chicken
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 TBS minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. sage
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
2 cans chicken broth
egg noodles
As far as the chicken goes, you can go to the trouble of boiling and de-boning a chicken if you would like, or you can buy a precooked rotisserie chicken and de-bone it. One of the two previously mentioned methods would be my preference for a better flavor. But, if you are in a hurry, you could just put 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Toss everything except for the egg noodles into the crock pot. Cook on low heat 6 hours or high heat 4 hours. Add in 8 ounces of egg noodles. I usually buy a 16 ounce bag, and pour about 2/3 of the bag of egg noodles into the soup. Continue cooking until the egg noodle are soft, usually about 10-20 minutes. Serve with crackers.
Note: I only used half of the carrots I bought, and I only chopped half of a yellow onion. I had enough of all my ingredients left over to make another pot of magic soup. I hate to be wasteful when I have leftovers. If you have a large family to feed, you could double the recipe. But, if you're a single mom of two small ones like me, you can freeze the additional ingredients for next time. I put all of the ingredients (seasonings included) except for egg noodles and chicken stock together in the freezer. (I was out of Ziploc bags, so I improvised.) But now, the next time I need to make a pot of magic soup, I can just empty my bag of ingredients into the crock pot with chicken stock, and add in the egg noodles later.
While, I proclaim there are no actual magical properties to the soup, I do admit there is a bit of method to the madness. To read more about the medicinal properties of some of the ingredients, please feel free to check out a few of these websites:
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