It’s the end of the semester for most of us. We are overwhelmed with work. Fatigue has set in. So has the cold weather. Perhaps we aren’t taking as good a care of ourselves as we should. We aren’t getting the exercise or sleep we need. We rely, not on the “What’s for Lunch” column at ProfHacker to provide healthy food options for our lunchtime meals, but fast food chains for sustenance. Our immune systems weaken. Our colleagues are sick. So are our students. Ultimately, we find ourselves coughing, sneezing, and feeling achy all over.
This week, in “What’s for Lunch,” we assert that Chicken Soup isn’t just good for the Soul, it’s also good for a cold.
For several decades, scientists have believed what the old wives’ tale has always declared: that chicken soup is good for colds. Over the years, we have learned that hot fluids, in general, help keep nasal passages moist, thin out mucus, prevent dehydration, and sooth a sore throat. But most interesting is the supportive evidence Stephen Rennard M.D., chief of pulmonary medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha (and his research team) found about the benefits of chicken soup. These scientists concluded that chicken soup with a variety of veggies contain substances that function as an anti-inflammatory mechanism and potentially ease the symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections, including congestion, stuffy nose, cough, and sore throat.
If you are sick, however, you probably don’t feel much like cooking.
Rennard and his team also ranked over-the-counter soup products in their effectiveness in slowing the progress of colds and flu. His list ranks the soups (most to least effective):
- Knorr’s Chicken Flavor Chicken Noodle
- Campbell’s Home Cookin’ Chicken Vegetable
- Campbell’s Healthy Request Chicken Noodle
- Lipton Cup-O-Soup, Chicken Noodle
- Progresso Chicken Noodle
- Grandma’s Soup
- Health Valley 100% Natural Chicken Broth
- Healthy Choice Thick and Heart Country Vegetable
- Progresso Hearty Vegetable and Pasta
- Campbell’s Vegetarian Vegetable
- Campbell’s Vegetable Soup with Beef Stock
- Health Valley Fat Free Garden Noodle
- Cup O’ Noodles, Oriental Nissin
- Campbell’s Ramen Noodles, Chicken Flavor
♦♦♦♦♦
If you do feel like cooking– or if you are cooking for someone else in your family who might be ill– the following two chicken soup recipes are tasty and healthy.
Ingredients
- 1 (3 pound) whole chicken
- 4 carrots, halved
- 4 stalks celery, halved
- 1 large onion, halved
- water to cover
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules (optional)
Directions:
Put the chicken, carrots, celery and onion in a large soup pot and cover with cold water. Heat and simmer, uncovered, until the chicken meat falls off of the bones (skim off foam every so often). Take everything out of the pot. Strain the broth. Pick the meat off of the bones and chop the carrots, celery and onion. Season the broth with salt, pepper and chicken bouillon to taste, if desired. Return the chicken, carrots, celery and onion to the pot, stir together, and serve.
♦♦♦♦♦
This second chicken soup recipe is for a crock pot:
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breast, frozen
- 8 slices center cut bacon, chopped
- 3 medium potatoes, cubed
- 1 pepper (personal preference for spice)
- 1 can corn
- 1 can cut green beans
- 1 cup finely cut chives
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 12 oz. egg noodles
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt (season to taste)
- 64 oz. water
Directions:
Excluding the egg noodles, put all ingredients into the crock pot, including the juices in the canned vegetables. Do not worry about cutting the frozen chicken breast at this time. Cook on high for 4. 5 hours. Using a wooden spoon, chop the chicken breast into bite size pieces.Add egg noodles and continue cooking for an additional 45 minutes to 1 hour. Suggest serving with salad and garlic toast.
♦♦♦♦♦
As we wind up the semester and you find yourself feeling a bit puny, how do you take care of yourself? What kinds of foods are good for you? Please leave your suggestions in comments below.
[Image by Flickr user foshydog; Licensed under Creative Commons.]
Comments
1. Ted Major - December 02, 2009 at 11:46 am
Here's the quick chicken soup with ginger I make. It's based on the recipe on the back of the Mueller's egg noodle package, and takes about half an hour to make (or 45mins if you brown the chicken a bit for more flavor). It's quick and easy, so even if you're not feeling well, it's not a tremendous effort. If you're feeling more extravagant, corn bread is also good with chicken soup.
2. Tria Wood - December 03, 2009 at 09:43 am
This is an Asian-inspired chicken soup I like to make. The ginger and garlic are really soothing when you're sick (as I am right now)!
1 tablespoon oil (canola, peanut, sesame) 1 small onion, diced 1 stalk celery, diced 1 tablespoon crushed garlic 1 tablespoon grated ginger 1 tablespoon crushed lemongrass 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 6 cups chicken stock 1 whole boneless skinless chicken breast, raw, cut into thin strips 2 leaves bok choy, chopped 1 carrot, thinly sliced 1/2 cup baby corn, sliced 1/2 cup mushrooms (white or shitake), sliced 1 green onion
In a large pot, sautee onion and celery in oil until translucent. Add stock, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and vinegar, and bring to a simmer. Add chicken, and simmer until cooked through. Add carrots, bok choy, baby corn, and mushrooms, and simmer until vegetables are tender-crisp. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with freshly snipped green onion.3. Tria Wood - December 03, 2009 at 09:44 am
The formatting was completely lost, there! Here is the proper list of ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil (canola, peanut, sesame) 1 small onion, diced 1 stalk celery, diced 1 tablespoon crushed garlic 1 tablespoon grated ginger 1 tablespoon crushed lemongrass 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 6 cups chicken stock 1 whole boneless skinless chicken breast, raw, cut into thin strips 2 leaves bok choy, chopped 1 carrot, thinly sliced 1/2 cup baby corn, sliced 1/2 cup mushrooms (white or shitake), sliced 1 green onion
4. Tria Wood - December 03, 2009 at 09:45 am
Which again lost all formatting. Weird.
5. Billie - December 03, 2009 at 10:10 am
LOL, Tria. Don't worry about formatting. Your post is easy to read. Thanks to you and Ted for additional recipes. :-)
6. Ted Major - December 03, 2009 at 10:29 am
Yum! That does look good. I'll have to give it a try next time I make chicken soup.
Add Your Comment
Commenting is closed.