Get Well Food- Immune Chicken Soup

I hate colds. I don't even understand why I get them. I eat a balanced diet rich in nutrients, take a multivitamin, drink heaps of water and feel like I spend enough time 'resting'. I usually eat garlic, ginger and lemon on a daily basis. I do everything I can to prevent being struck down by the common cold. But alas, the minute I have a stressful week, I get the sniffles and the headaches... then comes the cough. Being an asthmatic, I very rarely escape a cold without having a couple of days ridden with a hacking, violent cough. It is horrible. I can handle the sniffles, and don't mind being best friends with my pot of Vicks for a few days... but being kept awake coughing? Worst.

Anyway, this particular cold, I have been all about natural remedies. Last night I made myself 'do it yourself Lemsip' by boiling some water with lemon juice + a whole lemon (chopped into four pieces), fresh ginger and some natural honey.

Today before I ate anything else, I made myself a huge jug of immune juice (apple, orange, celery, carrot, ginger, lemon) using my beloved Nan's old juicer.

I then decided that since I am home anyway, I would make myself chicken soup. But not my usual 20 minute Continental Chicken Stock type soup.... with time on my side, I decided to make my own chicken stock for the first time ever. In a large saucepan, I placed two litres of water, a whole chicken, salt and pepper 6 gloves of garlic, 1 stick of celery (roughly chopped) and one onion (roughly chopped). I then left it to simmer away for about four hours.

With the aroma filling my kitchen and making me feel better already, I then removed the chicken and pulled all the nice tender bits off and discarded the carcass, and strained the stock mixture. Setting the chicken aside, I went about making this recipe. I have never made anything Polish before, and the flavours really took my fancy. I took Teresa's advice and added the egg to form little noodles, and I also added some onion, kale and shitake mushrooms. Couldn't find the fresh tumeric so added a little powder that gave the soup a great rich colouring.

The end result was a gorgeous, nourishing, full flavoured soup that I sipped away at and felt instantly better. This soup really made like I was eating for wellness, and I couldn't believe how much difference making the stock fresh made to the flavour. The fresh stock was thicker and less salty than the carton, and the flavour was unreal. You do waste a lot of the chicken, but the lingering flavour is worthwhile. I strongly recommend giving it a try next time you are home for a few hours on the weekend.

I am off to make myself some more homemade Lemsip and surely all these natural remedies will mean I am better tomorrow?! We can only hope.

*Cough Cough*