This is the secret weapon in fighting sickness:)On Thursday Dorian got it, three days later he was generous enough to pass it on to me;) Now we are each on a couch, for the last four days. His is a sinus infection that spread to his lungs and mine is just a sinus infection. I think we haven't been this sick in the Mathew's home for quite some time. Yesterday we enjoyed The Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four two, and Iron Man. What else could we do LOL! Wondering what will be on today. This is the first day I've actually felt like typing too!
When we get sick in our house, the first thing we do is make the chicken soup. It comes in many forms: Mexican, Italian, American, but I have learned the secret ingredient to making it a sickness fighter...OK two ingredients...garlic and crushed red pepper. And lots of it!!! Both are so helpful on so many levels to fighting anything from the common cold to the flu. This time since it was me who was sick, my sweet husband brought home the mexican soup from our favorite Mexican restaurant.
Here's the recipe: Boil boneless skinless chicken breasts in canned broth, tear into bite sized pieces. Add pico de gallo (recipe follows), chopped avacado, and they add rice but I omit it because with the diabetes it makes my sugar go up, even if it's brown rice. The pico de gallo is equal parts of finely diced onion, tomato, jalapeno, and cilantro. Yes I said equal! I know you are thinking this will light you up, but trust me it's great. Oh and you have to add salt and lime juice to the pico. Now back to the soup. We keep the components in the fridge and mix them together and heat as we need it. If you put it all in a big pot and reheat it the pico isn't as fresh and the avacado turns brown. At the table use some lime juice and whole wheat tortillas instead of crackers. Here is where i add the crushed red pepper and chopped raw garlic if sick. Remember lots of both:)
Hoping you don't get this, but remember if you do. Even though you might not be able to go to the gym, you can still eat right. This chicken soup is good lunch and supper and it's what your body needs. For breakfast I eat 1 cup of plain Greek style yogurt with 12 chopped raw almonds, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1 tsp Truvia, and a tablespoon of grape nuts. Good bacteria for the evil antibiotics I'm taking.
