How to Make Grandma's Chicken Soup
SERVINGS: 4 PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES COOK TIME: 60 MINUTES SKILL LEVEL: EASY
INGREDIENTSSKILL LEVEL: EASY
| 1 c | |
| 1 tsp | |
| 4 whole | |
| 1/2 c | |
| 1/4 lb | |
| 1/2 tsp | |
| 16 c | |
| 1/2 c | |
PREPARATION
This recipe couldn't be more simple! Carrots, celery, onion, salt, and black pepper form the base stock for many vegetable soups in the west.
1. Slice the carrots, celery and onion.
2. Add together with remaining ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for one hour. Serve hot!
Optional Additions for Added Healing: For a more Indian flavor add a spice paste of ginger, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and fennel sauteed with a bit of ghee. These spices (especially ginger) will help you fight the cold even faster.
How Can Grandma's Chicken Soup Make You Feel Great?
AYURVEDIC ANALYSIS
Salty, nurturing, warm broth soothes your belly on the worst of days. Grandma still knows best- Chicken Soup is her mysterious cure-all and its reputation persists today. The next time you're feeling under the weather, make a big pot of Grandma's Chicken Soup, and feel the healing qualities soothe your achy body. Common Cold CureGrandma's Chicken Soup doesn't have any high tech chemicals, compounds, or derivatives that prevent the common cold. So how does it work? The answer is that chicken soup pulls less blood to the GI tract while providing balanced nutrition. The more blood that stays in circulation, the more blood is available to fight disease. A whopping 60% of metabolism gets consumed by digestion. Releasing the power of that 60% is the key to Grandma's magic and boosting immunity.
Carrots and rice digest in a snap. Black pepper stimulates circulation. Circulation is great for immunity because it stimulates a light sweat, thereby releasing the toxins that are giving you the blues. Nutrition in the form of broth is easy to assimilate and keeps the body hydrated. Why Chicken?Between nations or organisms, war is costly. Sustained periods of fighting bacterial invasion eventually depletes your strength. Meat closely resembles our bodily tissues and is the best way to replace depleted fuel and vitality-giving ojas. Chicken is preferred for those recovering from illness because it is easier to digest than heavy red meat. Additionally, the nourishing fats of dark chicken keep your digestive tract lubricated and flowing freely, aiding your body's ability to eliminate toxins that may have been (or may in the future!) make you sick. The Vegetarian ChoiceVegetarians are recommended to use kitchari with root vegetables instead. Kitchari is Ayurveda's vegetarian version of chicken soup that has been used for thousands of years. Make your kitchari with extra broth when you're sick to receive many of the same benefits of chicken soup. Prevention is Better than the CureSome of the best medicine for full-blown illness works wonders as preventative medicine. Why get sick if you don't have to? If you feel even a touch under the weather, gently nurturing yourself with this soup can save you from heading all the way down the pipeline to a common cold or winter flu. It's not easy to cook for yourself when you don't feel good, so keep chicken broth in the freezer. It's a great way to jump-start feeling great again. So get in the kitchen and prepare for winter!
WHY SHOULD YOU EAT AYURVEDICALLY?
Eating Ayurvedically makes you feel nourished and energized. An Ayurvedic diet is
tailored to your individual body type and the specific imbalances you are working with
at any given time. Foods that supplement your specific body type’s needs and digest
easily create your menu. Watch as you eat less but feel more satisfied because what you
are eating truly nourishes you. Since Ayurveda believes all disease begins in the digestive
tract, food is your first medicine. By eating a healthy diet that’s ideal for your body, you
experience optimal health. LEARN MORE
Is Grandma's Chicken Soup Good for Me?
Find out by taking this free, easy quiz.
You'll learn your body type, and whether Grandma's Chicken Soup is a good fit for you. Time to complete: approximately 1 minute.
MEDICINAL QUALITIES
INCREASES
Increases These Qualities (Gunas)
Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main characteristics
( gunas).
Aggravating these characteristics weakens your body and causes imbalance.
By knowing which characteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct imbalances before you get sick.
Every characteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold).
You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite characteristic.
Learn More
| CLEAR  ABOUT CLEAR GUNA
Clear refers to anything that cleanses or flushes out wastes, or that digests ama.
LEARN MORE ABOUT CLEAR | TASTES
The 6 Tastes
Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food.
Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body.
Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food.
Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods.
Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion.
Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste.
One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes.
The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent.
Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below?
Learn More
| PUNGENT  ABOUT PUNGENT GUNA
Pungency is characterized by irritation, or sharp, spicy foods that irritate the mouth such as black pepper.
LEARN MORE ABOUT PUNGENT | DOSHAS
The Three Doshas / Body Types
People tend to get sick, over and over again, due to similar causes and habitual imbalances that are unique to the person.
Your body type summarizes this tendency, showing you the 'type' of conditions and imbalances that frequently challenge your health & wellness.
Using body type, you can also identify remedies likely to improve your strength and resiliency.
Your body type identifies physical and mental characteristics as well as your personal strengths and weaknesses.
The calculation of your body type is based on your medical history.
The 3 functional body types
(doshas),
are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha).
Catabolic individuals tend to break down body mass into energy.
Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy.
Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass.
Catabolic people tend to be easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry.
Metabolic people tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed.
Anabolic people are heavy, stable and grounded, but if they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion.
Learn More
| | HAS THE FOLLOWING | EFFECT:
Alkalizing ALKALIZING
An herb or food that makes the urine more alkaline (higher pH). This herbal action can be helpful for a number of inflammatory conditions.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ALKALIZING , Rajasic RAJASIC
Rajasic foods stimulate desire or nervous energy. Red meat, high protein food, garlic and onions stimulate desire. Rajasic foods include chili peppers, coffee, and anything that stimulates movement.
LEARN MORE ABOUT RAJASIC , Ojas OJAS
Ojas is the essence of healthy tissue, immunity, stable energy and happiness. Substances that improve ojas are recommended after long-term illness, debility, emotional and physical trauma, and even sadness.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OJAS , Prana PRANA
Prana is the Sanskrit word for vital life energy, similar to Qi in Chinese Medicine. Many herbs stimulate your energy, or improve the flow of prana through your body. Generally, prana needs to be increased in spring after a sleepy winter.
LEARN MORE ABOUT PRANA
TYPE:
Meats
CONTAINS:
Non Veg NON-VEG
Shorthand for non-vegetarian referring to recipes or people who eat a diet that includes meat. Typical demarcation on the outside of a restaurant in India!
LEARN MORE ABOUT NON-VEG
NUTRIENT:
Protein, Fats
COLOR:
Orange, Brown, Green
MOVES ENERGY:
Downward DOWNWARD
Downward-moving (Adho Gati Marga) substances move food downward in the GI tract, settle the nervous system, and relax muscles.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DOWNWARD |
MEDICINAL PROPERTIESExperiences are Personal
Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary.
The list of actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition.
Cleanse and Detox: Burns Toxins BURNS-TOXINS
An herb that detoxifies by helping your body metabolize toxins, as opposed to eliminating them.
LEARN MORE ABOUT BURNS-TOXINS Energy Vitality Strength: Heart & Circulation: Cardiac stimulant CARDIAC-STIMULANT
Herbs that increase the heart rate. Useful in cardiovascular health, blood stagnation, and subjective feeling of heaviness in the chest area.
LEARN MORE ABOUT CARDIAC-STIMULANT , Vasodilator VASODILATOR
A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.
LEARN MORE ABOUT VASODILATOR , Blood Tonic BLOOD-TONIC
An herb that produces more blood cells in the body or otherwise strengthens blood. Helpful for anemia and other types of deficiency.
LEARN MORE ABOUT BLOOD-TONIC Kidney & Urinary: Diuretic DIURETIC
Herbs that promote urine formation, thereby flushing the kidneys and urinary tract while eliminating any excess water retention. As diuretics reduce water retention, they are often used to reduce blood pressure.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DIURETIC Liver & Gall Bladder: Cholagogue CHOLAGOGUE
Cholagogues stimulate the release of bile from the gall bladder for improved digestion.
LEARN MORE ABOUT CHOLAGOGUE Lung and Sinus: Decongestant DECONGESTANT
An herb that reduces mucus congestion in the sinus or lungs by restricting blood flow to mucus membranes.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DECONGESTANT
Eat Well for Life With Ayurveda: Balance Your Dosha
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About the Author
John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly, teaches people how to have a
healthy diet and lifestyle with Ayurveda.
His approach to Ayurveda exudes a certain ease, which many find enjoyable and insightful.
His online course Balance Your Ayurvedic Diet in a Week provides tools for gracefully healing with Ayurveda to thousands.
John also directs Joyful Belly's School of Ayurveda
, which specializes in digestive tract pathology & Ayurvedic nutrition.
John and his wife Natalie recently published Explore Your Hunger: A Guide to Hunger, Appetite & Food.
John's interest in Ayurveda and digestive tract pathology was inspired by a complex digestive disorder acquired from years of international travel, including his public service work in South Asia.
John's commitment to the detailed study of digestive disorders reflects his zeal to get down to the roots of the problem. His hope and belief in the capacity of each & every client to improve their quality of life is nothing short of a personal passion.
John's creativity in the kitchen and delight in cooking for others comes from his family oriented upbringing.
In addition to his certification in Ayurveda, John holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University.
John enjoys sharing Ayurveda within the context of his Catholic roots,
and finds Ayurveda gives him an opportunity to participate in the healing mission of the Church.
Jesus expressed God's love by feeding and healing the sick.
That kindness is the fundamental ministry of Ayurveda as well.
Read more
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What chicken parts are recommended? Bone in or bone out?
- Mike, Pittsburgh, PA , 12-17-11 ( Reply) I always cook with the bone for the added mineral content. A tbsp of vinegar will draw even more minerals out of the bones. Kapha and Kapha/Pitta should use the breast. Vata and Vata/Pitta may use the dark meat. Thanks for asking!
I was looking for an easy recipe tonight to use up my chicken, and yours fit the bill perfectly. The soup was delicious, too. This will become a regular staple at our house. Thank you!
This is a weekly Friday night dinner for us. Four children and two adults all love it. And it's such a nourishing soup.
- Debbie Moskowitz , 10-31-13 ( Reply) To get some oiliness from chicken fat, I presume that you use chicken with skin and then skim off the excess fat. Is that the case?
I like to add 1/2 tsp. dried Thyme, a Bay Leaf, and 5 or 6 whole garlic cloves, that I've just chopped in half, without peeling. I've tried the ACV but I don't care for it. If you cook this in a slow cooker, on Low, you can fix it and forget it, and it will be ready for you at day end for a meal. And if you get distracted with other things, and leave it on a bit long; well then those bones are going to get nice and soft on their own.
Some of the ingredients are not suitable for kappa. How do I substitute that will still make it beneficial to fight off the cold or flu
- Fiona Pereira, Mississauga, ON , 01-11-17 ( Reply) To make the soup more suitable for Kapha, leave out the rice and carrot and instead add collard greens or kale.
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