Immune Boosting Onion Chicken Soup

This Immune Boosting Onion Chicken Soup will heal what ails you. It will warm you deliciously from the inside out.

So, what the heck is Immune Boosting Onion Chicken Soup? In this case, it’s a French onion soup type broth filled with all of the traditional chicken soup ingredients. It’s filled with garlic, and onions, and other foods that will help keep you healthy. It’s the most delicious germ killer you’ll ever have.

We are in the throws of Covid19 now and that means social distancing, quarantine… whatever you want to call it. To me, what that really means is that we need to be boosting our immune systems every way and every time we possible can. I really believe that every time you put something into your mouth it’s another chance to fuel your body and give it what it needs.

So, to this end, I created this Immune Boosting Onion Chicken Soup.

During this time of our new-normal-chaos, we’ve had to work with the ingredients we can get. Lately, each time I order in groceries and I ask for onions, I get the hugest onions I’ve ever seen. I open the bag and these bowling balls peek out. Really, these onions are the size of my head. So, I’ve made jars of pickled onions and I’ve made pans of caramelized onions. We’ve had onion-heavy stews. And all of these have been great, especially since onions are a great immune booster.

One day I decided I was really in the mood for old-fashioned grandma-style healing chicken soup. But these onions were staring me in the face. This ended up being a great thing. Sometimes circumstances just lend themselves the best accidents. And this is one such happy accident.

This soup is one of the best immune boosting soups in my recipe arsenal. For more immune boosting tips and recipes, download my free ebook all about immune boosting foods.

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Here are some of the amazing healing ingredients in this Immune Boosting Onion Chicken Soup:

Onions are great for your immune system; they are a natural antihistamine. Recently, I recommended that a patient with bronchitis put sliced raw onions in her socks when she went to sleep… she woke up so much better. (I know I’ve told you this before, but it really is awesome!) Onion is a superhero in the food world!

Chicken is something I push people to buy organic if possible. Organic chicken is a great, healthy protein to give you energy, lessen the pain of some types of arthritis, and boost your system when you are particularly weak — like after surgery or childbirth. People who have some conditions that we consider “excess heat” conditions should limit the amount of chicken they eat. So, if you have an illness that gives you a bright red tongue or severe dryness in your body, check with your doctor first. For example, if you have a lot of burning stomach acid, you should avoid chicken for awhile…

Bone broth is filled with bone marrow and essential fatty acids — these things promote optimal brain health. It also contains glycine, which is an amino acid that helps with memory, concentration, stress, and focus.  You can make your own bone broth, but you don’t have to anymore. Bone broth is now available in tons of markets. It’s sold in boxes just like chicken or vegetable broth. The glucosamine in bone broth can reduce inflammation and strengthen the bones. It’s also great for your skin, hair, and nails. This is a great thing to use for a quick soup base, or to just sip on during the day. Sometimes I’ll have a hot cup of bone broth first thing in the morning for a quick healing pick me up.

Garlic is amazing in its antiviral and antibacterial capabilities. Garlic is actually a Chinese herb (Da Suan). It’s used to kill toxins and parasites and also to reduce swelling in the body. It’s what I call a great “A” herb: anesthetic, antibacterial, anti fungal, antioxidant, antiviral, etc….

Scallions, as I tell you often, are one of my favorites. In Chinese medicine, the root of the scallion is a healing herb (Cong Bai). I always keep scallions on hand in my refrigerator so that I can whip up a batch of cold and flu fighting tea (scallion roots and ginger) the second anyone feels that scratchy throat coming on. It helps the body sweat out toxins. Scallions are antiviral and antibacterial; they are good for the common cold and general nasal congestion — just don’t eat too many if you have a fever.

I like to use some type of seaweed in my chicken soup. I used wakame in this pot because it’s what I had on hand, but feel free to use whatever type you like. Seaweed is good for your thyroid gland and your lymphatic system. If you have swelling in your body or you are retaining water, seaweed is great because it acts as a diuretic. In the olden days, seaweed was fed to people to get rid of goiters and tuberculosis.

Carrots help strengthen the organs in your body. They also are good for the eyes (this is their claim to fame) and they promote healthy digestion. Many moons ago, people used to make carrot tea to ward off measles and to prevent cancer. Carrots help detoxify the body and in today’s world of Chinese medicine, they are prescribed to ease constipation and tonsillitis.

Celery actually helps stop bleeding — so if you or anyone you know has just had surgery, start adding celery to your dishes! Celery is also great to help lower blood pressure and it’s been known to help with insomnia.