Immune Boosting Soup
Hi, friends! Considering the state of affairs this spring, I wanted to devise a recipe that could help boost immunity. I researched and considered the vitamins and phytonutrients that are shown to be effective in enhancing immunity or interfering with viruses on some level. Chicken soup has long been touted for its healing effects, and I knew firsthand how good it felt to eat homemade soup when sick. So I decided to enhance the basic chicken soup recipe with other vegetables and spices that would be helpful. This recipe is safe for the autoimmune paleo protocol and can be made low histamine (by cooking the chicken in the Instant Pot). Truth be told, my favorite way to cook this is in one of these Dutch ovens. I’m not sure why, but it feels like it’s an even more wholesome meal when cooked that way. Either way, it’s a delicious and nourishing soup!
If you’re curious, here are the reasons why I included each food:
- Chicken – Protein is a building block for immune function and is needed for tissue repair
- Bok Choy – It’s high in vitamins A and C
- Butternut Squash – also high in vitamins A and C
- Garlic – increases the number of T cells circulating in your body and is known to have potent antiviral and antibacterial effects
- Shiitake mushrooms – In addition to containing beneficial levels of copper and B5, these guys have been shown to raise the number of immune cells and to lower inflammation
- Turmeric – it’s anti-inflammatory, which is particularly helpful during times of illness when our bodies are waging war against invaders
- Onion – contains selenium, sulfur, zinc, vitamin C, and quercetin (a flavonoid and antioxidant that has antiviral properties)
- Ginger – anti-inflammatory and rich in antioxidants, which again helps to quell the fire of a war waged at the cellular level
- Coconut Oil – contains antiviral compounds and is a good source of fatty acids, which are building blocks for your cell membranes and fuel for your brain
- Lime Juice – high in vitamin C
Feel free to shake up the vegetables for this recipe. You may not always have access to bok choy or butternut squash, so try it with whatever veggies you have around. The goal is to get a diverse spectrum of color in this meal so that you’re eating a variety of phytonutrients, minerals, and vitamins. You can make this soup Restart-friendly by swapping out the butternut squash and doubling the carrots or adding another vegetable like zucchini in its place.
To help me along the healing journey, I also freeze most of the soup once it cools, as any leftovers (especially chicken) contain high levels of histamine. For most people, that’s not a problem. But if you turn red, feel anxious, or are itchy after eating leftovers, you might want to try a low histamine diet for a period of time. Freezing the cooled leftovers halts the production of histamine (naturally created by everyday bacteria in our food), and so I use these mason jars and these Souper Cubes to freeze my leftovers for later. I’m a big fan of the Stasher bags and other silicone freezer bags for storing the soup cubes once they’re frozen. Honestly, I defrost a mason jar of soup for lunch every day, and it’s an affordable way to eat really well while also minimizing my carbon footprint.
In the end, this may have become my favorite soup of all time. It’s vegetable dense, a source of diverse phytonutrients, and so delicious. I hope you like it!
Immune Boosting Soup
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves of garlic diced
- 3 inches of ginger peeled and either chopped or grated
- 5 sticks of celery chopped
- 1 head of bok choy chopped
- 4 carrots chopped
- 1 pound of cooked chicken shredded or cut up
- 32-40 ounces of chicken broth
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- Ground black pepper
For Garnish
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 Shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- Juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- Sauté the onion, celery, garlic and carrots in the coconut oil in a large saucepan or stockpot for three minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except for the mushrooms, cilantro, chicken, and lime juice. Bring the soup to a boil and then turn to low heat for 25 minutes. Add the cooked (either shredded or chopped) chicken into the soup, stir to mix, and let it sit for 2 minutes on low.
- Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Sauté the mushrooms for 4-5 minutes and set them aside to use as a nutritious garnish.
- Serve the soup topped with the mushrooms, fresh cilantro and lime juice.
Notes
I know that most folks are really busy and may not have the time to make the chicken broth from scratch, so I wrote this recipe in such a way that it can be made in under an hour. But, truthfully, my favorite way to prepare the chicken and broth is to cook a whole chicken (4-5 lbs) covered in water in a large stockpot or in the Instant Pot. I add a bay leaf, garlic, and 1 tbsp of salt to the water as it is heating. I bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat to a low simmer and leave it cooking for 1-2 hours (or 23 minutes in the Instant Pot) until the chicken is falling off the bone. I then remove the bird and skim and strain the broth for the recipe above. As the veggies are cooking, I allow the chicken to cool and then pull the meat off the bone to add into the soup in the last step. Provided the stovetop pot chicken was cooked at a low temperature for a long time, it will pull apart quite easily. Mostly I shred the chicken in my hands, but sometimes I chop up certain pieces.
Also, if you have histamine issues like I do, you can freeze the leftovers. I pour the soup into freezer-safe mason jars, allow it to cool a bit on the counter, and place the jars in the freezer for when I’m not feeling well or need a quick lunch.
