Chicken Soup Recipes for Flu Season

One of the cheapest commodities available in a supermarket is canned chicken soup. Even without sales and coupons, you can usually get a can for less than a dollar and often much, much less. Unfortunately, many brands of chicken soup are high in sodium and fat and low in fiber. The trade-off of convenience versus nutrition isn't worth it, especially when you can make soup yourself quickly and easily.

If you have the time to roast the chicken yourself and make your own chicken stock, please do, but for those of us who don't, there is low-sodium chicken broth and rotisserie chicken from the market.

Basic Chicken Noodle Soup

1 32-oz. carton low-sodium chicken broth
2 medium carrots, scraped and cut into "coins."
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic (or more to taste)
2-3 shallots, chopped coarsely (optional)
2 ribs celery, sliced thin
2 tsp. poultry seasoning (or substitute 2 tsp. Herbes de Provence)
1 16-oz. bag egg noodles (can also a box or bag of regular pasta)
1 rotisserie chicken
1Tbsp. olive oil
Black Pepper
Kosher salt

Note: If you can't find low-sodium chicken broth, dilute half and half with water.

Pour the chicken broth into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the chopped vegetables, the garlic and the poultry seasoning. Reduce heat and cover.

Remove skin from chicken and cut meat into chunks. (Don't worry about fat. Chicken fat is an anti-inflammatory and part of the reason why chicken soup is not just good but good for you.) Set chicken aside.

When vegetables are crisp/tender, add the noodles or pasta. When the noodles are cooked al dente, add the chicken and heat through.
Adjust seasoning.

Serves 4.

Basic chicken soup is good but if you're hovering on the edge of the flu or a cold, you might want to supercharge the nutrients to give you even more nutritional protection.

Variation #1

Leave out the poultry seasoning and/or the herbes de Provence. Instead add:
1 tsp. cumin
1-2 Tbsp. curry powder blend (to taste)

Also, if you like garlic, up the ante on it--garlic is one of nature's great healers.

Variation #2

Leave out celery and instead add:

2-3 fresh jalapenos, chopped but not seeded.

Leave out the poultry seasoning and add:

½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp. chili powder

Variation #3

This is a Thai style chicken soup.

Instead of the olive oil, use dark sesame oil.
Leave out the poultry seasoning and instead add:

1 tsp. of Thai-style curry seasoning (or more to taste, but it's hot)

Substitute rice noodles for egg noodles or pasta.