Cold Medicine
January 22, 2009 by Administrator
Everyone in my family is fighting off a nasty cold. I imagine we caught it at church last week. It’s hit everyone except Dad. I think he’s hoping he catches it so he can play hooky for a few days.
We rarely get sick in our house since we changed our eating habits three years ago. I even had to look up our favorite chicken soup recipe that everyone likes when they’re sick. I hadn’t made it in a very, long time.
This is our version of cold medicine. I try not to give my family any over the counter medications unless it is really necessary. With the newest recall on Dimetapp and other phenylephrine products, I’m thankful I don’t. Sometimes we tend to overmedicate our bodies instead of letting it heal itself. Every sniffle and cough does not need to be medicated. If the cough is so bad that it is keeping my kids up all night I will use a cough syrup.
I also like to use Vicks Vapor rub on their chests to help clear up some congestion. I use extra pillows and prop them up so they have better drainage while they sleep. It helps my little ones sleep better.
So, I thought I would share my chicken soup recipe. It’s nothing magical, but it is the ultimate comfort food when you’re sick.
Chicken Soup – Cold Medicine
1 whole chicken
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup whole, baby carrots
1 whole onion, chopped into quarters
1 celery stock, chopped
Place all in a crockpot and let it cook overnight on low.
Next morning, remove chicken and let it cool. Shred the chicken and set aside half of it for another meal.
Strain the chicken stock, discarding all the remaining veggies and place strained stock into a large pot. Add veggies of your choice and the shredded chicken I like to add:
whole baby carrots
red potatoes
snow peas
shredded cabbage
broccoli
cauliflower
spinach (added right before serving)
cilantro
garlic
Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
Bring up a boil, then bring down to a simmer and cook until the veggies are tender. I always add the quick cooking veggies after the potatoes and carrots are tender so they do not get overcooked.
There was an actual study done on chicken soup as a remedy for colds. They concluded that chicken soup has anti-inflammatory benefits.
Grandma always knows best.
Chicken soup has been scientifically proven to help the body fight off viruses. In my version, I add some garlic for its add antibacterial and antiviral properties. Cold “medicines” don’t cure the cold; they just mask the symptoms.
Lexi’s last blog post..Natural Cleaning Products: Should You Switch?
You’re absolutely right, Lexi. Great point!
Hugs~~
Coach Angela
I was doing a google search on children’s cough medicine and I came across your blog.
As a dad and a doctor, I find children’s cough and cold medications a very scary topic. I used believe the drug companies, and think that as long as my patient’s or I dosed the children’s cold & cough medications right, then everything would be OK. But when I researched this further, it turns out that children have died from “over dose” of ALL THE MAJOR CHILDRENS COLD AND COUGH MEDICINES even when given the correct dose.
The number of infant deaths attributed to cold and cough medicines is dramatically underreported. New research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics demonstrated that there were at least “10 unexpected infant deaths that were associated with cold-medication” in 2006 alone in the state of Arizona. Extrapolated over the US and Canadian population, that would be over 500 deaths a year associated with cold-medication! (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/122/2/e318)
The FDA recently said that they do not want to pull the medications for children under 6 because they are afraid that parents will give children adult doses because “parents would have no other alternatives.” The truth is that the American Academy of Pediatrics has said that buckwheat honey is a safe alternative.
Parents now have a safe, effective, yet natural choice for their children. Recent research from Penn State showed 100% pure Buckwheat Honey out performed children’s cough and cold medicine for children’s nighttime cough.
Buckwheat Honey is considered safe for children 1 and older, so it is the perfect choice for conscientious parents and doctors. Currently, “Honey Don’t Cough” is the only company packaging 100% pure Buckwheat Honey in ready-to-use packets for children. A growing number of pharmacies are providing “Honey don’t Cough,” it is available on Amazon.com. To learn more you can visit Check out http://www.honeydontcough.com/
-Daddydoctor
On the chicken, I agree-it’s absolutely the best!!!
On that honey note, I actually prefer to use local honey. We eat it daily and we rarely get sick. If we do, it’s very mild and it flows through quickly. This has only happened since we started eating it regularily! It also helps with any allergy problems that you or your family has. We are military so we do move here and there. The first thing that I search for is local honey. In fact, if I can get some before leaving, I do that! It’s worth the extra effort in my book!!!
Blessings!
I know that homemade soup always does the trick here. I normally use what ever veggies are in my fridge at the time. Currently, the soup stock being made contains: Broccoli, celery, carrots, sweet potato, onion, and garlic. I find that if I change it up every once in a while, the family likes the tastes of the season better!