Recipe to make You Feel Soup-er!

As I've sat on my couch all day at home, finishing assessments whilst surfing the web in procrastination, I envy all the American people getting ready for Summer, whipping up fruit cocktails, frozen popsicles, fresh produce... not that we can't have it down here, but you'd be mad too! Sydney has been so darn cold of late I'm wondering if my fingers are going to soon fall off! I've always been one to feel the cold, but I'm not over-exaggerating here. My friends will agree. It's FREEZING!!

But cold weather doesn't always equate to getting a cold - unless you've got family that come to visit all weekend, and leave a trail of sore throats, coughs, headaches, running noses, bodily aches and pains... Welcome to my last 24hrs. Yep, what a nice place to be. It's funny how whenever we're healthy and have to go to work in the rain, we secretly wishe we were sick at home on the couch watching day time soap's whilst our loved ones would wait on us hand and foot with scrumptious food, showers of affection, love and get well wishes....

Well I'm sure there are plenty of lucky people out there who get all that when they're sick (I know I used too - when I was 7yrs old), but not me. I had trouble sleeping last night due to a severe sore throat that I was genuinely surprised to find was not tonsilitis when I got up and opened my gob to the mirror this morning. I made the tough decision to bail on my clinic hours today (yes, I LOVE going in, and that was not a sarcastic tone), stomached a coconut water and a teaspoon of honey (couldn't do anything else), then wandered up the road to grab a juice and a few veggies to make a pot of soup for the day. I took my Manuka honey, miso paste, veggies and herbal tea, and walked the 3 houses down to my mum's place where I could sit and do assessments all day by the heater, whilst my soup would brew on the stove (mum was going to be for more than half the day anyway and the few hours she would be home was with the kids she nanny's for, which means WARNING CHRISTIE, you'll get no study done... but still... there's just something about being in your mum's home when your not feeling well.

My 

Dear-Lord-I-don't-want-fruit,salad,nuts,anything-right-now-but-help-me-feel-better 

Veggie Soup 

Recipe

1 onion
2 potatoes
2 carrots
1 swede
1 parsnip
1 tsp miso paste


Chop all veggies, throw 'em in a pot, cover with water and plop in miso paste. Cook until soft enough to eat. It probably took me about 45minutes. I've had it left on the stove all day. Reheated a bit in the afternoon. Will do the same in a couple hours for dinner. If you like garlic, but all means add it. If I had it I would have!  ENJOY!!

The assortment of veggies I used was purely and simply coz when I went to the store, they were pre-bagged up for soup making, and the first thing you grab when you feel shit, is usually the way it goes. You can use any others you like. My girlfriend Janine from Simply Raw swears by loads of garlic and a pinch of chilli in her soup!


Later on I made a herbal tea for my throat and threw in sliced lemons for an extra kick-up-the-pants! Most herbal tea's will help a sore throat due to the warming effect and herbal properties. Pick what you like, make your own, or go buy one. We sell a Zen Throat Soother loose leaf tea that we make ourselves that's amazing where I work.

I've had a few small bowls of my soup and a few cups of tea. Went for another short walk to get some fresh air, then made a fresh O.J. All up, if you look at what's in the soup, in terms of quantity, it's a far cry from my usual calorie intake, but (1) when you're sick and don't feel like eating, don't eat! Your body knows best and right now, it's need rest! and (2) I wanted to eat minimal to let my body rest and heal, but you do need some nutrients or you'll flake and your body can't work with nothing anyway - especially if you're trying to do college assessments.

The only other things I can add which I'm sure you're all aware of (but whether you do or do not when feeling under the weather) would be:

- keep your fluids up
- phone a friend for a chat
- really listen to your intuition; a girlfriend of mine only just told me that when she feels sick she craves junk food and eats white bread, strawberry jam, lollies, soft drinks... I wanted nothing this morning but juice, and my first soup serving hours later was tiny! A typical day of eating for me would have usually included 6 bananas, more fruit, a big salad and some nibbles all in that same length of time!
- chew slowly; this will make sure everything gets broken down well making digestion easier on your body and ensuring no upset tummies later on
- try sticking to foods that are easier to digest
take time out to rest; easier said than done I am well aware, but it can mean feeling crappy for a day or two versus a week or two
- start that book you've been meaning too, watch that DVD you haven't had time too, or write that blog post you've been trying to squeeze in somewhere the last little while ;)

The sooner you're feeling AMAZING again (me too) you (and I) can get back to our usual beautiful bubbly selves :)