The Best Cure All for the Flu and Colds is a Bowl of Home Made Chicken Soup

There are many things you need to do when you're sick. You should stay in bed, drink warm liquids and take aspirin if you have a fever. The most contagious time, the time when you are incubating whatever you have has already passed. It's too late for eveyone you've been in contact with. To avoid catching all these aful germs that are lurking out there is to get In the habit of washing your hands regularly and thoroughly. Germ ripe areas are door handles, telephones, public toilets, grocery cart handles and even computer keyboards . These are just a few of the areas where germs seem to fester.

A good idea when you feel a cough or sneeze coming on is to turn your mouth and nose into the crook of your elbow. So many people cover these areas with their hands. That's just a landing ground for all those germs to stay until you touch the next item or shake hands with the next unsuspecting person. Children in school are now being taught to sneeze or cough this way. They are still little Petrie dishes but it's a smart preventative for them to learn.

There are many things on the market being touted to shorten the length of a cold. There is Zinc, Echinaccea, Cold Eeze and more. Depending on which person or which commercial you listen to one or the other is the new great promising treatment.

Oddly enough it's not being out in the cold that makes you sick. People say you'll catch your death of cold if you'r not bundled up correctly. Or starve a cold , feed a fever. What if you have both? It's actually the germs that get you. Germs seem to spread more easily when the weather changes from warm to cold or vice versa. If you do have a raging fever it would be a good thing to consult a doctor.

A common soup that has proven to have some positive affect on your cold, chills, aches and flu symptoms is good old Chicken Soup. Right now my husband is into his second day of chills, fever and a terrible cough. I started him on the soup the first day. Granted, he's also medicating with everything in the closet so this is hardly scientific but I feel the soup is helping. If nothing else its warming, delicious and made with love.

Dozens of countries have their form of Chicken soup. Italy has chicken in brodo, the Greeks have Augdemano. This is a chicken soup with lemon, eggs and rice. You can find vaersions of chicken soup in dozens of countries, Mexico, Belgium, Brasil, China. England and more. Chicken soup is comfort food, it's inexpensive, nutritious and easy to make. Its usually made with an old hen or stringy broiler that would be to tough to cook and eat otherwise. A regular broiler or hen is what people use now. You can make it with braley, with rice, noodles, potatoes or Tortellini which would be Italian style called Tortellini in Brodo (broth)..

Here's my recipe for Home made Chicken Soup

1 good sized Hen
Several bunches of Dill
Package of Celery cut up in small pieces (about 1/2")
Several packages of carrots sliced into 1/2" pieces
Several bunches of Parsnips also sliced into 1/2" pieces
1 box Pastina (very tiny egg noodles
A large pot of water ( I used a 16 qt) pot)
Salt to taste.

You can also get a box of Matzoh Ball Mix in the Kosher area of your grocery store. These are dumplings made with Matzoh Meal or you can make your own version of dumplings. This mix happens t o be extremely easy and only needs 2 eggs and a little oil. These get boiled separately then I drop them into the already cooked soap. I do the same with the Pastina.

I also add one package of College Inn Chicken broth. My Grandmother would spin in her grave if she knew but I think it gives the soup a richness. It's sort of insurance in case the Chicken isn't powerful enough.The College Inn Chicken Broth comes in a sort of stubby mik container like box.

The soup doesn't require a lot of attention to amounts as far as the vegetables or Chicken go. I used to watch my Grandmother make this soup. There were no measurements so I'm just telling you what I use. You can use more carrots, less Parsnips but the Dill is pretty important. Dill also has some Vitamin C in it.

You put everything in the pot. The chicken will fall apart on it's own once it's cooked. I cook it for at least an hour. You can let it sit in the fridge overnight if you want to skim off the fat. I pick out the bones and skin once it's done and that's it. Your hearty home made cure for what's ailing you is ready. You do not have to be sick to make this. You do not have to make a cauldron of this. I like to put it up and freeze it so I make a large quantity. Sometimes I'm just in the mood to have some warm soup in the house.

My husband is Italian. Chicken Soup works for all ethnicities, all religions and I'm sure everyone has a variation on it..