The early signs are subtle but I’ve been in this parenting game long enough to know the severity at the onset. It is at this point that I unleash a litany of cold-curing behaviors, some of which will undoubtedly sound like witchcraft to the regular population.
Depending on the early cues, I mobilize wannabe-nurse-mode and customize an entire treatment plan designed specifically for the patient…errr child. I regularly get eye rolls from the occupants of the infirmary but my success rate speaks for itself.
I have single handedly stopped countless colds from progressing into something that even necessitates an absent day, much to their disappointment.
Let’s begin with the basics. I immediately increase their hydration and introduce several mugs of tea into their daily habit. I temporarily restrict sugar and dairy for the lifespan of the symptoms. I make a “Sick Kid Smoothie” that contains gobs of ginger and Vitamin C.
I double vegetable consumption. And possibly their least favorite of my “Sick Kid Protocol,” I crush honey and fresh garlic together and they drink it like cough syrup.
One thing I know as a single working mom of four children, is that my kids will go to school. And while there is nothing more intense than me after observing a snotty nose, the proof is in the attendance records.
I beg that you do not follow in my probably non-science backed footsteps and instead go buy a bottle of DayQuil like a normal person, but easy (or normal) has never been my setting. You’ll find me in the kitchen with a mortar and pestle, creating a drinkable paste out of honey and garlic like a lunatic.
My kids have grown up with this behavior, so while I receive frequent eye rolls, they know better than to fight it. The last thing in my spell book is always greeted with eager grins and taste test requests. I’m fairly certain my youngest fakes being sick to get his hands on a bowl of my chicken noodle soup.
I make it at the first sign of sickness regardless of the time of year or severity. And while you could argue that this remedy is just an old wives tale, it is my firm non-science backed opinion that there’s nothing that a warm, brothy bowl of garlic, thyme and vegetables won’t make just a little better.
And honestly, if we’re eating straight garlic cloves in the kitchen like a coven gathered around a cauldron, do you really think I’m worried about believing an old wives tale?
The key to chicken noodle soup in the sick season is the homemade broth. You can approach that part one of three ways. You can boil a whole chicken with carrots, celery, and onion until it’s completely cooked.
Strain out the solids and pick apart the chicken for the soup. You can use the bones from a previous roasted chicken or gather an assortment at the butcher and boil them the same way. Or if you’re trying to dispense the soup faster than the bacteria travels to its next victim, you can use chicken thighs.
This is the method I use most frequently because the time from snot to soup is the fastest. Use four to six skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs and brown them in a stock pot, until they’re fully cooked.
Once cooled, you can remove the bones and start your broth — while the other elements of the soup are cooking. Pause the progress on the soup if you don’t feel like your broth has become potent enough.
While I’ve given up on attempting to change the grimy-fingers-bacteria-exchange, I still wholeheartedly believe in the healing power of soup. Take me to trial if you must.
”But First, Food” columnist Whitney Kling is a recipe developer who lives in southwest Ohio with her four kids and a cat and is developing a food memoir that’s ever-nearing completion. If she’s not playing tennis or at a yoga class, she’s in the kitchen creating something totally addictive — and usually writing about it.
CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
An all-day broth is more enriched with minerals and flavor so if time allows, use one of the methods I mentioned in the column, and then begin this recipe on Step 3.
1 tbsp. butter
4-6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 yellow onions, diced
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 moons
1 lb. celery, washed a chopped
3 tbsp. dried thyme
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped (nice but not necessary)
2 tbsp. Kosher salt
BROTH (4-5 CUPS)
Bones from chicken thighs
A handful of peppercorns
A bay leaf
A couple carrots, roughly chopped
A couple stalks of celery, roughly chopped
One onion cut in half
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
10 oz. package of extra wide noodles
- For the soup, heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Place the chicken skin side down in the stock pot and cook for 8 minutes, flip and continue cooking until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside to cool.
- For the broth, remove the meat from the bone once they’re cooled and add the bones and all the aromatics and flavorings to another pot. Cover with water (about 6 cups) and simmer for the duration of the cooking time. Strain out solids and save broth.
- For the soup, immediately add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery to the soup pot, scraping up any chicken bits. Saute the vegetables for about 6 minutes until starting to soften.
- Add the thyme, parsley, and salt to the soup pot.
- Pour in your homemade broth and bring to a soft boil. Add the noodles to the boiling broth and cook until just soft, about 3 minutes. Soggy noodles happen fast, so keep an eye on them.
- Remove the pot from the heat and add the reserved chopped chicken thighs. Taste for seasonings and serve warm.
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