The moment you feel a cold coming on, use the wisdom of a thousand grandmothers from around the world and make one of these healing homemade chicken soup recipes to feel better almost instantly.

There’s something so comforting about the silkiness of fresh homemade chicken soup. The velvety broth, soft vegetables and tender chicken are almost instantly healing. Different cultures have different versions of chicken soup but the basics are the same: boil parts of a raw chicken for a few hours and add vegetables and either rice or noodles.

2. Korean Ginseng Soup
Samgyetang in Korean, this delicious soup packs a healthy amount of ginseng which is prized for its medicinal benefits in many asian cultures. Ginseng is commonly used for energy and immunity boosting and this soup is an excellent way to get your fill without taking unpleasant pills.

Photo by Ally-Jane 

3. Jewish Matzo Ball Soup

Jewish grandmothers have followed the wisdom of the philosopher Maimonides since the 12th century, who wrote of the healing powers of chicken soup. Matzoh balls are delicious fluffy balls of crushed matzo meal and egg.

4. Moroccan Chicken Soup

This wonderfully filling soup is spicy from the added garam masala as well hearty from the moroccan cous cous. Fresh avocado adds protein and flavor.

Photo by Alpha

5. Japanese Miso Noodle Soup
The rich smoky flavor of miso is mixed here with chicken, noodles and shiitake mushrooms for a divine soup that will lift your spirits in no time. This dish is elegant enough to serve guests so you can relax and concentrate on feeling better.

6. Colombian Chicken Stew
This latin stew is brilliantly flavored with dried oregano, fresh corn and cilantro. Capers add a delicate saltiness and avocado balances everything out.

7. French Pot-Au-Feu  
This gastronomic classic relies on the beautiful vegetables of the French countryside for a bright and vitamin-rich stew. Luckily, potatoes, cabbage and squash are available almost everywhere so there’s no need to visit the French countryside, just your local Farmer’s market.

Related on Eco Salon 

5 Cold and Flu Remedies You Can Make Yourself  

Simple Healthy Soba Noodle Soup

10 Best Winter Vegetarian Soups 

Chicken soup image (top) via Shutterstock

The post 7 Healing Homemade Chicken Soup Recipes from Around the World  appeared first on EcoSalon.

This week summer came to the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time in a while, leaving fog-drenched residents blissed out but panting from the searing heat. Seems to be the perfect time to eat chilled soup for supper.

When most of us think of cold soup, gazpacho, or perhaps chilled potato leek soup, comes to mind. But a look around the web reveals a rich treasure of creative concoctions using summer ingredients and flavor profiles.

Martha Stewart Living has a giant chilled soup section with a whopping 40 recipes for chilled soups.

My two top picks are the Cucumber-Buttermilk Gazpacho with crunchy Spain-inspired garnishes and the Chilled Corn and Coconut Soup.

If you’re like me, you’re still trying to think of creative ways to use the zucchini onslaught. This recipe for Chilled Zucchini Soup from Epicurious fits the bill.

I’m not crazy about gazpacho. The kitchen sink mentality of cooking evident in most gazpacho recipes always makes me feel like I’m spooning salsa into my mouth. The different vegetables don’t seem to ever hang together into a cohesive whole. However, while this Chilled Tomato Soup with Cilantro and Yogurt Swirl from Eating Well gives a nod to gazpacho, it sounds much simpler and way more interesting, due to the addition of smoky chipotle chiles and the well considered garnishes.

Main image: Ulterior Epicure via Flickr Creative Commons. Other images from Martha Stewart Living, Epicurous and Eating Well respectively.

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