Common Cold Hurry Up Remedy~ Tomato Soup

 Feeling a bit under the weather, I decided to stay home and mix up one of my favorite comfort foods, tomato soup.  Here is a couple things you can add to the soup to make it a natural remedy. It may not speed up the cold, but it sure helps make it more manageable. Just add these ingredients to a regular can of tomato soup to make a tasty alternative to pills and Vick's.

1 clove garlic, chopped 

Garlic combats infection as it is antibacterial. In addition, its spicy kick help clear the sinuses. Just put it into the tomato soup, it should still taste a bit raw when you come across it in the soup, but this increases the sinus clearing and is more effective as a healer. If your stomach is a bit weak, I would suggest skipping this ingredient or sauteing it a bit, as I have heard it may upset the stomach in some. I have never had this problem.

1 tsp Oregano

Oregano is packed with antioxidants and vitamin K. Fresh or in oil form is more ptent, but dried is fine and tastes great in this yummy soup.

1 Green onion, chopped

Green onions aid in recovering immunity and healthy digestion.

1 bay leaf

Said to aid digestion, lower blood sugar levels and is anti-fungal and antibacterial.

Crushed red pepper (the kind used on pizza)

Also increases draining of the sinuses. In addition, it increases blood flow, decreases any pain, and boosts the immune system. Put enough in to be able to notice the kick. I probably put in 1-2 tsp.

Add ingredients and heat according to directions on the can of soup. 

Now sit back and enjoy the healing properties of your old spice cabinet. I suggest pouring the soup into a large mug and sipping it directly. Spoons are too much work when you are sick :)

Note: I am not in any way a doctor, nor do I assume to know any risks involved with this or any other natural remedy, though I can't imagine any of these ingredients to cause serious harm to the consumer since they are all common kitchen ingredients. Just ingest at your own risk. I did research all of these ingredients though, so my descriptions of their supposed benefits should match up with any found on other webpages or natural healing literature that you may find.