Fever … aching … chills .. uh oh! You know what that means :/ You may be sick!
Falling ill is never pleasant and seems to happen at the most inconvenient times.
But when we’re going about the hustle and bustle of daily life, unfortunately getting sick is unavoidable during flu season. For times when you’re feeling under the weather and need a nutritious meal to nourish you back to health, soups and chilis are a fantastic option!
Read on for ideas on which homemade soup pot is the most soothing for when you’re sick. And yep, why Proper Good soups check all of the great soup boxes. ;).
Why Soup is Good When You are Feeling Under the Weather
You may have grown up with parents, grandparents, or a guardian who ALWAYS seemed to feed you a warm bowl of delicious soup whenever you were feeling sick as a child. And guess what? It never fails to make you feel better!
But why is that?
Well, there’s some pretty cool science behind why soup is the best go-to meal when you’re sick.
According to U Penn Medicine News, eating soup and chilis can help prevent cold and flu season symptoms during peak flu season. Even though soup ingredients like vegetables can lose some nutritional value while boiling, including your favorite veggies in a soup is a great way to include healthy vitamins like vitamin c, and minerals in your diet.
The sodium in soup is known to help ease sore throat pain, as sodium helps clear up nasal congestion as well as sinus pressure.
10 Best Soups When Sick: Try These Soothing Soups
So imagine a situation in which you or a loved one is already sick, or you have a sick friend. It happens … and often!
Believe it or not, certain types of soups are just better when it comes to nourishing your body toward a speedy recovery. Next time you’re under the weather, take out your crock pot slow cooker, an instant pot, or a big pot, and give one of these soothing soups a try!
1. Chicken Noodle Soup
Nothing brings back precious childhood memories quite like chicken noodle soup! Commercials like this one feature a warm big bowl of chicken soup with the coziest, most comforting fireplace … and for good reason!
Chicken noodle soup from Proper Good is a modern, elevated dish from the one you knew and loved as a kid. Packed with healthy components like turmeric, ginger, and collagen, this chicken soup even has a bone broth base which makes it a great recipe. Not to mention the ultra-filling egg noodles and carrot + onions! A match made in heaven. ;)
While chicken noodle soup is tasty enough to enjoy by itself, if you’re craving a topping, you can try crushed tortilla chips on top for an extra-crunchy touch of fresh lemon juice for an extra flavor kick!
2. Butternut Squash Soup
Mmm, creamy, soothing delicious soup–an excellent pantry staple! We love this perfect soup so much that we wrote a whole blog post singing its praises.
Butternut squash vegetable soup is a delicious and incredible source of fuel and plant-based goodness, perfect for the cold weather.
Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory spice that’s good for digestion, while carrots, onions, and garlic provide a triple dose of veggie power. Not to mention this vegetable soup it’s vegan, gluten-free, AND dairy-free!
Like all Proper Good soups, our butternut squash hearty soup is ready in just 90 seconds. Perfect as a wintertime meal, you can just throw this flue fighter in the microwave as a mid-day lunch or an on-the-go dinner!
3. Red Pepper Meatball
This convenient and tasty soup with red pepper flakes option is seriously packed with flavor and lots of yummy, protein-rich meats! This soup checks several boxes: filling, delicious, and keeps you full.
A Proper Good customer, Andrea, said, “Many of the premade soups I have tried leave something to be desired and lack in meat. With Proper Good, there was an abundance of meatballs in my soup. My son, who is not a fan of soups, really enjoys eating these soups.”
Well, we could not have said it better!
Not to mention that our red pepper meatball soup can be used to make this scrumptious ziti recipe. You just need 1 pouch of Proper Good soup, pasta, plus tomato sauce, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese … that’s it! Easy meal prep for parents that the kids will LOVE!
Tip: For extra flavor add more red pepper flakes.
4. Tomato Basil Soup
Tomatoes are filled with amazing health benefits. They’re particularly rich in the antioxidant lycopene, which has been linked to many health benefits including reduced risk of heart disease and cancer.
Tomato basil vegetable soup mixes this superfood with basil, which is an herb-y superfood in its own right! Basil can help protect against infection, lower blood sugar and cholesterol, and ease joint pain.
Tomato basil soup is a simple dish and easy to make! This easy soup recipe from the Food Network and Ina Garten breaks down the process into just 2 easy steps.
One quick cooking tip: some people like this soup hot while others enjoy it cold. Try it both ways to see which you enjoy more!
We personally prefer a warm soup.
5. Vegetable Minestrone
Minestrone is a thick, steamy Italian soup. It most often includes pasta or rice (brown rice works just fine) … sometimes even both. Minestrone vegetable soup is loaded with heart-healthy veggies like kidney beans, onions, celery, carrots, and tomatoes.
Vegetable minestrone is just what our vegetarian friends were expecting. However, Proper Good has a deeeelicious meatball minestrone if you’re craving that extra delicious serving of protein!
Packed with 20 grams of delicious protein, our favorite comfort food, our meatball minestrone features grass-fed bone broth, too. Avocados or a hard-boiled egg are tasty topping options!
6. Roasted Carrot and Ginger Soup
This vegetable soup is the best of both worlds–creamy, delicious earthy carrots mixed with the flu-fighter spiciness of ginger!
Ginger is high in a component called gingerol, which is a substance with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Fresh ginger is even an effective ingredient against nausea–especially nausea caused by pregnancy morning sickness.}, which makes it an even better soup.
This roasted carrot and ginger soup pot recipe include tonssss of scrumptious vegetables PLUS apple cider vinegar for a tangy delicious flavor.
7. Chicken Bone Broth
For those times when you’re not in the mood for a full-blown chicken noodle soup, there’s chicken bone broth! This versatile delicious style of broth can be made in MANY different ways, such as citrus broth, more chicken broth “latte,” and spiced broth, too.
If you’re craving a hot delicious beverage, a warm low sodium broth can replace your caffeine-heavy coffee or tea as a nutritious, zero-caffeine option! Yet because of the slight spice provided by the ginger and turmeric, this hot delicious brew will wake you right up.
Chicken broth is versatile and can be a fantastic and delicious foundation for your favorite soup recipes. Not sure how to use bone broth? We know you love cooking, and that's why we have several delicious bone broth soup cuisine-based recipes on our website, like these yummy baked french onion chicken meatballs! Ready with just 10 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking!
8. Bean and Barley Soup
Bean and barley vegetable soup are quick to make AND freezes well, making it an option to cook in a big batch to thaw and enjoy for weeks to come, believe us you won't stop eating it!
It’s a low-calorie meal that’s high in fiber, too. For those with nut and soy sensitivities or allergies, bean and barley soup is a great option. Beans also contain amino acids, which are the protein building blocks the body uses to heal and make new tissues, including bone, muscle, hair, skin, and blood.
A quick and easy 2-step bean and barley easy new recipes can be found here for colder nights when you’re in the mood for an easy recipe and a hearty delicious meal.
9. Chicken and Rice Soup
At last! The chicken soup trifecta is complete. :) We mentioned chicken noodle soup and chicken bone broth above, but if you want delicious rice in the mix, chicken and rice soup is a great choice!
Chicken and rice soup have many of the same benefits as chicken soup and bone broth.
But in addition, chicken and wild rice soup helps in strengthening your immune system, provides relief from sore throat, is nutrient-rich, is an amazing option for weight loss, and even decreases the risk of chronic diseases.
This chicken and rice soup recipe couldn’t possibly be easier for busy nights–it’s even packed with vegetables like carrots, celery, and spinach! Yum!
10. Miso Soup
Miso is a fermented paste created from a mixture of soybeans, sea salt, and rice koji. It’s a go-to Japanese ingredient often used in soups, marinades, glazes, and condiments. Other ingredients, such as tofu, vegetables, and seaweed, can also be added to dial up the flavor.
In addition to being tasty, miso soup has several nutritional benefits. Miso has been used for centuries in Asian cultures as a probiotic to strengthen the immune system, lowers bad cholesterol, and provide B12 vitamins.
Miso also contains all 20 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein, and includes many healthy antioxidants.
Miso turmeric soup is easy to prepare and fun to eat. The recipe calls ingredients that are available in most grocery stores, but some ingredients, like miso paste, can be found in specialty Asian stores or the international aisle of your local supermarket. Keep in mind that miso can also be found online!
This recipe from Minimalist Baker is a straightforward, simple miso soup recipe to help you fend off the flu this winter!
Pro tip: Add chicken.
Proper Good Soups
While sometimes you’re in the mood to roll up your sleeves and get cooking in the kitchen, there are other times when you’re craving something quick and easy. That’s where Proper Good comes in!
Shelf Stable
If you’ve ever bought food for your pantry only for it to be shifted to the back and forgotten about … Proper Good is for you!
Our soups and chilis are shelf stable and stay fresh for several months without the yucky preservatives seen in many other brands, and are perfect for the cold weather.
Zero Prep-90 Second Meals
Our meals are ready-to-eat soup and chilis inside the pouch … and heated up in just 90 seconds! Perfect for bringing to the office for lunch, while traveling, or even just to enjoy in your own home.
As long as you have access to a heat source, like a microwave, stovetop, portable burner, or slow cooker, you are good to go!
Diet-Friendly Options/Variety
Especially around the new year, you may be looking to try a new diet or way of eating. Proper Good soups and chilis offer variety to save you from the boredom of eating the same old foods.
Keto: It can be sooo tricky to find easy keto-friendly meals. We’ve compiled our favorite soups and chilis you can eat while on the keto diet, making this healthy way of eating simpler than ever! (Like low sodium chicken broth)
Plant-Based: You don’t have to sacrifice flavor and heartiness when eating a plant-based diet! In fact, quite the opposite. Many Proper Good meals are plant-based and vegetarian friendly.
Dairy-Free: We understand–it can be hard to say goodbye to your favorite dairy products, either due to a sensitivity or allergy or for other reasons. Let Proper Good help fill the void with our tasty dairy-free meals!
Gluten-Free: Similarly to going dairy-free, sometimes going gluten-free can feel like an uphill battle. With soups and chilis so flavorful, you won’t even miss ingredients with gluten!
Nutritious, healthy, and easy!
Yep, eating nutritious food doesn't have to be hard! With grab-and-go options that are simpler than ever, consider Proper Good your new standby for busy days.
Check out this blog post to learn some delicious side dishes to serve with your soups!
