Cleansing Chicken Soup

Sick. Again. I am on my third head cold since the end of January, not to mention the stomach virus that we all caught at the end of November. Nothing life threatening, or even serious, but between first trimester illness and the winter blues, I'm sure tired of feeling crummy! Immune systems aren't what they normally are when you're pregnant, and even though when I'm at work I scrub myself from forearms to fingernails every time someone even breathes on me, I am finding it hard to avoid all these viruses.

But I try to chase it away with simple remedies like tea and cayenne, hydration, and cuddles from Hudson. And chicken soup. Oddly enough, last cold (about a month ago) and this one just happened to appear about the same time that I made homemade chicken soup, which is medicine in itself. I have more or less created this recipe from scratch, and I'd love to share it! It's easy, delicious, and delightfully healthy. I adapted it from a cleanse I have done in the past, but had ingredients like ginger, coconut oil and a TON of kosher salt. I menno'd it up a little with the bay leaf and star anise, because those are the flavours that speak to me. In German. Ok, so...here it is:

You'll need:
1 whole fryer chicken, rinsed - I always buy vegetarian fed, free range, organic chicken, simply because this will make a fantastically nourishing broth
2 bay leaves
2 star anise
2 tbsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp cayenne (you can do less...I like mine spicy)
1 tbsp kosher salt, may add more later to taste
1 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
4 carrots, peeled and coarsley chopped
2 whole 6 stick celery, coarsley chopped
.5 pounds green beans, chopped
*these are the vegetables that I prefer, but you can add any variety you like

1.Place whole chicken, onions, whole celery, star anise, bay leaves and peppercorns in a large pot. Fill pot with enough water to just cover chicken. Add in cider vinegar, salt, and cayenne. Bring to a boil. There will be a foam that rises to the top as it boils - skim this off. Lower temp to simmer, put lid on, and simmer for several hours.

2. Remove chicken and vegetables from broth. Discard vegetables, bay leaves and peppercorns. Remove skin and bones from chicken (this is a bit of a process - I usually take out the chicken and put it in a strainer in the sink and separate the meat onto a plate). Take meat and shred it, then add it back into the broth.

3. Add carrots, celery and green beans to soup. Put back on stove, bring it back up to a boil, and then simmer for about half an hour, until the vegetables are tender. May add more seasonings as you prefer. Despite already having peppercorn and cayenne in the soup, I always add black pepper to my soup before eating as well. It is bar none my favorite spice, especially since I've been pregnant!

*After being refrigerated for awhile, the soup may have more stuff to skim off the top. And don't be wary if it seems thicker after sitting for awhile - just heat up, and it will be perfect.

You can also add egg noodles or rice if you prefer.

This is not my picture, but doesn't it look good?