The Covid recovery soup that got me through Omicron

As far as I can tell the first two weeks of the new year have split the world into 2 camps. Half of the planet was starting on new diets and exercising more in line with New Year’s resolutions while the rest of us have been spluttering through a run of covid.

I’d love to write something deep about the experience, but I’m still brain fogged so here is the soup that got me through it. If a friend gets sick and you want to go something to help, try some of this.

Covid-recovery soup

1 cup red lentils

1 tsp veggie stock powder

as many bird eye chillies, chopped, as they can take

1 400g can of crushed tomatoes

half a bunch of chopped parsley

3 big cloves of chopped garlic

3 inches of ginger root, grated

olive oil

greek yoghurt

1. fry the chilli, garlic and ginger
2. add 3 L of water and all other ingredients
3. Simmer for 30 minutes or so and eat.
4. Stir in some greek yoghurt

It makes 4 normal servings, maybe 12 sick servings.

It’s soup because my throat felt like it was lined with razor blades and I couldn’t swallow anything more solid. The lentils give it some substances without adding much volume.

Tomato is packed with vitamin C — as is parsley and chilli. This is important when you are fighting a virus. Your immune system is desperate for vitamin C. It also has lycopene which is an antioxidant which helps the immune system.

Chilli is also high in vitamin C and antioxidants. They also have anti inflammatory and antibacterial benefits which help fights secondary infections.

Parsley is also high in Vitamin A and K which can help reduce inflammation which is a common problem with covid. It is often used to help respiratory infections due to a flavonoid that specifically helps repair the smooth lining on the lungs which can be irritated during covid with constant coughing.

Garlic is a powerful antibacterial, which is again useful for healing. The strong smell is less of an issue during covid (alas) but can also help with congestion.

Ginger has a soothing effect on the stomach along with anti bacterial quality. This is useful if like me you have had issues with nausea and diarrhea (ugh).

Finally the greek yoghurt adds some protein and much needed probiotics back into your digestic tract. It can also make the soup a little less strong if you still have a strong sense of taste or irritated tissue in the mouth.

Anyway, this soup is by no means a miracle worker but it’s a good way to give your body some of what it needs when fighting off covid. Let me know in the comments if you have any other great recipes.