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It’s that time of year again, when there are seemingly a million and one different ways to get sick. Keep it at bay with this powerful slow cooker garlic soup.
Think about it: at this very moment, sniffles, sneezes and the dirty old flu are hunting you down via cubicles, preschools, grocery store carts, and everyday handshakes.
As the weather cools and we hole up inside to get warm, we get less immune-boosting, Vitamin D-soaked sunshine. Unfortunately, that also means our likelihood of getting sick with a seasonal something-or-other tends to spike.
Getting sick is never fun, and if you’re feeling the onset of a cough or some other bothersome cold symptom that won’t go away, there’s one powerful natural remedy that is worth having in your nutrition arsenal this year: Garlic.
The Science Behind this Garlic Soup Recipe
Think I’m talking old-wives-tale, crazy natural remedy sort of stuff? Check out this science:
A study out of Washington State University found garlic to be 100x more effective than two popular antibiotics when pitted against each other to treat two bacteria (both of which are commonly associated with foodborne illness). (1) Turns out, the compounds in garlic can kill a variety of harmful organisms, and have even shown promise in fighting off viruses. (2)
Researchers are now hopeful that garlic combined with antibiotics will help create safer, more potent treatments, with far fewer side effects or superbugs.
“We know that there is a potent chemical compound (ajoene) in the garlic plant that neutralises resistant bacteria by paralysing their communication system…
[However] Garlic contains so little ajoene that you would need to eat around 50 a day to achieve the desired effect. This means we have to pick up the ball from Mother Nature and run with it…if we are to win the race against bacteria, we need to bring new antibiotics into play. Nature is a great starting point for developing medicines — two-thirds of all new pharmaceuticals are based on natural substances.” (Researcher, Tim Holm Jakobsen via Science Daily)
Why This Slow Cooker Garlic Soup Works
Garlic is a natural antibiotic that won’t kill off your healthy bacteria, so you won’t be plagued with stomach issues and yeast overgrowth that typically accompany a round of antibiotics. In fact, garlic is 100 times stronger than antibiotics, and works inside the body by stimulating white blood cell production and rallying these important cells to fight infection.
In a 2012 study, diallyl sulfide, a compound found in garlic, was compared to two common antibiotics. (3) The results? All natural garlic was far more effective at killing Campylobacter bacteria than the pharmaceuticals.
As an added benefit, when you consume garlic, you’re not just getting powerful natural compounds. You’re also getting antioxidants. Immune-boosting, disease-fighting antioxidants are one of nature’s most powerful tools of healing.
Taking a cure from past and current research, this healing soup is literally loaded with garlic—100 cloves of garlic to be exact.
Prepared in the slow cooker, it’s an incredibly easy to make soup. Your house will smell amazing while it cooks. And you don’t have to make a batch every time you feel something coming on. Prep a big crockpot of the soup, then freeze in small servings. When you need an extra dose of natural immune-boosting, antibiotic-supportive soup, simply thaw and reheat.
Garlic Breath is Good
Eating garlic raw is the best way to take advantage of garlic’s antibacterial properties, but let’s admit it: it’s not the most desirable method of consumption. Thankfully, this soup harnesses both a massive amount of garlic in a super-palatable cooked form AND a good amount of raw garlic.
I wouldn’t advise you eat this garlic soup for colds right before a big business meeting or fancy dinner date, but if you’re holed up at home and want max cold-fighting potential, this is the way to go.
I say embrace the dragon breath, scare off all vampires in a 10-mile region, and give your body the extra health boost. Then, come back here and tell me how well this incredible garlic soup recipe worked for you!
Here are some of my other tips for the cold and flu:
- The Feel Better Tea for Cold and Flu
- Dangerous Cold and Flu Remedies
- Bonfire Cider: The Natural Flu Remedy
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 360 minutes |
| Servings |
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Ingredients
- 100 cloves garlic (approximately 10 pods)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 large onions (chopped)
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 bunch fresh thyme
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 15 oz can coconut milk
- sea salt and pepper (to taste)
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Cut the tops off the garlic heads, place on a large sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap in aluminum foil and place in slow cooker for 2 hours. Remove roasted garlic and foil from the slow cooker. Squeeze the garlic from the pods and return to slow cooker. Add coconut oil, chopped onions, rosemary and thyme sprigs. Pour in vegetable stock. Cover and cook on high for an additional 4-5 hours.
- Just before serving, remove the herbs and pour the soup into a blender (or use an immersion blender). Add coconut milk and mix until you get a creamy mixture. Add salt and spice it with pepper.
Recipe Notes
NOTE: To super-boost this garlic soup recipe, add several cloves of raw garlic just before blending. Garlic is most powerful in its uncooked state, but its taste can definitely be overpowering. So, add however much you can handle without going overboard.
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