For colds....replacements for soup?
 

I wrote about how I paused my diet for a trip a few weeks back. I gained 11 lbs on it but have since lost 13. However upon getting back, I got a pretty nasty cold. Running low on food, I went to my grocery store feeling pretty groggy.

I had a mini cheat where I bought some hot cups of soup which I had for lunch. Both really hit the spot. Felt much better this afternoon.

With that in mind, what does one do here that is low carb friendly? I haven't seen many soups at all be low carb.

I used to have some hot cocoa if sick from time to time and some soup as well. Both of those are out. Not really a tea guy.

I know it's just one of many nominal helping remedies, but was wondering if any of you have kind of dealt with this and what you did.

If it does have an affect on your health or at least your mental state and is not an egregious cheat, I'm not sure it's one of those cheats you need to dread over.

Thoughts?

I can't really comment on cold remedies. I just got over one, I think time is the only answer; you'll either get better or you wont ;) I think keeping hydrated and salted down is a good idea - And as far a low carb soups go, I make variations of Pho with shirataki noodles and bone broth. I think the highest carb thing in the soup is the fresh bean sprouts. So if you start with bone broth, add some kind of meat, seasoning and shiritaki noodles you'll have some good soup.

Here's a few pictures of prepping it in sequence http://downhaul.com/lowcarb/keto113-140/PhakeFho

And what it looks like right before it goes down the eating hole...

There's also chicken broth with a stirred in egg for egg drop soup; I love that. Especially in a hot & sour base.

I love soup when I'm not feeling well:

1. Egg drop soup- I use chicken broth and stir in beaten egg
2. Chicken noodles- chicken broth, Shirataki noodles, diced onion/celery and carrot, shredded chicken
3. Italian wedding soup- chicken broth, pre made meatballs (I love the fancy chicken ones in refrigerated section, but you can certainly use beef), chopped celery and onion. I add garlic and a few handfuls of spinach at the end, some chopped up shirataki noodles. Then I top with Parmesan and parsley.
4. Tomato bisque- I just heat one cup chopped canned tomato with 1 c milk sub (I use cashew) a bit of chicken bouillon and a bit of Splenda. It tastes like Campbell's

Too sick to stand to make any of the above (10 minute soups), here are the only commercial options I have found:

1. Progression French onion - 16 net carbs per can, so not terrible. Also tabatchnick has a 10 g one but serving is 1 cup (but comes in frozen pouch, so I just make one. Whereas with progreso, I assume you want whole can).
I add 1.5 provolone or Swiss, too.

2. Progreso light chicken and cheese enchilada- 12 net carbs per can

I also like sf jello- I add scoop of cottage cheese is hungry. Greek yogurt is nice.
Scrambled eggs or omelets are easy on throat.
I love light Swiss miss- 4 net carbs per cup.

Feel better!

I make chicken bone broth every week with the remnants of the store-bought roasted chix. This gives me a really gelatinous base. When I'm ready to make the soup, I add (whatever) cooked meat and vlc veggies. So soothing, comforting and very LC.

BTW, I can't remember the last time I had a cold. I'm sure it has been many years.

Ditto on the homemade broth. I save up a large baggie of bones from my meals and pressure cook a batch every two months or so. Freeze in ice cube trays and you have instant broth whenever you want for a hot drink, a base for a sauce or soup.

Add any kind of meat or veggies for soup - shredded cabbage takes the place of noodles nicely.

Way more likely to help you over a cold than store bought. IMO.

To paraphrase the great Bob Seger in Against the Wind, it's all about "what to leave in, what to leave out". So you include fats, meats, low carb vegetables. And you leave out grains, starchy vegetables, overly sweet vegetables.

If you must buy store bought instead of making your own, look for chicken and vegetables rather than chicken noodle or chicken with rice. Better yet, buy plain vegetable soup and add some chicken.

Storebought soups use cheap ingredients (starches, sugars) and charge a lot for them. You are much better off to make up some broth when you're feeling well, freeze it to have on hand. Add meat and veggies (and some of Thud's shirataki noodles if you can find them) and you are sure to feel better for eating it.

Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks for the input.

I hate a large cup of Italian wedding soup and then another one of beef stew. Both were great. I loved soup before this diet. Tasty and generally healthy.

I know it doesn't cure the cold, but I'm thinking more of..."I need to work today and this is going to help me feel a bit better". If my weight stays flat or I gain .1 lbs or whatever, I guess that's a tradeoff I'd make.

I'm not going to go out of my way to cheat with soup, but I think that's one I'll allow as it did help and it's not really a major cheat. Won't be by that way for a bit so perhaps that's all for now.

Thanks again.

Make soup with broth and cream instead of using flour to thicken; or for clear soup, use Miracle Rice or the Shiritaki "Macaroni" I think it is called - tube shaped - instead of pasta. No beans, corn or potatoes, just veggies and meats. Done.

I'm probably not going to making my own soup anytime soon haha. One day though.

We'll keep trying to convince ya ;) I made this tonight. It took about 15 minutes from start to finish and it was very good (I like these kind of things).

Coconut Beef Soup w/Green Curry paste - ~ 8 carbs (net)

That's what I learned years ago! Water & salt are the best & easiest things to help one over a cold or just about anything.

Soups are just a vehicle for water & salt, but there are lots of low carb soups out there if that's what you want. The best, tho, is just plain broth. Old-fashioned beef tea would be good, too.

If you don't to simmer bones and veggies and strain and blah, blah for hours on end- just go for one of the many suggestions above to do a simple-10 to 15 instant just throw it all in pot variation ;)
Using premade broth or bouillon, Precooked meat like rotisserie or meatballs, pre chopped veg, etc.... It really is easy. Trust me, I ate a lot of these during 6 months of partial paralysis.

Edited to add- here is another commercial one I thought of for you:
Amy's makes a Thai coconut one that is 14 net per can. It's delicious. I would leave the couple large hunks of sweet potato for even lower carb count.

You might also look for an all meat chilli?

Hi. I'm not going to bug you about the cheating time ;) - I read your other thread. I'm a sports fan and I probably would have done the same at such an event. Few regrets. But something worth mentioning is that carb cheats can trash your immune system. I bet you wouldn't have gotten sick if you stayed somewhat LC. I haven't had a cold since 2011, and I work at a post-secondary institution in which not that many students are local. It's an absolute freaking germ factory. Every September/October, coworkers are sick left and right, when all the new students and traveling students bring their germs. I "should" be sick at least 3-5 times a year, like I was pre-LC, and I guess like the average person, but it just doesn't happen anymore.

I agree with the previous soup suggestions. There are lots of ways to have LC soup. We also have a ton of recipes in our Soups/Sauces/Apps forum. My favorite one for avoiding colds is Thai coconut curry. If my fiance is sick, or I feel that telltale ear ache/scratchy throat, coconut is one of my weapons to nip the bugs in the bud. I eat as much coconut oil as I can stand. It contains lauric acid, which has strong anti-viral/anti-bacterial properties.

Hope you're feeling 100% again soon. :thup:

Chicken Bouillon w/butter, cayenne and red pepper flakes added. That's what I use for bronchitis. For colds I use zinc lozenges Zicam or the sugar-free ones from Walmart.
Been lucky this year not been sick yet. Fasting boosts the Immune system among other things.

I also try to always use hand sanitizer if I have been in contact with people instead of animals :lol: