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Coping with Cancer > Nutrition During Treatment > Comfort Foods for Cancer Treatment > Dealing with Side Effects

Recipe: Chicken Soup with Ginger

Made by Carolyn Vachani, MSN, RN, AOCN
The Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Last Modified: March 1, 2009

They say chicken soup is good for the soul and ginger is good for an upset stomach, so how could you go wrong with this soup? It is full of flavor to overcome the “everything tastes bland” problem. It is a healthy soup for the whole family too.

1 Medium onion, diced
5-6 garlic cloves, chopped or through a garlic press
salt & pepper
2 celery stalks, diced
3 carrots, diced
8 cups (64 ounces) chicken stock
1-3 Tbs grated ginger (**see tips below)
2 cups shredded chicken  (** see tips below)
4 ounces egg noodles (about 1/3 of standard package)
3 tsp fresh dill, chopped

In a large soup pot, heat 1-2 Tbs olive oil or butter, add diced onion, season with salt and pepper and cook until onion is translucent, 4-5 minutes.

Add carrot, celery and garlic. Cook another 2-3 minutes.

Add chicken stock and ginger, stir to incorporate.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 8-10 minutes.

Add noodles, chicken and dill. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook at a slow boil for 7-8 minutes to cook noodles.

Serve hot with crackers.

Some tips:

• I like 2 Tbs of ginger, gives it a nice ginger flavor, without being overpowering. Use more if you are dealing with nausea, as ginger has been shown to help with nausea. Add less if you don’t like ginger.
• I grate fresh ginger using a microplane. Some stores sell grated ginger in a tube, found in the herb / produce section. If you use that type, cut it in half, as it tends to be more powerful. You can always add more later.
• I buy a rotisserie chicken at the supermarket and pick the meat off. It is juicy and flavorful and saves me the step of cooking the chicken.
• If the soup gets too thick, just add some water.
• Need more calories? You can add 1/3 cup of powdered nonfat milk to your serving. It will make the soup creamy and add 100 additional calories and 10 additional grams of protein.

Nutritional Information:
Per 12 ounce serving

• Calories: 246
• Total Fat 6 g (saturated 1g, Trans fat 0g)
• Cholesterol 69 mg
• Sodium 553 mg
• Total carbohydrates 24 g
• Dietary fiber 1 g
• Sugars 6 g
• Protein 25 g
• Vitamin A (44% RDA), Vitamin C (9%), Calcium (4%) and Iron (7%)