Hello peeps! Today I would like to share something that has helped me for almost 7 years when suffering from chest infections and bronchitis: the tomato and turmeric soup. I hinted in another post that that’s my remedy for this kind of illness, although it hasn’t worked for the Covid symptoms.
Now, I must say that this is not really a recipe of my own, but first of all, despite good research online I haven’t been able to find the original recipe again, and secondly, it is almost 7 years that I’ve been making it and I would say that it is become kind of my recipe, at least the one I am going to write about.
Then
One of the ailments that affected me since I was a child, was chest infections: when I was younger, I suffered these a lot, I got bronchitis so many times (sometimes twice a year) and I also got pneumonia twice (not that it’s something I’m proud of)! But it’s to give you a picture of my health. And obviously, each time meant taking loads of antibiotics. Obviously, when you are young, you just want to get rid of the illness, so you take whatever they can give you, so I took so many medicines.
Now
When I moved to the U.K., roughly 7 years ago, I obviously caught a chest infection. That time I went to the GP and took the antibiotics. However, I started developing the idea that there might be something else to help with chest infection problems. I started looking for information online using keywords such as “natural remedies chest infection”: this research conducted to several of the usual websites when you’re looking for medical assistance, such as WebMD and HealthLine, all of them giving the same remedies such as hot water and tea. [The best result I found is this one – Turmeric Tomato Detox Soup: however, it is not the “original recipe” and I haven’t tried it, so if you decide to make this recipe please let me know!] But then at some point, I found a page on another website providing the recipe of a tomato and turmeric soup perfect for chest infections, giving also all the specifics of how every single ingredient and their measurements worked its magic. The turmeric/black pepper ratio has to be 3:1 in order for them to activate in the right way. With the following recipe, I have been trying to keep those ingredients and measurements.
Since then, I have never had to get chemical antibodies again (and hopefully, it will stay that way!) and I get rid of the infection in 3-4 days.
Before proceeding, I have to say that I decided to share this recipe because is something that has always worked for me and never needed other drugs, but always consider to seek advice from a doctor if you are unsure.
The Recipe
The best way for this recipe to be effective is to use fresh tomatoes, however, tinned tomatoes can also be effective: I’ve made it a couple of times this way because I was out of fresh tomatoes and in no condition of going out to buy them so I used what I had.
Ingredients for two soups:
- 5-7 big vine tomatoes, chopped;
- 3 red onions, chopped;
- 5 garlic cloves, minced;
- 1 tablespoon olive oil;
- 1 tablespoon turmeric powder;
- 1/3 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Method:
In a pot, heat the olive oil and when hot add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds, then add the onions and cover to let cook until soft. At this point add the tomatoes and cover again for 3 minutes, until the tomatoes have released some juice.
Now add the turmeric and black pepper and give a stir to mix everything. Turn the heat off, cover and let cool off for a few minutes.
Finally, blend everything.
Serve hot.
Note: If you make this for your dinner, be prepared to sweat. A lot. This is great because the concoction is working.
I hope you won’t ever need to make this soup, but if you find yourself afflicted by bronchitis or chest infection and you make this recipe, let me know how it goes for you!
Speak soon!
Love,
TVCL xx
The Vegan Cat Librarian 