Sick Soup

Much to my dismay, I spent the better part of my little girl's birthday (yesterday) on my sick bed. It was not how I wanted to spend the day. I wanted to clean, decorate, shop, and relive every moment of her birth three years ago (although oddly enough, she did crawl into bed with me at 5:15 yesterday morning, the exact time I called the midwives on the day of her birth, which was pretty neat.) Oh no, my pregnancy hormones decided to kick into full gear and take me down. This pregnancy is like none I've known, for this is not the first time this has happened, but I keep hoping it will be the last. Anyhow, after a productive morning of cleaning at least the upstairs of my house, I fell to a sudden onset of repeated vomiting and finally gave in to sleep. Weird, I know, but I figure it's happening for a reason (if anyone knows why, please cue me in!) The only similarity I can make between this and the last time it happened is that I had a banana smoothie for breakfast and nothing else. I think I used the same protein powder, which could be the culprit, or the factor of too little food in my stomach. I slept until 5:00p.m., and when I awoke and felt to be regaining my strength, my body craved nourishment. However, I knew I could not stomach anything heavy.

I wanted something broth-y, something fresh...


Something not from a can...
So I came up with this, my very own sick soup (not my picture.) The ingredients were simple and consisted only of chicken broth (Better Than Bouillon, not the MSG loaded stuff,) farmer's market bok choy, sliced carrot, a handful of orzo pasta, a smidgen of basil pesto, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. It was so good and healthy, and had no aftertaste like canned soups do. It soothed my stomach instantly and restored my body's hydration.
So there I sat, just me, my sick soup, and a mug of lemon ginger tea, reminiscing on my first night with Kaitlyn. Simple home remedies are so effective and much preferred to OTC medicines and their nasty side-effects. It is my belief that given the right foods and natural remedies paired with a little TLC, in most situations our bodies possess all the capacity to heal themselves. I also realize that so many things we take out of a package or can can be made cheaper, easier, and better at home from scratch. Just listen to your body; it will tell you exactly what it needs.