During this busy, wonderful holiday season, we sometimes let things like getting enough sleep and proper nutrition slide – which makes us vulnerable to getting sick. But we don’t have to if we take a few simple steps. My plan for staying healthy is:

• Lots of water
• Chicken soup
• SLEEP

First let’s talk about water. How much do we need? As adults, we should be drinking at least one-half of our body weight in water every day. So, if you weigh 120 lbs., you should drink at least 60 oz. or 5 glasses of water per day. Easy, right? It may be a bit tougher with kids, but, according to CHOC Children’s, children should drink the number of 8 oz. cups of water equal to their age, with a maximum of 64 oz. of water for children over the age of 8.

Now, on to chicken soup! People have espoused the virtues of chicken soup for eons, and there is research that proves its merits. Chicken broth has been found to heal the gut, and the root cause of illness is in the gut. The acidity level must be right for a healthy microbiome – when it’s out of whack, it fosters bad bacteria, which leads to illness.

Dr. Oz shared this from a study: “Chicken soup appears to inhibit neutrophil chemotaxis or the movement of certain immune cells to mucous membrane surfaces. The migration of these cells to surface cells in the airways may be partially responsible for mucus production. The scientists concluded that chicken soup may have anti-inflammatory properties that help dampen cold symptoms.”

So, here’s my simple recipe for the tastiest, easy-to-make chicken soup your family will love. I make it once a week, and we sip on the broth every day.

Ingredients:

• One whole organic chicken
• Carrots and other fresh veggies
• Purified water
• Garlic (3-4 cloves, chopped)
• Cilantro
• Olive oil (2-3 tablespoons)
• Salt and pepper
• A crock pot (or cook on the stove top)

Roast the chicken with the skin on for one hour at 400 degrees (or buy a cooked organic chicken). When it’s cooled, remove the skin. Put the chicken in the crock pot, with or without the bones. Fortify the soup with carrots and your favorite veggies, add cilantro (a phenomenal herb), salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic, and cover with water (about 8 cups). Let the soup cook all day – about 8 hours. If you cook your soup on the stove, let it simmer until the veggies are tender.

Enjoy the soup and its healing properties. And, just like great sleep makes for good health, good health makes for great sleep.