Get Better Soup (because food really is medicine)

Food is medicine, y’all — especially when the sickies are circling and you can feel something coming on.

When that happens in our house, a big pot of what we lovingly call “Get Better Soup” goes straight on the stovetop. It’s simple, deeply nourishing, easy on digestion, and quietly powerful — exactly what the body needs when all its energy should be going toward healing.

One of the not-so-secret stars of this soup is star anise — a warming, antiviral herb that also happens to be delicious. Combined with bone broth, garlic, ginger, and vegetables, this soup is comfort and medicine in one bowl.

Here’s how we make it:

Get Better Soup

Ingredients

• 1 large or 2 small onions, finely chopped

• 3–4 carrots, finely chopped

• 3 ribs celery, finely chopped

• 6–8 cloves garlic, minced

• 1–2 inch piece fresh ginger, minced

• 3-ish cups cooked, shredded chicken

• 60–70 oz chicken (bone) broth

• 1 cup uncooked rice

• 2 tsp dried thyme

• 1–2 whole star anise

• Real salt & black pepper, to taste

• Bonus: 1–2 tsp dried calendula petals, if you’ve got them

Instructions
Sauté the onions, carrots, and celery in a few tablespoons of butter in a large soup pot until soft. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Stir in the rice and toast briefly. Add the broth, thyme, star anise, and chicken. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and let it simmer a good long while — until everything is very soft and the flavors are beautifully melded. Finish with real salt and pepper to taste.

This soup is warming, grounding, gentle on the gut, and deeply supportive to the immune system. It’s the kind of food that feels like it’s doing something — because it is.

Tuck this recipe away for the next time someone in your house needs a little extra care. A pot of soup on the stove still solves more problems than we give it credit for.