Well here are some healthy tips and immune boosting ingredients that might give you a little more variety than the traditional orange. Try boosting your diet up with some interesting alternatives.
We eat with our eyes and the reason that's important is because the most colorful vegetables are the ones that give us some of the best health benefits. Citrus, Peppers, Leafy Greens, and Tomatoes happen to be some of the best. Herbs are a traditional go to as well, but are often under utilized in the average American home.
1. Garlic
It's not the taste so much, but it's the nutrients in garlic that help to promote healthy gut flora. When you're feeling ill, it's usually your gut. Research show that people taking garlic supplements experience far fewer severe colds compared to those taking a placebo.
Try whipping up this next recipe for
Roasted Garlic Pesto
1 cup packed Fresh Basil Leaves
1 Garlic Bulb1/4 cup toasted Pine Nuts (if you don't want pine nuts, use cashews)
1 Lemon/juiced seeds removed carefully1/4 cup olive oil, or you could use coconut oil
1 Garlic Bulb1/4 cup toasted Pine Nuts (if you don't want pine nuts, use cashews)
1 Lemon/juiced seeds removed carefully1/4 cup olive oil, or you could use coconut oil
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
Cracked Pepper to Taste
Cracked Pepper to Taste
Take your cloves of garlic with the skins on, slice the top off carefully, keeping the root end intact. Place them in tin foil pouches, drizzle with 1/2 tsp olive oil and wrap them so they are very tightly closed. I usually make 6 pouches and put each bundle into a 6 hole cupcake tin. Roast them in the oven at 375o for about 30-40 minutes. Remove them from the oven, set aside to cool inside the pouch and then when they are cool, squeeze the roasted garlic from it's papers.
Toast your pine nuts in a non-stick pan until they are slightly golden and smell nutty. In your food processor, add your basil leaves, squeezed head of garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, salt and pepper. Combine until the consistency you like. (if you are not vegan or paleo, add parmesan cheese to your liking) I have other pesto recipes if you go here
What I love about this recipe is that it's thinner than other pestos because it doesn't have the cheese to soak up the oil. You can pour this mixture into ice cube trays and freeze them. Add this pesto to pasta, soup, sauces, and even a slow cooker roast beef.
2. Beef
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| Photo courtesy of FineCooking.com |
3. Turmeric
Turmeric is a rich yellow powder often used in curry dishes. It's high in antioxidants and considered a natural anti-inflammatory. It helps promote joint strength and often combats poor circulation and pain. Turmeric is especially helpful when you're congested with a cold. It helps remove toxin build up in the blood stream. So eat your curry, recipes here
4. Salmon
As daylight hours decrease during the fall and winter, so do your vitamin D stores. This nutrient is critical for fending off colds and flu so it’s important to mindful of consuming foods rich in it, like wild salmon.Many in Utah as well as many places in the world suffer a huge epidemic of loss of Vit-D. It is so essential to combat free radicals and the fight against infection as well as a healthy respiratory system. Vitamin D is also essential for our brain health, we need more Vitamin D combined with Omega-3s so our brains are lubricated. Many doctors are concluding that autoimmune problems are closely related to D deficiencies. Other great sources of D are milk, canned tuna, sardines and egg yolks.
This next recipe and photo comes to us courtesy of Norman Bishop, you can find it here
Salmon with Butter Dill Sauce1 lb Salmon Fillets
1/2 Jar of Norman Bishops Lemon Butter Dill Sauce (you can find this in regular grocery stores) $4.68 a bottle
1/4 tsp Garlic powder
Sea Salt and Pepper to Taste
Preheat oven to 350o Lightly grease your baking sheet (I used coconut oil spray) Place salmon on baking dish and baste the top of each fillet with the dill sauce. I only do it on the top so the bottom gets crispy. Sprinkle with your powder, salt and pepper and bake for about 25 minutes until the Salmon looks crispy around the edges. It's so so good and even the little kids will eat it.
If you can't find the bottled sauce, here is an alternative.
1 crushed clove of garlic
2 lemons squeezed
1/4 tsp dill
1/4 C. yogurt/or you could use sour cream
1/2 tsp celery salt/seed
1 large shallot minced
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and baste your salmon before baking. You can reserve a little bit to add some after it's cooked as well.
5. Dark Leafy Greens
We spoke in the previous post on Kale how important dark leafy greens are for your body. They are some of the highest Vitamin C containing vegetables. We aren't talking about your average bagged green salad or head of iceberg here. We are talking about, swiss chard, kale, spinach, collards, arugula, and mustard greens. You'll just never get enough Vitamin C from an orange, but while you're eating some oranges, add in some greens too for an extra boost. It will shorten the duration of the cold or sickness and remember, the darker the leaf the higher it is in Vitamin c.
This recipe is fun to do with your kids. It took my little guy a little bit to like it, but now he enjoys it when he uses a little balsamic dipping sauce. I found the recipe here
Leafy Green Sushi 1 Bunch collards (if you don't prefer collards, try using large spinach or kale leaves)
8 tablespoons hummus
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 red pepper, cut in thin strips
1/4 small cucumber, cut in thin strips (skin optional)
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/2 lemon
Put about 2 inches of water in a large frying pan and bring to a boil.
Choose 4 of the nicest collard greens. Lay them flat, cut off the thick stem at the point where the leaf begins then pile them on top of each other in the boiling water. Cover and cook for about 30 seconds to a minute. Collards are pretty tough and don't easily break apart when cooked. Their flexibility makes them a perfect wrap.
Drain, then lay flat on a board or counter with the thick part of the stem facing up.
Down the center spine of each collard leaf place a row of about 2 tablespoons hummus, sprinkle with green onions, cilantro and shredded carrots. Place thin red pepper strips and cucumber strips on top.
Start with the side nearest you, flip it over and gently roll into a sausage shape.
With a sharp knife, cut into as many small pieces as possible. You should be able to get six or more pieces, but it will depend on your collard size.
6. Legumes
Like beef, beans and peas are a good source of immune-boosting iron and zinc, but they're also loaded with Vitamin B6 that helps create infection fighting white blood cells called lymphocytes. You can help double the amount of iron you absorb from legumes by combining them with as little as 25mg of Vitamin C. Here is a great recipe we like.
This recipe comes from my friend Allegra Cramer.
Minty Garbanzo Beans 3 cups cooked and drained chickpeas
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
3/4 Tsp Sea Salt
3 Tbsp finely chopped Mint leaves
Grated zest of 1 Lemon + 2 Tsp of juice
Pepper to taste
7. Ginger
Ginger is one of those really special immune boosters. The health benefits of ginger have been used for centuries. It's a great anti-inflammatory food and helps detox the blood stream of impurities. It has great pain revealing qualities. Ginger helps with muscle tension, joint pain and has been shown to reduce the severity of migraine headaches. Fresh ginger root keeps well in your freezer. If you're feeling a stomach bug coming on, mince up a small amount about the size of a scraping from your fingernail and swallow it. Just that small amount will give you an amazing amount of relief. This gluten free ginger cookie is really tasty, can't say it will cure you of any ills, but it does pack a big ginger punch.
Triple Ginger Cookies (gluten free)
3/4 cup butter, softened1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup molasses
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch (not potato flour)
1/3 cup tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
1/2 cup finely diced crystallized ginger
Preheat oven to 350°F
In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and molasses. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients, including salt and ground ginger, and mix well. Stir the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients, and mix just until moistened. Add the fresh and crystallized ginger and mix until evenly distributed.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on un-greased or parchment-covered baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.
Here's a helpful tip:
I've been telling friends for year a great trick to relieve your body of the flu...while it's not an action of ingesting food, it will help I promise.
Draw a hot bath, pour into your bath 1 cup Epsom salts, and a heaping tablespoon of ground ginger. Sit in the hot bath until your body begins to sweat, rinse off in cool water and go to bed with a cold rag on your head. Seriously by morning you're going to feel so much better. The ginger draws out toxins in your body and helps promote healing.You can also eat a cookie to help :)
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