Our immune system is designed to keep us in continuous optimal health and is dependent on many factors which either strengthen or weaken it. Our general health plays an important role in maintaining a healthy immune system.
Here are three easy recipes you can make to level up your immune health so the likelihood of succumbing to illness is much smaller.
1. A Heart (and Body) Warming Immune-Boosting Soup
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup red kidney beans
- 2 cm freshly grated ginger
- ½ cup brown rice
- ½ cup sliced skiitake mushrooms
- 6 cups vegetable or natural chicken stock
- 1 chopped red onion
- 1/2/cup chopped carrot
- ½ cup chopped red capsicum
- 1-tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup miso paste (soybean extract) (I don’t always use this)
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- 1/4/ cup chopped coriander
- 3-4 garlic cloves finely chopped
Method:
- Soak the kidney beans overnight, discard the water and simmer in the stock with ginger for 2 hours.
- Sauté garlic, onion, carrots and capsicum in a pan with the olive oil for a few minutes then add to the bean/stock mixture and simmer for another hour.
- Remove pot from the heat, add miso and herbs and a few slices of raw garlic.
- Stir and serve. Enjoy!
Tip: For a quicker soup use tinned kidney beans that have been rinsed very well, then add into soup in the last 10 minutes of simmering.
2. Punchy Green Smoothie
Ingredients:
- A cup of leafy greens such as baby or English spinach or kale
- Quarter of an avocado
- Half a cup of frozen blueberries
- One banana
- Half a lemon
- Half a tsp grated ginger
- A cup of coconut water or water
Method:
Mix in a blender or nutribullet and enjoy!
3. Warming Cold-Fighting Tea
Ingredients:
- 2cm fresh ginger
- Boiling water
- 1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp raw honey
- Pinch of ground cinnamon and/or turmeric
Method:
- Grate or slice ginger and put in a teapot with boiling water, let steep for 3-4 minutes
- Add lemon juice and raw honey
- Add cinnamon and/or turmeric for extra warmth
