Immunity Broth - The Holiday Edition

Tis the season to not get sick! With the weather outside getting frightful, now's a good time to boost your immune system and stay healthy all season long.  So, let the chestnuts roast on an open fire and have yourself a very merry immunity broth! 

(Drops mic...) Seriously speaking though, with the holiday's in full effect, taking some "me" time and making some healthy meals can really save you from getting run-down.  This super easy immunity broth is definitely a Foolproof Eats you can make in a jiffy with a few ingredients.  The onion, garlic and turnips are supercharged foods to strengthen your body's defenses. So bring on the holiday parties!

NUTRITIONAL LOW DOWN

Turnips: Turnips are one of my favorite immune boosters.  For only 30 calories each, turnips will go to bat for you! Its a wonderful  nutritionally dense food, Turnips are chock full of Vitamin C.  Just 2 turnips provide as your daily recommended  amount of Vitamin C.  [They also contain a plethora of B-vitamins, folate, magnesium, and potassium.]

Onions: Onions have certain phytochemicals that allows vitamin C in your body to work.  So the turnips and onion work hand in hand to boost your immune system.  This onion and turnips in this broth are the perfect marriage to give your immune system an edge. 

Ingredients

• 1.5 onions, chopped  (Add more if you wish)
• 2 cloves garlic, cut in half (Add more if you wish)
• 3 Turnips (or 4!) washed and peeled.
• 1 TBL Dried basil (or your favorite herb)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1.5 liters of filtered water
• 1/2 half cup of broccoli florets

Method

1. Briefly saute onions in a large pot with the olive oil.  Olive oil can't handle high heat, so saute for only a few minutes and keep heat lower so it won't smoke or burn. 
2. Add dried herbs, a pinch of himalayan salt, and garlic cloves. 
3. Add water and bring to a boil
4. Drop turnips in and allow it to boil until turnips become soft (about 30 mins)
5. When the broth is done, add in the broccoli florets and allow to cook for another 3 minutes.  You don't want the broccoli to get mushy, so 3 minutes is enough time.  
6. Enjoy!

Leftovers

This is great the next day and even if cold! Just add some fresh squeezed lemon juice and a dash of himalayan salt. 

Green Pesto Low-carb Noodles

Here’s a recipe for an amazing summer salad that take all of 6 minutes.  

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 zucchinis 
• Handful of basil
• two tablespoons pine nuts
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• teaspoon himalayan salt
• a few chopped sundried or fresh cherry tomatoes
• optional: sprinkling of parmesan cheese

METHOD:

1. Using a spirilizer, create noodles out of zucchinis.  If you don’t have a spirilizer, you can use a veggie peeler or grater and create thin strips. (but seriously, buy a spirilizer!)

2. Blend basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and salt

3. Toss zucchini with pesto dressing and add chopped sundried or cherry tomatoes

4. Serve. 

THE LOW DOWN:

The glory of this recipe is that it takes all of 6 minutes.  But here's the thing, most people just have pine nuts lying around.  They're an expensive nut and unless you're making pesto all the time, or tossing them in your salad its an easy thing to not have lying around.  So here's a list of alternatives to what's listed.  Get creative with your spin on pesto.  Use up the stuff in your fridge or try something new!

• Instead of pine nuts, brazil nuts work really well! And they are full of selenium which counteracts mercury (for those of you that eat fish), you may also try cashews and walnuts.
• In addition to the olive oil, or in place of it, use half an avocado.  If you are skipping the oil, use a bit of water so that it will blend. 
• Traditional pesto calls for basil, but you can totally add tarragon or spinach for a twist on it. 
• Garlic. If you are a garlic lover and need garlic in everything. Then you must add a clove or two to this.  Just note that Its going to be raw and therefore very sharp tasting garlic, so adjust to your tastebuds or use a few teaspoons of garlic powder.  Garlic powder is not as nutritionally optimal as fresh garlic, but a great deal easier to chew on. 

Protein Pumped Pasta

No-brainer recipe for consuming tons of protein and fiber in a tasty non-fattening, low-carb way. 

THE LOW DOWN:

I've never met a person who doesn't enjoy a bit of oil in their sautéed veggies.  However, rather than sautéing the onions in oil, saute them in water.  Save the really good for you, omega-3 flaxseed oil to top the pasta instead of using oil to cook with.  

The cool thing is that it will taste just as if you've sautéed the dish in oil, except this way you are getting the brain strengthening Omega 3s that would get denatured by the heat. 

Here's the other trick in this recipe.  The pasta is made entirely of beans! Which means its not only gluten free, but it has protein and fiber. Traditional pasta has virtually no fiber, which means that the carbs will spike your blood sugar and then dramatically lower them after they digest.  Think of it as pure sugar, your body sees almost no difference, and neither will your waist line!

INGREDIENTS:

• Pasta made from beans.  I used Tolerant brand because the only ingredient was red lentils.
• 1 can of organic lentils in a bpa free can
• 1 can of organic roasted tomatoes in a bpa free can
• half chopped onion
• couple tablespoons fresh organic cold pressed flaxseed oil
• Himalayan salt
• Fresh garlic or tons of garlic powder
• Chipotle powder to taste
• Handful of Asparagus and broccoli or whatever veggies you have in the fridge
• handful of Kale or spinach

METHOD:

1. Boil pasta
2. In a separate pan, saute onions with a few tablespoons water
3. Add all the other veggies to the pan along with spices
4. Combine cooked pasta with veggie dish and allow to cool for a couple minutes.  When its not piping hot, top with flaxseed oil and a bit of himalayan salt
5. Eat it.