Is it just me, or does it feel like everyone is sick right now? From the flu, to nasty colds, to sinus infections, it feels like nasty germs are lurking everywhere.
As much as I do my best to keep my and my family's immune systems high, sometimes the nasty bugs do hit our home.
Over Christmas, my husband was taken down by a nasty virus... fever, chills, body aches, headache, nasty cough... ugh, the poor guy was just miserable. Thankfully, it was short lived, and I do believe that is because of his strong immune system and some of the healing strategies we use in our home.
Often, when people get sick, they ask me, "Isabel, what should I eat during this time? What foods will really help?"
The truth is, the best foods are going to be the ones that give your body a bit of rest from digesting and allow it to work on fighting off those pesky bugs instead.
When anyone in our home gets sick, I put them on a simple regimen of herbal tea, coconut water, and healing chicken soup.
If you're already drinking Energize each day, that is also a great addition to help keep your immune system strong during this time.
Antioxidants and Superfoods in Energize - Read HERE
Here's what a typical day looks like (and yes, I do this for my kids as well):
Morning
Energize Essential Daily Greens. This is a great way to get a good dose of antioxidants, superfoods, vitamins, and minerals first thing in the morning.
A little while later in the morning...
Any variety of herbal tea (we almost always do chamomile when sick) with 1 tablespoon of raw honey and 1 scoop of collagen powder. Since we're keeping the food light, the collagen powder will provide healing protein, and the raw honey will provide some carbohydrates and the natural healing power of honey (remember, always get honey in its raw form).
Typically, we don't have much more than that in the morning and just focus on resting.
Early Afternoon
Chicken soup and more tea or some coconut water to drink. Coconut water is a great form of potassium (even more so than bananas), which may be depleted during times of illness.
As for the chicken soup, I absolutely love this Chicken Soup with Cauliflower Rice recipe I've shared with you before. It's perfect to help build up your immune system because it contains chicken broth, garlic, turmeric, and ginger... all wonderful for healing your body and bringing down any inflammation that may be present.
When you make this soup, be sure to use a high-quality bone broth, which is not just great for immunity, but wonderful for digestive health, joint health, and can promote better sleep.
I love to make my own homemade bone broth, but if you're pressed for time, I also have several cartons of Kettle & Fire bone broth in my pantry.
Because bone broth has so many wonderful benefits and can help me ward off any potential illnesses, I drink ½ - 1 cup every single day, even when I'm not sick. I heat it up and sip on it as I'm getting dinner ready (I even do this in the summer months).
Chicken Soup with Cauliflower Rice
Servings: 4
Ingredients
3 cups water
1 lb chicken breast
2 cups chicken bone broth
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp turmeric
2 cups cauliflower
2 tsp basil
2 tsp parsley
1 Tbsp coconut aminos
½ tsp sea salt
Black pepper, to taste
Directions
Fill a large pot with water. Add the chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until fully cooked through. Remove chicken and set aside – DO NOT DUMP WATER.
Add the broth and 3 cups of the water used to cook the chicken into a large stock pot. Add the ginger, carrots, celery, garlic, and turmeric. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, for about 10 minutes.
While the broth and vegetables are cooking, cut up the cauliflower and pulse several times in a food processor until it resembles grains of rice. If you don't have a food processor, you can just cut it up into small pieces.
Shred the chicken and add the chicken and diced cauliflower to the pot, along with the remaining ingredients: basil, parsley, coconut aminos, sea salt, and pepper.
Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender. Adjust the sea salt and pepper to taste.
Energize is a great way to keep your immune system strong all year long. Take a look at all the amazing antioxidants and superfoods it contains here...