30 Immune Boosting Recipes
With some delicious recipes under your belt, you can make these 30 Immune Boosting Recipes with some amazing immune boosting foods to help you stay healthy.
With all this hype over the beer virus, Coronavirus or COVID-19, I thought I would share some immune boosting foods that you can eat to help boost your immune system naturally. I’m also sharing some recipes that you can make to hopefully keep you healthy during this epidemic. Is it even an epidemic? I think we have gone past pandemic, which is in several countries, to full on outbreak.
So, before all the immunity boosting foods vanish from your stores, head to the grocery and pick up ingredients to make these delicious immune boosting recipes. They not only taste delicious, but will help your system fight off inflammation, produce healthy red and white blood cells, boost gut health, and keep your body in overall tip top shape.
1 – Citrus fruits
They contain Vitamin C which is known to increase the production of white blood cells that fight infections.
Lemony Turkey Piccata Meatballs and Spaghetti
Lemony Greek Chicken Soup from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
2 – Red bell peppers
Red bell peppers contain twice as much Vitamin C as citrus fruits. Who knew? They’re also rich in beta carotene which means they not only help fight infections but also help your eyes and skin.
Pesto, Mozzarella, and Roasted Red Peppers from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
3 – Broccoli
These mini trees contain Vitamins A, C, and E along with antioxidants and fiber. They key to getting the most from broccoli is to cook it very little or simply eat it raw!
Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Quiche
Broccoli Cheese and Potato Soup by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
4 – Garlic
It’s no secret that garlic helps fight infections, but it’s also known to help lower blood pressure and slow down hardening in arteries. It also contains sulfur-containing compounds like allicin that is an added immune system booster.
5 – Ginger
Not only does ginger help decrease inflammation but it also helps with nausea. Raw it has gingerol, a relative of capsaicin, that helps decrease chronic pain and may possess cholesterol lowering properties based on recent research.
Sweet & Sour Gingered Pork Stir-Fry
Spicy Orange Ginger Beef Stir-Fry
6 – Spinach
I know! I didn’t like spinach growing up either, but not only does it have vitamin C but also has beta carotene and if cooked lightly enhances the vitamin A. All of this means that spinach has infection-fighting abilities.
One Pot Italian Sausage Orzo with Spinach
7 – Yogurt
Make sure your container reads “live active cultures” in order to help the immune system. It has vitamin D (so look for those fortified with vitamin D) which can help regulate the immune system.
Cardamom Saffron Pistachio Yogurt Pops
8 – Almonds
These delicious nuts have vitamin E, which most don’t think about when they’re sick. BUT vitamin E is also key to a healthy immune system.
Apple Almond Butter Manchengo Grilled Cheese
9 – Turmeric
This spice is infamous for its anti-inflammatory properties. As a side note, the curcumin in turmeric also helps decrease exercise induced muscle damage. Not that this helps your immune system, but thought it was worth mentioning.
10 – Green tea
This tea has the most ECGC (epigallocatechin gallate) over black tea. This is an immune boosting superpower of an antioxidant. Black tea ferments which destroys a lot of the ECGC but since green tea isn’t it has more. It also has L-theanine which aids in the germ-fighting compounds in your T-cells.
Green Tea Hot Toddy and 6 Steps to Help Ease a Cold
11 – Papaya
This super fruit has has 224% the RDA of vitamin C in just one. One papaya. 224% vitamin C. That’s insane. They also have papain that helps with inflammation and they have potassium, vitamin B, and folates which benefit your overall health.
Banana, Papaya, and Passion Fruit Muffins from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Papaya Cream Freezer Pie from Kelly Lynne’s Sweets and Treats
12 – Kiwis
These little green fruits contain folate, potassium, vitamin K, and vitamin C. While the vitamin C helps the white blood cells, the rest of the nutrients keep the body working properly.
13 – Poultry
We all know chicken soup is good for what ails you, but did you know it is high in vitamin B-6? B-6 is an important part of many chemical reactions that occur in the body. It’s also vital in forming new healthy red blood cells. Chicken soup is even better because it contains gelatin, chondroitin, and other gut helping and immune boosting nutrients.
14 – Sunflower seeds
These little gems are packed with phosphorous, magnesium, vitamin B-6, and vitamin E. The B-6 and vitamin E both play important roles in maintaining a healthy immune system.
Disappearing Nut Butter Banana Bread
Maple Vanilla Granola from Art of Naturally Living
15 – Shellfish
This is not something you think about when you’re thinking of boosting your immune system. However, they’re packed with zinc which most people didn’t think about until the whole Zicam thing started. Zinc helps our immune cells function and do their job the best they can.
I think this is the longest post I’ve ever put together. With all the fervor of the COVID-19 outbreak, I thought I’d share some information on how to boost your immune system naturally. While you could use supplements to boost your immune system, you really have to know which work with and against each other to make sure they’re doing you good.
Of course, the best way to stay healthy is to wash your hands. Antibacterial gel is okay in a pinch, but it doesn’t kill everything. Washing your hands is your best line of defense to stay healthy.
Five steps to washing your hands:
- Wet your hands with clean, running water. To preserve water, turn the faucet off before applying soap.
- Lather your hands THOROUGHLY! All the crevices and cracks, under the fingernails, between the fingers, and focus on the tips as much as possible.
- Make sure you scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds! Hum the Jeopardy theme song 20 times, sing the ABCs song, or Happy Birthday twice. This is the most important step that most seem to omit.
- Rinse your hands under water as warm, running water. I use the back of my hand or my elbow to turn off the faucet at this point. You could grab a paper towel to turn it off, just try not to touch the handle if possible.
- Dry your hands with a clean towel or air dry them. I wouldn’t suggest using those compressed air dryers. I’ve read they can simply circulate the same germs over and over again. I prefer paper towels.
Yes, that’s a lot of washing of your hands and they will get dry. Splurge on a nice lotion that doesn’t make your hands feel greasy but moisturizes them. I’ve been using a Jergens lavender scented body butter that’s luxurious and helps reduce stress.
I hope we all make it through this most recent outbreak. Please make sure you head to a doctor if you start feeling under the weather. You have to take care of yourself and it’s always better to be safe then sorry. Besides, if you do catch COVID-19 your family members and friends will need to know so they can take actions to help themselves.
Stay safe and…
So many good ideas and full of good information! The easy crab dip recipe looks especially delicious!
Thanks! It’s delicious and definitely easy.