Menu Monday: Food as Medicine

It's that time of the year when we start worrying about preventing illness. The flu, enterovirus, rotovirus, and now ebola (although that's incredibly unlikely).  Food can play a great part in how our bodies respond to illness and it can also comfort us when we are ill. Eating a good a varied diet can boost your immune system and keep you healthier through the season of germs.

Some immune boosting foods:

Good quality yogurt; make sure it has active live cultures (I use Stonyfield)

Oats and barley: remember the song? Oats, peas beans and barley grow…  These grains contain beta-glucan, a type of fiber with antimicrobial and antioxidant capabilities more potent than echinacea. People whose diet is rich in these fibers are less likely to contract flu viruses.

Bone broths: I have stock pots going all the time in the winter. Beef bones, chicken bones, random bits of veggies are boiled and simmered until all that is left is the nutrition and flavor.  The soups made from these bits and pieces are powerful in their nutrition and immune building properties.  I find the information in  Nourishing Tradtions to be invaluable in making bone broths. The book is a must have in any cooks arsenal.

Garlic:  this stinky little veggie contains allicin, which fights infection and bacteria. It has also been linked to cancer prevention, people who have garlic rich diets are less likely to get colon cancer.

Rosemary water for foccacia

Sweet potatoes:  Orange, orange and more orange. Orange veggies are rich in beta-carotene which the body turns into Vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential in producing connective tissue which puts up the "wall" between your cells and bacteria.  Sweet potatoes are low in carbs and high in fiber which makes them a great weapon in your food arsenal.  

There are many more…

Yesterday I spent some time making medicinal ice pops.  No one here is sick (thank you Lord) but it's nice to be prepared.  I made some medicial tea, combining ginger, lemon, echinachea and licorice root. I steeped it for about twenty minutes then poured it into two pitchers, into one I added apple cider and the other straight cranberry juice (not cocktail). Then I poured into ice pops.  When there are fevers, sore throats, and general achiness these will be cooling and soothing.  No need to mention the medicinal value. 🙂

He wants one now.

Let's try to take into account our immune systems when making up our menus this week in an effort to keep healthy.

Standing in a roasting pan to prevent spills

Here's the plan:

Moday:    Roast beef, roasted root veggies, broccoli and foccacia bread
Tuesday: Sandwiches with leftover beef, garlic bread and salad.
Wednesday: Chicken enchiladas.
Thursday: Soup made with the roasted veggies (I'm cooking extra on Monday) and foccacia bread
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Fend for yourself dad and I are outta here 🙂
Sunday: Chili and corn bread.

I would love to have you link your plan of the week! Link just that post, not your blog URL and any food related post is welcome. Thanks for joining the fun.