3 Recipes To Give Your Immune System A Boost

Initial reports on the spread and effect of coronavirus (COVID-19) have indicated that people with weak immune systems are most at risk of getting seriously ill whilst those with stronger immune systems have recovered significantly better. 

Since there is presently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19, the best way to not catch the disease is to avoid being exposed to the virus. This is unfortunately much easier said than done – as evidenced by the rapid global spread of the disease.

You can also take other actions to strengthen your immunity and give yourself a better chance to make a complete recovery should you get ill. 

Regular exercise, healthy eating and therapeutic massage all contribute to an improved immune system that should be better able to defend against – and recover from – viruses such as coronavirus. 

But to be effective, healthy lifestyle techniques need to be regularly observed. One intensive session at the gym or a couple of salads are not going to make a significant difference to an already weak system. 

So, to make it easier, we have designed three recipes that are not only packed full of ingredients known to contain immune system boosting antioxidants and vitamins but are also easy to prepare – and naturally tasty! 

Incorporate these three simple recipes, at the recommended frequency, into your regular diet and begin reaping genuine health benefits within as little as a couple of weeks. The healthier you are, the better your recovery rate from diseases like COVID-19 is likely to be. 

Note: These recipes do not directly vaccinate or protect against coronavirus or the COVID-19 disease that it can cause. However, they do contain many ingredients which have been scientifically shown to contain high proportions of nutrients and minerals that are essential for good health and a well-functioning immune system. In the continuing absence of vaccinations and drug-based cures, it is believed that a naturally strong immune system is key to recovering well from COVID-19. 

Ginger Tea (daily)

After a one-time batch preparation stage, this vitamin C packed ginger tea can be made daily in less than a minute.

Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 50 cups
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 minute

Equipment: Electric juicer

Ingredients
1 hand of fresh ginger root
Lemon
Honey

Method

Take a whole hand of fresh ginger and remove the skin. People are often surprised to discover that one of the most efficient ways to remove skin of ginger is to use a spoon to scrape it off. Using a paring knife may be a bit quicker but you will waste more ginger that way. 

Once peeled, simply pop into the electric juicer and transfer the extracted liquid into an ice cube tray. A whole hand should produce around two ice cube trays of fresh pure ginger juice. Freeze immediately. 

Each day, simply pop a ginger juice ice cube into a teapot, squeeze in half a lemon and then pour in two mugs of just boiled water. Stir for about 20 seconds until the ginger cube is fully dissolved. Add honey to taste. 

As mentioned above, for natural immune system boosting methods to work they need to be followed regularly and consistently. The beauty of this method is that once you have prepared the frozen ginger juice ice cubes, you can enjoy powerful immune system boosting fresh ginger tea every day in less than a minute without any messy tidying up. 

How ginger tea could boost your immune system 

Ginger’s anti-inflammatory properties have long been acknowledged but recently many studies have also explored its immune system responses. Lemon is a common ingredient in many health based recipes, as it is packed with immune system boosting vitamin C. Along with honey it has been used since Egyptian times for good health. One cup contains just 40 calories and 5g of carbohydrates.

Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup (weekly) 

Recommended by everyone from grandmothers to scientists, this chicken broth recipe is packed with nutrients that could particularly boost your defences against infections in the upper respiratory tract.

Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 8
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour

Equipment: Pressure cooker

Base Ingredients
1 whole medium chicken (skin on, quartered)
1 whole celery (quartered)
1 onion (peeled and quartered)
2 carrots (peeled and quartered)
2 tomatoes (quartered)
1 whole bulb garlic (peeled and cloves separated)
2” finger fresh ginger (peeled and sliced)
10 whole peppercorns

Soup Ingredients
Frozen (or tinned) sweetcorn
Fresh lemon juice
Egg
Coriander
Salt to taste

Method

Pop everything into a large pressure cooker and top with cold water to the maximum level mark. 

Securely close the cooker and put on high heat until the steam has fully built up. Then turn down to low and leave to cook for 45 minutes to one hour. 

When done, release steam slowly as per cooker instructions. Use a sieve to strain the broth into a jug and discard the remaining used ingredients. 

Just like the ginger tea above, at this stage you can freeze the broth in batches appropriate to your family size. The next stage takes less than 5 minutes, allowing you to regularly make this healthy immune system boosting soup for yourself and your family on a weekly basis with very little fuss. 

To make the final soup, simply bring 300ml of broth per serving to a gentle boil and add 50g of sweetcorn for each person. Lightly beat together one egg with a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice per two servings and slowly dribble into the boiling soup. Use a fork to continuously break the egg as it hits the soup to form thin egg noodles. Season with salt to taste and sprinkle with coriander leaves. 

How chicken and sweetcorn soup could boost your immune system 

Chicken broth is no longer just what your grandmother recommends. Scientists too have suggested that chicken soup could indeed help upper respiratory tract infections, a key part of the body which appears to be attached by coronavirus. Sweetcorn is another antioxidant rich food, in this case particularly carotenoids. One cup contains 95 calories, 6g of protein, 3g of fat and 8g of carbohydrates.

Super Greens Salad (twice a week)

This recipe helps boost immune system strength by packing a host of nutritious super-high antioxidant greens into a delicious salad which even salad haters will adore. 

Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients
100g tender stem broccoli
100g mange tout
50g edamame beans (frozen)
1 ready-to-eat avocado
Rocket and baby spinach leaves
2 eggs
Lemon & coriander hummus
Ice

Method

This recipe helps boost immune system strength by packing a host of nutritious super-high antioxidant greens into a delicious salad which even salad haters will adore. 

Bring two medium pans of water to a soft rolling boil. 

In one, lower two eggs which have been pin pricked at the round end and immediately start a timer for 5 minutes 30 seconds. 

After the eggs have been boiling for about a minute, put the broccoli, mange tout and edamame in the other pan of boiling water. 

Get a large bowl of ice and water ready. 

When the timer sounds, immediately switch off the heat on both pans. The eggs should have been boiling for 5 minutes 30 seconds exactly and the vegetables for around a minute less. 

Immediately remove the eggs and dunk them in the bowl of iced water, followed by the drained vegetables. Take the eggs out after 10 seconds but leave the vegetables inside to fully cool. 

Layer the plate with rocket and baby leaf spinach at the bottom. Scatter the broccoli, mange tout and edamame beans over the leaves. 

Diagonally slice half an avocado into several layers and place in the centre of the mound of greens. Top with a spoonful of hummus. 

Peel and slice the mollet egg in half and place one half on either side of the plate. 

Wonderful and incredibly healthy on its own but as a treat (and for even more immune system boosting antioxidants) serve with a portion of roasted garlic and chilli sweet potato fries. 

How this super greens salad could boost your immune system 

This salad is absolutely bursting with natural immune system building vitamins C, K and A from the broccoli, mange tout, avocado, rocket and baby spinach. Edamame beans provide a further boost of healthy nutrients including dietary fibre and folic acid. Finally, the soft creamy mollet eggs and hummus not only make this healthy salad appetising to a much larger number of people but also provide an excellent source of protein which essential for good circulatory health. One serving contains 420 calories, 20g of protein, 23g of fat and 24g of carbohydrates.