Don’t let the recent weather chill your appetite this January! We’re here to heal your version of a “cold,” whether it involves the sniffles or just an outright distaste of cold winter days — trust me, I’m with you! Read more for healing soups and teas packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. We promise you’ll be feeling better by Sunday.
Soothing Soups
When I’m feeling under the weather, I reach for a bowl of Elouise Adams Jones’ Lemon Garlic Soup. (You know her from Houston’s longtime Southern food fixture, Ouisie’s Table). It combines two anti-inflammatory ingredients, lemon and garlic, for a soothing soup that’s best made with your own flavorful chicken broth. Looking for some tips on how to make your own broth? Check out my article on artisan bone broths here.
A quick tip for you on garlic: after chopping, mincing, or smashing your garlic, leave it on the cutting board for at least 10 minutes before cooking with it. As Consumer Reports explains, chopping the garlic triggers an enzyme reaction that increases the healthful compounds. Heat can prevent that reaction, so let it rest a few minutes.
Image Credit: Photo from Sunday Dinner in the South, courtesy of Tammy Algood
You’ll love this spicier Sweet Potato Soup from Tammy Algood’s cookbook Sunday Dinner in the South, which is perfect for sweating out your sinuses and other toxins. This soup, made with sweet potatoes and a hint of turmeric, is loaded with Vitamin A and potassium. The chemical curcumin in turmeric has been touted as a natural defense against cancer by natural foods proponents, but further research is still needed, according to a recent Time Magazine article. Health experts agree, however, turmeric makes a fine seasoning to enhance soups and other dishes without adding excess fat, sugar, and salt.
Image Credit: Courtney Pierce for PhoNatic in Austin
There’s nothing better than picking up a piping hot bowl of Vietnamese pho or steaming ramen when you’re feeling too sick to cook. Often pho and ramen can be laden with sodium, but this version of Vietnamese Veggie Pho from our friends at PhoNatic in Austin allows you to control the amount of salt you add to your broth.
The ultimate soup for warming up on a chilly day is, hands down, Luby’s Homestyle Chicken Soup. It’s a good ol’ fashioned soup that’s packed with protein to help you feel better or avoid a cold altogether this winter.
Healing Teas
For optimum healing, sip on this Healing Ginger Tea. You may know ginger as a fantastic remedy for nausea and indigestion, but it also contains lots of antioxidants and may work for you as a natural cough suppressant. I love ginger in tea with a little a bit of honey, which can help ease a scratchy throat. Fresh ginger will help you cure that cold “at the root,” if you will!
We love this Healing Golden Milk made with a nut milk of your choice, turmeric powder, and coconut oil. The nut milk has added fiber benefits, aiding in making you feel a bit fuller. Coconut oil is naturally antibacterial and some recent studies have found it may be beneficial in raising your HDL cholesterol, or the the so-called “good cholesterol.”
Our friends at The Path of Tea shared a recipe you’ll love that may give you sustained energy for weathering the chill! Dr. Lindley’s Energy Tea combines ginger turmeric tea, Puerh tea, and ghee to aid in digestion and boost the immune system. It’s easy to put together and tastes wonderful.
If you’re planning on curling up on the couch this weekend, turn on Goodtaste this weekend. Join us as we warm up with Sugarbacon Proper Kitchen in McKinney, Pieous in Dripping Springs, and Caprock Cafe in Lubbock. Watch the preview here.
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