Food as Medicine: 5 Foods to Boost Your Immunity System

Instead of vitamins, how about adding one or two of these foods into your daily intake? Now that is an easy plan to keep the flu and cold away all winter long!

Yoghurt

A study from the University of Vienna in Austria found that eating 6-7 ounces of yogurt a day naturally boosts your immune system and helps to protect from getting the flu and other infections. The live active cultures (or probiotics) found in yogurt, are healthy bacteria that help keep the stomach and intestinal tract free of disease-causing germs. We recommend organic Greek yoghurt – buy it plain and add a little organic honey for sweetness or tossing in a few fresh organic berries.

Quinoa

Quinoa is a complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. In addition, quinoa is rich with the amino acid lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair. Organic is best.

It is important to rinse quinoa well before cooking to remove the bitter residue that coats the seeds.

Mushrooms

According to Prevention Magazine, all mushrooms, but especially Shitake, Maitake, and Reishi mushrooms, contain over 300 compounds that stimulate immunity by helping to escalate the production and function of infection-fighting white blood cells. There is also newer evidence to support mushrooms as a weapon in the fight against breast cancer. Organic varieties offer your best ammunition.

Lemons

Dilute lemon juice with warm water to create a highly effective anti-bacterial gargle for mouth ulcers and sore throats. Lemon juice added to water also acts as a blood purifier, a natural diuretic and liver tonic that aids in digestion and decreases the amount of phlegm produced by the body. Buy a bag of organic lemons weekly.

Apples

Packed with vitamins and nutrients, apples are a fantastic source of antioxidants that aid in neutralizing free radicals and help to prevent cell damage. Although they’re not as well known as the orange for high levels of vitamin C, apples contain phenolic acids and flavonoids that have the antioxidant protection equivalent to taking 1500mg of straight vitamin C! We cannot stress the importance of buying a bag of organic apples weekly.

A Journey from Darkness – Week 6

I had more tests done. Things are not looking good for me on the long term, but Cat assures me we can tackle this latest news together and not to fear an interim diagnosis. I would love to share with you what that was, but I would like to protect this piece of my privacy, which I hope you understand.

Man, have I been having a lot of regrets lately. One of my silly flash cards reads,“Regrets cripple the future.” Ouch!

I hate the term wake-up call. But, I cannot find another word to express the fact that I feel this crazy sense of urgency and helplessness all at once.

Professionally, at least for me, I am keeping all this to myself. My performance of the past 1.5 years hardly allows me a pity-party at work, and I think to some degree it would be used against me.

I am hanging in there. I got a pay-cut. Nothing huge – but I think my Boss wanted to sort of backhand slap me a final time.
I think my performance is there. Thank God my health is not impairing my work.

Eating regularly and eating well are changing me for the better.

I was away all last week but stayed in a hotel that allowed me to give them my diet plan and send me food that kept me out of the sugar devil’s way. I paid out of pocket for this – but it was worth it.

I lost 1.5 more pounds. This really was never my goal – but face it – if we can button things up easier – we feel happier. A sad reality of the human psyche, right?

I have signed on to another 6 week program at The Second Act. I will update you periodically with my progress, as it also keeps me more accountable.

I do hope that if one person out there has learned that your diet and mental health intrinsically affect your overall life – then my job is done!

Until next time, eat well and remember not to take anything for granted.

Jenny

Lunch, Dinner, Leftovers: The Best Baked Chicken Nuggets and Spicy Dipping Sauce


It’s Wednesday and you are tempted to order out. Or, worse yet, put that aging frozen pizza in the oven. Please don’t do either.

This recipe is easy and I will give you lots of prep tips so you can do it fresh when you get home.

What you need to serve 2-3 persons:

Nuggets

• 3 boneless free-range chicken breasts
• ¼ bag of baked organic potato chips – all the stuff that no wanted. Stale is fine.
• ½ cup of panko or spelt crumbs (for diet – spelt is healthier – sheer taste go for panko)
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose organic flour – gluten-free types use brown rice flour
• 2/3 cup of cold buttermilk or whole milk (secret – you can use 1 tablespoon organic fat-free sour cream in 1/3 cup of whole milk plus a bit of water to create a buttermilk like taste)
• Pinch of sea salt
• ½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• Dry parsley
• Pinch of cayenne
• Optional: spray olive oil

Sweet Chilli Sauce

• 3 peeled organic garlic cloves (taste so much better than regular)
• 2 fresh red chillies – either Serrano or Jalapeño
• ½ teaspoon of dry red chillies – if you want more fire power
• ¼ cup organic cane sugar
• ¼ cup organic apple juice at room temperature
• ¾ cup purified water (tap affects the taste)
• ¼ teaspoon of sea salt
• ¾ tablespoon of cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons of room temperature water

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