Cold Fighting Foods

7 Healing Foods to fight common cold.

1. Mix Vegitable soup
why: It’s been called nature’s
penicillin and is at the top of the

list for its curative powers.

2. Hot and spicy food
Chilies or spicy sauces to help
ease congestion. Cook Indian or
other ethnic foods that contain
these ingredients, or simply add a
spicy sauce to foods for extra zip

3. Garlic
This fragrant bulb contains a
flavoring agent called alliin which
acts as a decongestant. Garlic is
also believed to act as an antioxidant and destroy free-
radicals, the active oxygen
molecules that damage cells

4. Fluids
To keep you liquefied.

5. Citrus fruits
Reach for citrus fruits to increase
your vitamin C intake. Drink
orange juice for breakfast, snack
on half a grapefruit, or add
tangerine slices to a lunchtime
salad. Getting an increased
amount of vitamin C is especially
important if you smoke, as
smoking increases both your risk
of catching a cold and your body's
need for this protective vitamin.

6. Ginger
Many people find fresh ginger
root helps treat the coughing and
fever that often accompany colds
and flu. Try making a ginger tea:

7. Vitamin C sources
Citrus fruits aren't the only foods
high in vitamin C. Potatoes, green
peppers, strawberries and
pineapple can help as your daily
cold-fighting food arsenal.

Benefits of Grapefruit

Watermelon-White Grape -Rose Petal Juice

WATERMELON-WHITE GRAPE-ROSE PETAL JUICE

4 Cups Watermelon Chunks (with seeds)
1 Cup Coconut Water
1 Cup White Grapes
2 teaspoons dried rosepetals

Mix watermelon, coconut water and grapes in vitamix. Pour through milk bag to get the juice. Stir in the rose petals.

I use flowers like lavender, hibiscus and roses all the time for culinary purposes. They are great used fresh in salads, dried in chocolates, raw puddings and raw jellies, great for rosewater for a face spray and many other uses. Light-color roses are more sweet in flavor. Darker roses have more aroma and flavor.

You can often find these dried flowers in the bulk spice section of health food stores or online. You can also make them right from your garden, which is what we do!

Here's how:

1. Harvest roses near the peak of their bloom. (make sure they are pesticide free)
2. Rinse petals only (get rid of white part underneath) in cool water.
3. Lay out on the mesh screens of your dehydrator.
4. Dehydrate at 105 overnight.
5. Store whole, or grind in your spice grinder.

Juice Recipe

Detox Smoothie with Peppermind

Perfect Detox Smoothie with Peppermint

6 ounces almond milk
1 cup frozen wild blueberries
1 banana

1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1 Tbsp Whole Ground Flaxseed Meal
1 cup ice cubes (coconut water ice cubes pref’d)
2-3 leaves of Peppermint
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Place all the ingredients in your blender and blend for about 1 minute. Then come back to this page and tell us how it was. Be honest, my taste buds are at stake.

Serves 2 healthy people in need of detox.

The Humble Garlic

Garlic is one of the most diverse ingredients in the culinary world.

Garlic is featured in many types of cuisine, from Chinese to Italian to Indian. There are more than 600 varieties of garlic, which can be categorized into 17 subgroups. Garlic tastes great and is great for your health. Garlic was seen as having healing powers by the Egyptians and was cherished by the Romans.

Garlic is a way to add flavor to food without adding calories or fat. One clove of garlic has only 4 calories. It's also very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Garlic is a good source of calcium, phosphorus and selenium, Vitamin C, Vitamin B-6 and manganese.

Garlic helps reduce inflammation in the body and lowers blood pressure. It's also loaded with omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, is a natural blood thinner and has a dilating effect on blood vessels.

Garlic has the ability to activate liver enzymes that helps your body flush out toxins. Garlic also holds high amounts of allicin and selenium, two natural compounds that aid in liver cleansing.

I love to take whole bulbs of garlic and bake them until they soften like butter. It is delicious on whole grain bread. I also add fresh garlic to all my stews and bean dishes. When I don't plan to be around anyone for a few days, I blend sprouted garbanzo beans with several cloves of garlic and lemon. Try adding one clove of garlic to your juices

Saving Time with Smoothies

Here's a great time saving tip for smoothie lovers:

Mix up a batch of your favorite smoothie, divide mixture between 12 medium sized muffin cups, and place trays in freezer. Freeze about 4 hours until solid. Un-mold the smoothie cups, plac

e them in an airtight container, and return to the freezer until you're ready to use them. Perfect for busy mornings.

Note: If you don't have silicon muffin cups, and have trouble unmolding the frozen cups, place the bottom of the muffin tin in warm water for few seconds, but make sure not to thaw the contents.

When ready to drink your smoothie, place 1 cup coconut or regular water and 2 smoothie cups into a blender container and blend until smooth.

Here's a mango smoothie recipe to try out!
1 cup coconut water
2 ripe mangos, cubed
1/2 cup flaked dry coconut
1/2 cup raw cashews
2 tablespoons sweetener (maple syrup tastes great)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Place all of the ingredients in a blender container in the order listed and blend until smooth.

Another Great Juice Idea

1 Green Zucchini
10 Ribs Celery
1 Ripe Pear

Yummy Juice

1 Large Tomato
5 Large Carrots
3 Ribs Celery
1/4 Large Onion
2 Handfuls Kale
1 Handful Arugula

Juice Soup Anyone?

Recipe:

5 Carrots
2 Tomatoes
1 Garlic Clove

Handful of Arugula
Small Piece of Onion
2 Celery Ribs
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/8 tsp. Cayenne

Warmed up in the dehydrator and ate it like a soup!

Tasty Coconut Wraps

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Coconut Meat
1/4 cup water (but go sparingly, coconut meat texture varies)

1 TBSP Herbs de Provence
2 TBSP Fresh Dill
2 TBSP Fresh Parsley
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

DIRECTIONS:
Mix all ingredients in vitamix or blender. Add water SLOWLY or it will be too runny. You want it to be the consistency of a think-like pancake batter that pours nicely. Pour onto teflex sheets until desired size and dehydrate at 105 for about 1 hour before flipping them over. Then another hour or so on the other side. You need to check these, because depending on the humidity in your location, they may take longer. You don't want them to be so hard that they will be unable to roll.

Green Bean Flavourful

This lemon and dill vinaigrette is a natural complement to green beans. It's also great tossed with steamed asparagus or drizzled over sliced fresh tomatoes. To make this recipe serve 10, multiply all the ingredients by 2 1/2: Use 2 1/2 pounds green beans, 3 tablespoons dill, 2 1/2 tablespoons each shallot, oil and lemon juice, 2 1/2 teaspoons mustard and 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

Preparing -

1

Bring an inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan fitted with a steamer basket. Add green beans, cover and cook until tender-crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat.

2

Meanwhile, whisk dill, shallot, oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the green beans and toss to coat. Let stand about 10 minutes before serving to blend flavors.

Butternut Soup

Butternut Soup with Sage

olive oil
16 fresh sage leaves
2 red onion, peeled and chopped
2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
½–1 fresh red chilli, to taste, deseeded and finely chopped
Himalayan or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2kg butternut squash, cut into chunks
2 litres good-quality vegetable stock
extra virgin olive oil
for the croutons
extra virgin olive oil
16 slices of ciabatta or gluten free bread
a block of Parmesan cheese, for grating

Put a very large saucepan on a medium heat and pour in a couple of lugs of olive oil. Add the sage leaves and fry for around 30 seconds or until dark green and crisp. Quickly remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with kitchen paper – you’ll use these for sprinkling over at the end. In the pan you’ll be left with a beautifully flavoured oil, so put it back on the heat and throw in your onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary leaves, chilli, salt and pepper. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are sweet and soft. Add the squash and the stock to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for around half an hour.
While the soup is cooking, make your croutons. Drizzle a little olive oil over the bread, pat it in and press some grated Parmesan on to each side. Place in a non-stick pan without any oil and ‘fry’ until golden on both sides. Alternatively you can toast the slices in the oven.
When the squash is soft and cooked through, blend the soup with a hand blender or pour it into a liquidizer and pulse until you have a smooth purée or leave it slightly chunky if you like:). Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. To serve, divide the soup between your bowls, placing 2 croutons on top of each. Sprinkle with a few of your crispy sage leaves and drizzle with a swirl of good-quality extra virgin olive oil.

Quinoa Meatballs

Ingredients
•½ cup dry quinoa, pre-rinsed

•1 cup water
•1 cup cooked green lentils, well drained
•¼ cup diced red bell pepper
•½ cup diced onion
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•½ cup gluten free bread crumbs or whole wheat panko bread crumbs (add additional bread crumbs if the meatballs need to be firmer and aren't holding together well)
•¼ cup freshly grated parmesan
•1 tablespoon freshly chopped flat parsley leaves
•1 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano
•1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•Sea salt to taste
•¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
•1 egg white (for vegan add 2-3 teaspoons water)
•3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Add pre-rinsed quinoa and water to a medium pot, cover, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue cooking 15 minutes or until water is completely absorbed. In the meantime, in a large non-stick skillet add 1 tablespoon olive oil, heat to medium-low and sauté diced onions and bell pepper until tender about 4 minutes, add garlic, parsley and oregano and sauté one additional minute.

Remove quinoa from heat and allow to rest 10 minutes. Press down on quinoa with a paper towel to remove any remaining water.

In a large mixing bowl combine sautéed onion, garlic, parsley and oregano along with remaining ingredients, except oil. Use either a potato masher or fork and mash the ingredients until the lentils are well mashed. Using your hands, shape into 1 ½ “ (meatless) meatballs.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to a large non-stick skillet, heat to medium-low and add quinoa (meatless) meatballs. Brown meatballs, turn over and brown on the other side. Cook until browned and heated through, about 16 minutes. Remove from skillet and drain on a paper towel.

If you plan to serve these (meatless) meatballs with marinara, add to the marinara sauce, gently turn to coat. Simmer until hot and serve over pasta.

These are a perfect food to eat prior to working out as they provide complex carbohydrates for energy and protein for building muscles. When on hand, I’ll have a few before a workout.

Colour Yummy!!

Walnuts, strawberries, green leafy vegetables. All are healing foods. I like to experiment with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, herbs and sesame seeds.

Eating Raw?

Pasta la Mania!!

Linguine with Green Pea Pesto

Serves 6
In this dish, a vibrantly colored pesto made from peas and fresh herbs dresses up whole wheat pasta. Try the pesto as a spread on sandwiches and crostini, too.

Ingredients

45og whole wheat or gluten free linguine
1 cup fresh or frozen and thawed green peas
1 cup packed flat leaf parsley (from 1 bunch organic parsley)
1/2 cup packed organic basil (or a combination of basil and mint)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon brined capers, drained
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup chopped walnut pieces, toasted

Method

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add linguine and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain linguine and transfer to a large bowl.
Meanwhile, put peas, herbs, lemon juice and capers into a food processor and pulse to make a coarse paste. With the motor running, add oil in a steady stream. Season pesto with salt and pepper.
Toss hot linguine with reserved 1/2 cup cooking water and pesto. Top with walnuts and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Per serving (About 5oz/139g-wt.): 280 calories (160 from fat), 18g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 8g protein, 26g total carbohydrate (6g dietary fiber, 2g sugar), 0mg cholesterol, 200mg sodium