10 Immunity Boosting Foods To Incorporate In All Meals.
These foods are easy to access, easy to prepare and can be consumed raw and will be sure to help your body stay happy and nourished in this time !
Here are 10 of my go to immunity boosting foods and how to incorporate them in breakfast , lunch , dinner & snacks which hopefully gives you inspiration to add these immunity boosting foods into your diet as well!
This post isn’t written in sponsorship or collaboration with any of the sources mentioned here.
Beets 🌱 :
From FoodRevolution.org : Beets are high in zinc, copper, and vitamins A and C — all nutrients known to boost immunity. Beets also contain iron, which is needed to carry oxygen throughout your body.
Vitamin A increases antibody production and stimulates your white blood cells, which help ward off infections.
Breakfast : Try my mental & physical harmony boosting smoothie 🥃.
From FoodRevolution.org: A 2017 study published in the Journal of Gerontology demonstrated the ability of beet juice to improve blood flow to the brain during exercise. Those who consumed the beet juice drink showed improved function in the areas of the brain related to motor control, emotion, and cognition.
Lunch / Dinner : Try a delicious roasted beetroot + sweet potato curry or sneak it in your red sauce. 🥘
Snacks : Add it to your hummus like Pick Up Limes does it here. (Check this channel for more nourshing plant based content !! )
Beetroot chips , Adding it to your lemonade 🥤 isnt a bad option either.
Oats :
From GoodHousekeeping.com : The beta-glucan found in oats helps boost our infection-fighting blood cells. Oats also contain selenium and zinc, two important nutrients for warding off infection and helping you stay in fighting shape.
From TheJoint.com : In Addition to being eaten in the beginning of the day for sustained energy it contains melatonin, which helps you to fall asleep faster and stay asleep.
They also reduce blood pressure, cholestrol and relieve constipation 🤭.
Breakfast :
Oatmeal cookies 🍪/ Oatmeal pancake sweetened with banana 🍌 are a great start to the day !
Oat flour 🍚 (Oats grounded to a powder) is a great addition to smoothies.
You can do so much with oats in the morning or you can also stick to the traditional porridge / overnight oatmeal if thats your preference.
Lunch / Dinner : You can thicken up your stew/curry/soups 🥣 with oats / oat flour , A little goes a long way. You can use oat flour if you make flatbread or savory pancakes. Oat milk / Oat cream is great to finish curries with. 🍲
Snacks : Oatmeal fruit crumble need we say more? or heat up some oatmilk and make thick decadent chocolate mousse. ☕
Apple 🍎
From timesofindia.indiatimes.com : Vitamin C is an essential dietary nutrient that has many important functions in your body and is essential in boosting the immune system. Another important benefit of eating an apple is its high fiber content that helps in boosting metabolism by improving digestion and gut health.
From Thehealthsite.com : It is rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants which prevent signs of ageing, wrinkles and keeps your skin glowing. 🥰
Breakfast :
Frozen apples are a foundation of awesome smoothies for me , Its an everyday staple for me and I am able to add it to my diet everyday that way.
From Stemilt.com This powerful antioxidant in apples was found to protect brain cells against oxidative stress during an animal study conducted in 2004 by Cornell University researchers. Apples have particularly high levels of quercetin. Scientists believe quercetin blocks free radicals, which, when found in excess, can cause damage to the brain cells as well as other cell types.
Cut it up raw on pancakes/oatmeal & add some cinamon + syrup (or ditch the pancake/oatmeal altogether and just enjoy the fruit ).
Lunch / Dinner : Apples are regularly used in salads and curries to add a sweet kick. Apple Cider Vinegar/Unsweetened Apple Juice btw is my secret ingredient to make my sweet potato curry unforgettable and is a great addition to salad dressings.
Apple Cider Vinegar is a great way to add some probiotic goodness to your meals and supports hair & dental health .
Snacks : Apple Chips with Cinammon or for folks like me Spiced Apple Cinammon cake / Apple crumble or Apple Pie 🥧 with macerated apples are examples of apple heaven 😇 . Watch this awesome take on Apple Pie from Avante Garde Vegan (another great channel for vegan recipies)
Lemon 🍋
From gbnews.ch : It is therefore a good time to get into good habits and boost your immune system by drinking hot water with lemon and honey. Lemons are high in vitamin C, a natural antioxidant which enhances the immune system and has antiviral and antibacterial properties.
Breakfast :
An amazing start to your day is to add lemon juice to your morning drink, can you guess whats that for me? (starts with s)
Blueberry , lemon & banana pancake/ bread is also delicious option to start your glorious day . 🌞
Lunch / Dinner : Its an awesome addition to rice 🍚. I will use the entire flesh of the lemon because I love that zing and its a great way to get fiber from it. Roasted lemon is another dimension of flavor to try.
Its a great finishing ingredient in meals .
Lemons contain some iron, but they primarily prevent anemia by improving your absorption of iron from plant foods.
Snacks : So many pies, cakes thank the all mighty lemon zest for the freshness it adds to decadent desserts. I love a good blueberry lemon cake 🍒 🍋.
Ginger
From Healthline.com : Ginger has a very long history of use in various forms of traditional/alternative medicine. It has been used to help digestion, reduce nausea and help fight the flu and common cold 🤧, to name a few.
It has anti-inflammatory effects which can help with osteoarthritis.🦵
Breakfast : It goes great in smoothies as you may have guessed. You can add it in your tea☕ . Its an amazing twist to add to french toast or any sweet breakfast you enjoy.
Lunch / Dinner : Indian, Thai, Malaysian dishes use ginger as a base ingredient, that gives you the option to try such flavorful and nourshing options like this awesome recipe here (See below). It packs so much flavor raw which is why its a great addition to salad dressings🥗 and vinaigrettes .
Snacks :
Its a great addition to deserts like apple pie/ apple crumble 🥧 . Nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger make for awesome cinnamon rolls. Check out this Recipe by the very awesome Sweet Potato Soul
The famous ginger bread cookies are always an option. No matter whether its cookies, breads ,cakes or croissants ginger is a great addition. 🥐
Hot ginger caramel syrup (mix ginger and sugar) or Sugar with ginger powder is awesome to spread on fruit 🥝 or hot drinks ☕ !
Crystallized ginger is an awesome snack to have on hand as well.
Sesame seeds
From linwithfoods.com : Sesame seeds contain copper which is is good for sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis and magnesium which is good for helping those people with respiratory problems.
Breakfast: You can add it to your smoothie lol, of course. Its a great garnish on top of pancakes, fruit salads and salads 🥗 in general. you can make a milk out of it by mixing it with water for your calcium needs. 🥛
Lunch/Dinner : Use tahini (Roasted seasme seed butter) in your salad dressing or as a dipping sauce for falafel 🥙/ falafel over rice . Sesame seeds are also part of my red sauce recipe which can be a great base for pasta 🍝 / curry dishes !
Snacks :
Tahini is an awesome additive to brownies and chocolate desserts.
You can also make sesame seed candy with rose essence which is also a snack from my hometown.🧡
Spinach
From timesofindia.indiatimes.com : Spinach has a high dose of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin E, which help fight off infections as well as replenish the blood cells to give a boost to the immune system. It also helps strengthen your bones. The presence of Vitamin K helps bone density by keeping the calcium within the bones and out of the arteries.
Breakfast : Of course we know about tropical green juice, a blender , spinach🌿 , mango 🥭 , pineapple 🍍, apple 🍏 & banana 🍌 create magic✨.
Or add to your veggie scramble or tofu scramble.
Lunch / Dinner :
Add it to your Pesto for a raw healthy pasta dish
If you dont enjoy wilted spinach (who does), You can add lemon juice, salt, pepper, plant milk and blend the wilted spinach to make a pourable green sauce for falafel over rice or curry rice.
Here is a great Vegan Palak Paneer (Spinach curry ) Recipe by the Rainbow Plant Life Channel.
Snacks : Make an awesome baked dip 🥘with raw spinach , salt, lemon juice , all spice, silken tofu / soy creamer / cashew cream and top with vegan cheese. Yes I intentionally left artichokes out (for accessibility reasons 😶)
I dont hate artichokes.
Carrot
From healthyeating.sfgate.com : Vitamin A assists the growth of white blood cells and must be present for the immune system to activate cells that destroy infections. One large carrot has 12,028 international units of vitamin A, which is 400 percent of the recommended daily intake. As a system-wide antioxidant, vitamin C increases the levels of antibodies released during the immune response, stimulates the production of the white blood cells that destroy foreign bacteria and viruses and protects white blood cells from damage caused by free radicals.
Breakfast : Carrot juice or Carrot smoothie is an easy way to consume this superfood (I drink too many smoothies I know 😋). Here is a great recipe to make breakfast carrot muffins.
Lunch/Dinner :
Roasted carrots with Tahini are great, Agave/Maple roasted Carrots in Piri Piri are an awesome combination as well.
I use them in many curries I make or I use it to make a sandwich spread with roasted red pepper.🥪
I love marinating & roasting carrots in spices to make some mean curries🍛 (Stay tuned 😋).
Pickled / Marinated carrots are an awesome fermented food to have.
Snack: The classic baby carrot with hummus , or you can make a traditional halwa with carrot & cardamon or make an awesome carrot cake with store cupboard ingredients and use oil instead of butter.
Tumeric
From financialexpress.com : Turmeric aids in making our immunity stronger, the main life-saving ingredient in turmeric is about 3-5 % of Curcumin; a phyto-derivative, which contains healing properties.Curcumin can be helpful in facing such problems and building up the immunity so that there should not be such kind of respiration Problems.
Breakfast :
Yes you can add in smoothies 😶 A very little bit of tumeric + pepper goes a long way. 💛
You can give your food an awesome yellow color be it your savory french toast or chickpea flour pancake
Or make the very trendy chia seed pudding.
Tumeric Latte or adding it to plant milk is a great option (Yes thats haldi dudh for my friends in 🇮🇳). See Below .
Lunch/Dinner :
Add it in oil and salt🧂 and mix it with your uncooked rice for an awesome side dish.
Add it in the dal , curries , stews (not more than half tsp ) that you may cook.
You can also add it in with your spices in your weekly roasting tray .
(Dont use too much, Use a bit of pepper and beware of stains. 🟨)
This is an awesome medicinal recipe for Khichdi by Radhi Devlukia.
Snack: Tea cakes with Turmeric are the latest fad that I heard of. I know that so many popular Indian snacks combine Chickpea Flour batter featuring Tumeric , chilli ,salt , pepper and oil and fry (or pan fry) up veggies in it and serve with hot sauce.🌶️
H20 🌊
Ah End of the road
Hydration is key to surviving any hurdle . Water is a great detoxifier and relieves headaches. Here is the full article on its benefits . So drink your water !! 🥛
Drink it after every meal, Most definitely add lemon🍋 to your water. And you can add it to your smoothies 😶😶& juices to make sure you have a lot of it. (I know too much smoothie happening)
I hope you found this list & meal ideas useful. I hope most of these ingredients are available and accessible wherever you are and that these meal ideas gave you awesome ways to bridge the gap between health, flavor and budget ! Feel free to share with your friends and family and let them know you care about their well-being. 💐
Most importantly take care of yourselves out there and stay safe !! 💖
You can find me on instagram/twitter/medium @iamanunaik .
Subscribe Here : https://blenderandpot.substack.com/
Impressed with the the knowledge on food
Great knowledge. Really helpful in current scenario