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The best way to boost your immune system is to get enough sleep, exercise, and regularly washing your hands and eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables. Fortunately, there’s a myriad of ingredients that will help you strengthen your ability to fight off viruses. Here are four slow cooker recipes that can help shore up your immunity.
Immune-Boosting Slow-Cooker Chicken
Nutritionist, Katherine Farrell Harris of AdvantageCare Physicians shares her favorite chicken dish that’s packed with vitamins and nutrients and easy to make. The star of this dish is chicken thighs. Poultry is high in vitamin B-6. Vitamin B-6 is vital to the formation of new and healthy red blood cells.
You’ll Need:
Chicken thighs
Chickpeas
Olive oil
Kale
Carrots
Onion
Vegetable broth
Herbs de Provence
This soup will help kick any flu or cold to the curb. Featuring turmeric, kale and bok choy in a mushroom broth, this healthy vegetarian soup recipe is packed full of vitamins and minerals. Shiitake mushrooms are a great source of phytonutrients and Vitamin D. Studies show that Vitamin D can help reduce the likelihood of developing the flu.
You’ll Need:
Coconut oil
Onion
Garlic cloves
Celery
Shiitake mushrooms
Sea salt
Black pepper
Turmeric
Bok choy
Kale
Ginger
Bone broth has gained in popularity in the past few years as a simple way to boost health. Simming bones for hours on low heat extract collagen and gelatin, which helps to improve gut and joint health. It’s time-consuming to make, but with a slow cooker, you can add in the ingredients and let it work its magic.
You’ll Need:
Mixed beef bones marrow bones
Onions
Carrots
Celery
Bay leaf
Apple cider vinegar
Kitchari is a traditional cleansing food of Ayurveda, an ancient system of medicine developed in India. It features mung beans and a plethora of warming spices that will knock out any cold.
You’ll Need:
Basmati rice
Dry green mung beans
Ginger
Desiccated coconut
Coriander
Ghee
Bay leaves
Stick cinnamon
Cardamom pods
Cloves
Black peppercorns
Turmeric
Cumin seeds
Fennel seeds
Garlic
Vegetable stock
Diced seasonal vegetables
Fresh lime or lemon juice
