Immunity Soup

Immunity Soup is engineered to deliver vital nutrients while providing a comforting winter meal. The immune system is a nutrient HOG! In order to keep it functioning well, we have to feed it a constant stream of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Benefits of Immunity Soup

We start with bone broth, because it’s rich in magnesium, potassium, zinc, selenium, and iron. To that, we add sautéed onion, which has sulphur compounds to help you detoxify. The onion is sautéed in coconut oil with some minced garlic, thyme leaves, and cumin seeds. These all have antimicrobial properties.

We know that zinc is crucial for immunity, so we use brown lentils as an abundant source of that mineral. Then for Vitamins A & C, which provide a shot of antioxidants, we chop some veggies. Rich colors alert us to the presence of antioxidants. We use tomatoes, parsley, celery, carrot, kale, cabbage, and chilies – green for mild, red for spicy.

To get an anti-inflammatory benefit, we add grated ginger root & grated turmeric root (or turmeric powder).To give the immune system a boost, we put in some chopped mushrooms and a couple of bay leaves. A final touch is to add some red wine vinegar, which supports your healthy gut microbiome in fending off pathogens.

Recipe

1 onion, chopped

2 Tb. coconut oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. dried thyme or 1 sprig fresh thyme

4 c. bone broth

1 c. brown lentils

1 lb. ground grass-fed lamb, beef, or sausage, browned (optional)

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 carrots, sliced

1 bunch kale, chopped

4 c. cabbage, chopped

1/4 c. tomato paste or 4 tomatoes, cubed

1 Tb. dried parsley or 1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped

2-3 chilies according to preference

1″ each of turmeric root and ginger root, grated (or 1/2 tsp. powder)

8 mushrooms, chopped

2 bay leaves

3 Tb. red wine vinegar

1 Tb. salt

Combine all ingredients in a stock pot, crock pot, or Instant Pot. Pressure for 20 minutes, or simmer for 30 minutes, or slow cook for 4 hours.