Boost Your Immunity: Nourishing Body, Mind and Spirit with Happywhenfit
In times of fear, uncertainty, and shared heartache, it brings to the forefront the importance of community and looking after our complete picture of health. We are reminded of the essentials in our lives, especially our health and that of our loved ones. We look beyond good nutrition and exercise habits, and recognise the importance of our complete picture of health, including our relationships, quality time with the people we love, mindfulness practices and activities that enhance and build our sense of purpose, belonging and holistic wellbeing.
Community is at the core of Happywhenfit. I will be doing everything I can to support you during this time and provide some much needed resources to keep your spirits high and your good health a priority. Each week I will be sharing some ideas across each pillar of health (Mental Health, Nutrition and Fitness) to keep you motivated, inspired and focused on the positives you can control right now in your life. I encourage you and your families to try the recipes, workouts and mental health activities and share with our online community as a reminder that we are all in this together and united, we can support each other through.
Check out the workout and recipe support videos on my Instagram accounts @happywhenfit and @danae_maree
I hope you enjoy!
NUTRITION
Our approach to diet can act in many ways as our biggest preventative health measure. In regards to building a healthy immune system, it is important that your diet is rich in wholefoods (foods as close to their natural state as possible e.g. vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, seeds, etc), minimises processed and refined foods, and includes a wide variety to give your body all of the macro (carbohydrates, protein and fats) and micro (vitamins and minerals) nutrients it needs to function at its best. Here are some suggestions to build a strong immune system and healthy diet:
VITAMIN C
Foods rich in Vitamin C are known for their immune boosting properties. They not only improve our white blood cell production to ward off infections and illness, they can also increase your blood antioxidant levels, having an anti-inflammatory effect. Some foods rich in Vitamin C include:
Citrus fruits - Oranges, lemons, guava, grapefruit,
Papaya
Kiwi fruit
Strawberries
Blackcurrants
Cherries
Tomatoes
Kale
Broccoli
Snow peas
Red, green and yellow capsicum/peppers
IMMUNE BOOSTING SUPERFOODS
Turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory and strong antioxidant.
Here are my Top 5 favourites and how to incorporate them into your diet:
Garlic is often hailed as “natures antibiotic” for its medicinal properties that help the immune system fight germs. These properties increase in strength when garlic is crushed, chewed or sliced as it releases allicin, a powerful immune boosting compound. To maximise the health benefits of garlic, crush it and leave it to sit for 10 minutes prior to use in cooking. It is suited to most savoury recipes, including sauces and marinades. It is also delicious to add the whole bulbs for roasting with your favourite vegetables.
Turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory food and also a strong antioxidant. The active ingredient in turmeric that gives it it’s powerful effects, is curcumin. To increase the absorption of curcumin, add black pepper to it. Turmeric is such a versatile spice, often used in Indian inspired dishes, but also adaptable to vegetable dishes, soups, curries, omelettes/curried eggs, or even in hot or cold drinks, such as a Turmeric Latte or a Tropical Smoothie.
Ginger has numerous health benefits, including it’s anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and high antioxidant properties. It is also great for nausea and indigestion. It is suited to a broad variety of dishes, including curries, stews, and many wok inspired recipes. Add sliced ginger root to a hot drink with honey and lemon for an amazing detox and immunity tea.
Green Tea is high in flavonoids, a powerful antioxidant known to enhance immune function. It can be enjoyed as a comforting hot drink, or a refreshing iced tea.
Bone Broth: Ever wondered why our grandmas would feed us chicken soup when we were sick to get better? Bone Broth is the liquid component of the soup (when made from scratch), that is absolutely bursting with nutritional goodness to help our immune system thrive. It is known for its collagen rich properties and its positive effects on the gut, skin, hair, nails, bones and joints.
Traditional home-made broth utilises chicken or beef bones. For the vegetarians and vegans, you can make vegetable based broths which are still rich in minerals and vitamins.Broth is not only great for soups, it can be used as the liquid component to many hot dishes when cooking/simmering, such as bolognese, stir fries, slow cook recipes, gravy and with any savoury dish that sits on a simmer heat to intensify flavours. You can even enjoy drinking a cup on it’s own with a pinch of quality salt for an incredible immune support drink!
It’s important to remember that a diet consisting of just one type of vitamin rich food is not going to benefit you. Your body needs a variety of all vitamins and minerals to keep immune strong. Some basic dietary tips as a starting point to getting a good variety of nutrients in your diet include:Eat the rainbow - A variety of coloured fruits and vegetablesWatch your portion sizes and get a balance of macro nutrients throughout your day - Protein, Carbohydrates and Healthy FatsDrink plenty of water to carry the nutrients around your body. Add lemon or fruit to your water as an additional flavour and immunity boost.Follow the 5 (Veggies) and 2 (Fruits) daily recommended servings of fruit and vegetables Use recipes that make reaching your RDI (recommended daily intake) easy e.g. Fruit Salad, Stir Fries, Salads, kebabs, curries, fruit and veggie snacks with healthy dips, etc Set a goal to try 1 new recipe or food/spice/herb a week to expand on your food repertoire Get back to what Grandma used to do and make recipes from scratch to enjoy the increased nutrient benefits of food. My Nanna used to say that time and effort was what made her food taste so good, because it added the secret ingredient: Love :)
Check out my recipe for ‘Turmeric and Ginger Rice with Crispy Coconut Chicken’ below using 4 of these 5 immune boosting superfoods! This recipe is bursting with goodness and it’ll have your taste buds bursting too!
A NOTE TO US ALL
Hard times call on us all to pull together and support each other. It’s a time that is asking us more than ever to nourish our whole picture of health. We all belong to this beautiful community, so it’s important that we practice kindness, patience, understanding and compassion with each other. Consider the ways in which you can support the people around you, even if it is just checking in to see how they are doing to show that you care. If you’re in a position to do so, pay it forward, and if you’re needing support, reach out for help.
Let’s share as much positivity as we can during this time to keep our spirits high and focus on the things that we can control right now, like nourishing our bodies with healthy food, daily movement and mindfulness practices.
Stay healthy and safe,
Danae
Turmeric&
Ginger Rice with Crispy Coconut Chicken Strips
Turmeric and Ginger Rice
Ingredients
1.5 Cups Basmati Rice
500ml (approx 2 cups) Chicken Broth
½ cup water
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 Tbsp Turmeric (grated)
1 Tbsp Ginger grated (grated)
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
¼ cup slithered almonds
½ cup raisins
¼ tsp Celtic or Himalayan salt
Liberal cracked pepper
Method
In a medium sized saucepan, bring the broth and water to the boil before adding rice, turmeric, ginger, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon to the liquid
Reduce heat to a simmer and leave to cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid. You may need to add some more liquid if the rice needs to cook a little longer, especially if you opt for brown rice over basmati
Once rice has absorbed all of the liquid and is fully cooked to desired texture, add slithered almonds and raisins and stir through before serving
Crispy Coconut Chicken Strips
Ingredients
500g Chicken Tenderloins
½ cup Coconut flour
¼ cup tapioca flour
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp Celtic or Himalayan Salt
½ tsp cracked black pepper
2 eggs (beaten)
½ cup Coconut flakes (lightly toasted)
4 Tbsp. Coconut oil for cooking (add more during cooking if required)
Method
In a 150 degree Celsius oven, lightly toast the coconut flakes on a lined baking tin for 3-5 minutes. Once out of the oven crush the flakes into smaller sized pieces with a rolling pin.
Set up 2 separate bowls. In the first bowl, whisk the eggs for coating the chicken. In the second bowl, add the flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper and coconut. Stir through, ready to season the chicken.
Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet on a medium heat. Once the oil is heated, begin coating each chicken strip in the egg mixture before coating in the flour mixture and adding to the pan.
Cook until browned on each side (approx. 7 minutes on each side).
Note: The key to beautiful golden brown crispy chicken strips is keeping enough oil in the pan. Add extra coconut oil as cooking if required to keep chicken from sticking to the pan and get that delicious golden finish.