FOOD for the FLU

Feed your body! Try these immune boosting soups. They are good and good for you!

Spicy White Bean Soup

Spicy White Bean Soup is healthful and common to Mediterranean cuisine. This delicious, traditional peasant soup is a defense against colds and flu. It combines the immune-boosting benefits of garlic with high-protein beans and savory rosemary (anti-viral and helps boost your memory).

INGREDIENTS
1 cup dried white navy beans
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4-cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
20 large cloves of garlic
1 large ripe tomato, cored, seeded, and chopped (optional, or use sun dried tomatoes)
2 TBSP vegetarian, chicken or beef broth powder or to taste (or if you have broth made up use this as part of the water amount. I like to use shitake broth.)
Sea Salt to taste.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Rinse the beans and cover them with water in a soup pot. Bring to a boil and allow boiling for 1 minute, then turn off heat, cover, and allow soaking for 1 hour. You may also soak beans overnight.
2. Drain beans and put back in soup pot with 5 1/2 cups of fresh water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer, partly covered, for about an hour, until the beans are tender.
3. Heat the olive oil over very low heat in another pot. Add onion and garlic and heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the tomato and heat for another 5 minutes if you are using this in your soup.
4. Combine beans and broth or water with this onion-garlic (tomato) mixture. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste at serving. Heating pepper in cooking causes it to irritate your intestinal tract.
If you like a smoother soup, remove about 1 cup of the beans and puree in a blender or food processor with a little of the broth until smooth. Return this puree to the soup, stirring to combine. Serves 5-6.

Dr. Bill Mitchell’s Immune Support Soup

INGREDIENTS:
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1-5 cloves garlic. chopped or crushed (to taste)
1 tsp-3 Tbsp grated fresh ginger root (to taste)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup sliced Shitake mushrooms
1 qt miso broth, chicken broth or mushroom broth
3 Tbsp fresh-minced parsley
1 grated carrot

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the broth, onion, ginger, garlic and mushrooms. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, carrot and parsley. Put cover on pan and steam for 5 minutes. Eat 1-4 times a day.