Let Food Be Thy Medicine: Tips for Surviving COVID

COVID has reminded us to take care of ourselves on the physical, spiritual, and mental levels.

When COVID hit our house, we endeavored to eat healthy foods and appreciate the incredible healing properties of whole-foods based nutrition from mother nature.

As Hippocrates said, “Let Food Be Thy Medicine.” And I’d like to clarify that Hippocrates was referring to the simple foods of nature (and NOT the processed, food-like-substances with long ingredients lists and artificial additives).

I had already given up sugar and alcohol, as both of these tax your immune system.

(Well, I have an occasional Nib Mor chocolate (thanks, dear friend Jennifer Love for the pro tip on these amazing chocolates).

What are some of the things that I started adding in once I knew it was time to really bolster up the immune system?

I made this amazing plate of sauteed leeks and fennel with dulse leaves (dulse supports detoxification).

We also made yummy root veggies like sweet potatoes and beets which have fantastic fiber for the digestive system (and root vegetables seem to ground me).

We stocked up on vitamin C rich fruits (like oranges and tangerines) and orange and yellow squashes. (And see, there is the bowl of Nib Mor Chocolates, which I look forward to as an occasional sweet treat).

Soups are a mainstay right now. We make bone broth in slow cookers, and then when I get up in the morning I put the broth in a rice cooker to heat it rapidly (why that nifty little machine is called a RICE cooker, I don’t know. I use it for all kinds of things).

If you are one of those people that love your Instant Pot, by all means, use that baby! Here are a few soup recipes I’d point you to:

Miso soup: https://makeeverythingfun.com/recipe/miso-soup/
Chicken soup (my daughter’s favorite): https://makeeverythingfun.com/recipe/chicken-soup-soul/
Dulse soup: https://makeeverythingfun.com/recipe/spinach-dulse-soup/
There are almost 2 dozen soup recipes here: https://makeeverythingfun.com/recipes/#soups

We are also juicing at our house. Celery, green apple, ginger, lemons, and limes. Sometimes I pour this juice into my soup mug to cool down the soup so I can drink it almost constantly all afternoon. Feels so good on the throat, and the steam feels great for my stuffy nose.

Don’t forget to wash your produce really well (you see we have a produce wash). If you are going to be eating a lot of produce, like we are in this house, you want to look for organic if possible. And organic or not, wash everything thoroughly with a produce wash or food-grade peroxide. I rather not ingest a bunch of dirt and bugs and who-knows-what-else with my yummy colorful foods.

And speaking of color, many people know me for my work around Eating a Rainbow (of Fruits and Veggies). My kids’ books on this topic (Give it a Go, Eat a Rainbow, and Where Does a Rainbow Grow?) are so important to inspire the kiddos.

Okay, I’m off to take a nap. Enjoy these yummy recipes, get inspired by all the beautiful colors of mother nature, and let food be thy medicine!
Read the other posts I’ve made on surviving COVID: