During the chilly winter months, when cold and flu symptoms linger on and our immune systems could do with some warming up, sometimes the best medicine is a steaming, hearty meal. Our MindChamps Nutrition Team have you covered with our delicious and simple recipe remedies designed to lift your spirits and transform even the coldest days into a celebration of flavour and comfort.
Try our delicious plant powered, gut loving Red Lentil Soup!
If you are looking for a delicious and simple staple soup recipe, look no further! Our Red Lentil Soup is rich in nutrients that support your immune system. Soups also make the perfect disguise for veggies for a fussy eater. We recommend stocking up your pantry with tinned or dried lentils so you can easily throw this one together, especially for those days when it is too cold for a grocery run!
So how can a soup support our health and immunity, you might ask? Well for one, it is flavoured with garlic, which has a multitude of benefits, from helping to stabilize blood sugar levels to reducing the severity and duration of common cold and flu symptoms. It is also spiced with cumin, which contains natural antioxidants that support our bodies in reducing inflammation while the fibres from the red lentils add beneficial bacteria to our guts to help maintain a strong and resilient immune system all year round.
We also want to share one of our favourite soup-making hacks: save your veggie cuttings to make a nourishing broth! Cauliflower stems, carrot peels, and zucchini ends are rich in essential nutrients and can be repurposed. Simply boil veggie scraps in a pot of water, and you’ll have a delicious homemade veggie stock. It’s a fantastic hands-on cooking activity for kids, teaching sustainable food habits. Plus, homemade stocks are lower in salt than store-bought ones, making them perfect for little tummies!
Download the Red Lentil Soup recipe here.
Tantalize your taste buds with our Creamy Coconut Fish Curry!
Straight from our MindChamps Menu, this Creamy Coconut Fish Curry will keep your body and immune system nourished this, Winter. We use fish for an omega 3 boost, which not only promotes heart, brain, and eye health for growing kids, but also activates of our immune system to help fight off infections. We have also infused this curry with ginger, which boasts active compounds that offer antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer benefits.
Now we have not left out the ingredient that makes a curry truly shine! One of the most important ingredients in this curry is drum roll… the curry powder! When we take a closer look at what is inside, we find a plethora of health promoting spices. You’ll find cinnamon, a natural prebiotic to support a happy and healthy gut and turmeric, a powerful antioxidant which helps our bodies fight infections, just to name a few!
Check out the Coconut Fish Curry recipe here.
Simmer up with our hearty One-Pot Lamb and Vegetables Stew
If you are looking for an easy dinner, one that you can simply throw all the ingredients into the one pot or slow cooker, then you must try our top rated One Pot Lamb and Vegetable Stew! You can add in any veggies you have on hand, and experiment with flavours that suit your taste buds. Some of the nutrient boosted ingredients we use are brown onions, paprika and coriander!
Onions contain prebiotic fibre which feed the beneficial bacteria in our gut, contributing to good immunity. Paprika is perfect for winter as it contains essential nutrients like vitamin A which helps our immune systems to stay active and fight off illness and infections. It also adds a rich red hue to your dishes, making meat dishes look more appetizing for fussy eaters. While boosting the flavour, coriander leaves provide a source of vitamin C which strengthens our immune systems and may help to reduce the severity of symptoms of the common cold. These are also easy to grow on the kitchen windowsill or backyard veggie garden for endless and free herbs!
Check out the One Pot Lamb and Vegetables Stew recipe here.
There are just too many good reasons to try these Winter Warmers and we encourage you to give them a go, mixing them up with your favourite veggies, legumes, herbs and spices to test their health benefits for yourself! We can guarantee they will all quickly become family dinner staples in your home all year around.
We hope you enjoy these tasty recipes and keep warm this winter!
The MindChamps Nutrition Team