Radical Recipes for Immune Boosting Comfort Foods

There is no better time than the present to nourish our families with radically healthy home-cooked meals that support immune health and bring comfort to our loved ones.

If you feel like your “normal” life has been turned upside down in recent weeks, you are far from alone. The future feels uncertain and it’s natural to feel fear in a time like this. So much of our fear is generated by focusing on and paying attention to the things we can’t control. The antidote to this fear is to focus on the things we can control – and when you hold the apron strings for your family in your hands, you can choose to prepare nutritious and delicious foods that are both immune supportive and comforting.

Eating healthy is more important than ever before and I’m thrilled that my new Radical Recipes Cookbook is now available for your instant download, so you have a new variety of quick and easy family-friendly recipes at your fingertips! My gift to you today is to share the most versatile and easy to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes from this new treasure trove of delicious meals. It is my hope this inspires a new love for cooking healthy foods in you and breathes new life into your kitchen routine.

If your first response is to doubt that you can find the ingredients, take heart. I firmly believe in the strength of the American food supply and have seen firsthand that the shelves are filling up again in our local grocery store, especially the fresh produce. I chose these recipes to share because of their versatility – you can easily substitute similar healthy ingredients you have on-hand if you’re missing something from the recipe.

Building Immunity Starts with Breakfast

For many of you, your morning commute has transitioned from going across town to walking across the living room. When I’m writing a book I spend a lot of time working from home, so I have a good understanding of the pros and cons. Morning meetings mean you still need quick and easy, but if it isn’t filling, the kitchen full of your favorite snacks is too close and convenient to stay away. If you’re not careful, you’ll gain the “quarantine 15” before this is all over.

When we lived in the Southwest, breakfast burritos were a morning staple in my house. Their versatility is perfect for these times when grocery shopping can feel more like a scavenger hunt, and they come together in 15 minutes or less. A fun way to involve the whole family in meal prep is to set out bowls with each ingredient in them and form an assembly line.

Large, leafy greens or almond flour tortillas make a nutrient dense wrap, and a variety of organic veggies with your choice of protein starts your day with immune boosting nutrients like vitamin C and zinc. Add a probiotic power-up with miso or sauerkraut to keep your gut microbiome in tip top shape.

Radical Breakfast Burritos

• 2 large collard green leaves, almond flour tortillas, or Norigami gluten-free pea wraps
• 2 slices nitrate-free turkey bacon, crumbled tofu, and/or a scrambled egg
• 1/3 cup chopped mushrooms
• small handful of fresh spinach, fresh herbs, and/or other fresh greens
• 1/3 to ½ avocado, depending on size
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• Avocado oil
• 2 tablespoons miso or unpasteurized fermented vegetables like sauerkraut
• Sea salt to taste
• Optional add-ins include sesame seeds, chia seeds, salsa, and more

DIRECTIONS

Wash the collard greens and pat dry.

Heat a skillet, add turkey bacon and let it cook slowly.

While bacon is cooking, prepare the greens. Lay them flat, cut the stem off the bottom of the leaves. Then very carefully, slide your knife under the thick collard rib, from the widest end to the tip of the leaf – trimming the extra protruding stem away while keeping the leaf intact. You want the finished leaves to be even and pliable.

Remove the bacon from the pan, and crumble. Add a small amount of avocado oil to the pan and quickly saute the mushrooms and spinach. Chop the avocado.

Lie the collard greens flat, one on top of the other. Place the bacon, mushrooms, spinach, and avocado on the greens. Sprinkle with garlic powder, cumin and sea salt.

Roll up like a burrito – starting at the wide end, tuck the sides in and roll as tightly as you can.

Light and Lively Lunch

One thing I noticed on my last grocery shopping trip was that shrimp was still plentiful. I hope this is true in your area as well, because shrimp feels like a treat to me, and it’s so important to treat ourselves in health-promoting ways during these uncertain times. Comfort foods aren’t only those that make us feel warm and full, but also those that bring a sense of normalcy – or even decadence – to our lives.

Easy, tasty salads are some of my favorite lunch choices. When we have shrimp for dinner, I like to save out a portion to make into this salad the next day. If you don’t have shrimp on hand, you can use leftover cooked chicken or turkey. I typically serve it on a bed of lettuce or other fresh greens, but if I’m deep into my writing I’ll often roll it up in lettuce to make a wrap so I can keep on working.

Simple Shrimp Salad

• 1 pound cooked, peeled, and deveined shrimp
• ½ cup celery, finely diced
• 3 tablespoons chopped scallions
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• ½ cup Fat Flush mayo or Follow Your Heart Veganaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1½ tablespoons fresh chopped dill or tarragon, plus a little extra for garnish
• Sea salt to taste
• Lettuce or other greens to serve on

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients in a bowl and gently toss together. Serve on desired greens.

Rich and Satisfying Supper from the Instant Pot

Cool Spring temperatures have most of us still craving warm and filling stews, soups, and roasts for our evening meals. But days filled with work, children learning from home, and our daily chores often mean that meal prep has to wait until later. This is the genius of today’s new generation of pressure cookers – even tough cuts of meat are tender and falling off the bone within an hour.

Beef short ribs are economical and often one of the last cuts of meats people think of for a quick and easy weeknight meal. This instant pot recipe turns out so tender and juicy you’ll want to savor every last bite. And, as with the breakfast burritos, you can substitute other root vegetables for the ones listed if you can’t find them.

Instant Pot Tender Short Ribs

• 2 tablespoons avocado oil
• 8 short ribs
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup chopped leek (or shallot or onion)
• 6 turnips
• 4 carrots
• 4 ribs of celery
• 1 cup beef bone broth
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme

DIRECTIONS

Chop veggies into bite-sized chunks and set aside.

Place the avocado oil in the Instant Pot and set to saute. Sprinkle sea salt over the ribs and brown them on each side. Remove and set aside.

Pour bone broth into the pot and deglaze by stirring and scraping with a wooden spoon or spatula. Add the veggies, garlic, oregano and thyme. Place the short ribs on top.

Seal the Instant Pot lid and set to 40 minutes on “manual”.

The key to tender meat in the IP is to natural release for at least 5 to 10 minutes once the time is up, then quick release the rest of the way if desired.

Get your copy of my new Radical Recipes Cookbook >> HERE!