3 Ayurvedic inspired healthy winter recipes
Want to give your immune system a boost now that the weather has cooled down? One of our Ayurvedic inspired healthy winter recipes is just the ticket to warm you up and strengthen your immunity for the months ahead.
Have a healthy winter with these Ayurvedic inspired healthy recipes from the Ayurvedic Wellness Centre Bondi
Ayurvedic medicine promotes the inclusion of ‘immune boosting’ meals in your everyday diet when and where possible. The idea behind this is to flood your body with nourishing food that quickly transforms into ‘ojas’. ‘Ojas’ is a Sanskrit term that refers to the pure, essential life energy extracted from fully digested food. ‘Ojas’ is a product of a fully functioning ‘agni’ or digestive fire. Food that boosts the ‘ojas’ circulating through the body is great for our immunity and keeps ‘ama’ or digestive impurities in check. Ayurvedic theory explains it using the seed-land theory. If we imagine that the human body is like the land, infection is the seed. ‘Ama’ leaves the body open to infection. ‘Ojas’ is what keeps the seeds of infection from sprouting. By including healthy winter recipes that boost your immunity, you can ensure healthy levels of ‘ojas’.
While there are plenty of nutritional benefits to the healthy winter recipes below, all three include a number of factors that turn them into immune boosting, winter bug busting powerhouses.
- Fresh, whole, unprocessed and easy to digest ingredients
- Immune boosting herbs, veggies and spices
Best of all, they are quick and easy to make and suitable for the whole family.
1. Immune Boosting Veggie Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups of mushroom or vegetable broth
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 4-10 cloves garlic, to taste crushed and chopped
- 1 carrot, grated
- 4-8 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1-3 tablespoons grated ginger root, to taste
- 1 fresh lemon, juiced
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Directions
- Bring the broth, onion, garlic, carrot, mushrooms and ginger-root to a slow boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer on low, covered, for 15 minutes or until the veggies are soft.
- Remove from heat; add the lemon juice and parsley.
- Cover and steep for 5 minutes.
Serves 4
2. Beetroot and fetta soup
Ingredients
- 3-4 medium sized beetroot (500-600g), grated or chopped into small dice
- 500g ripe tomatoes, halved
- 1 clove garlic, diced
- 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 500ml vegetable stock
- 125g quality Greek fetta
- Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 190c
- Line a baking tray with baking paper and place halved tomatoes on tray, cut side up
- Drizzle with half the ghee and add chopped garlic
- Roast for 25-30min until soft
- Gently rub through a sieve to remove skin and pips
- Heat remaining ghee in a large fry pan over medium heat and sauté onion until translucent
- Add the beetroot and stock, season well and bring to a gentle boil
- Simmer until beetroot is soft
- Stir in cooked tomatoes and blend either using a stick blender or by transferring to a standard blender
- Serve warm or chilled with fetta sprinkled over the top.
Serves 2
3. Tomato, beetroot and carrot immune boosting soup
Ingredients
- 4 medium sized tomatoes, halved
- 4 medium sized beetroots, peeled and diced
- 4 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 6-8 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp butter or ghee
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- Cream to serve
Directions
- Add all vegetables to a large soup pot and blanche in boiling water till tender
- Place in a blender or use a stick mixer to puree until smoothHeat butter over medium heatAdd garlic and sugar and sauté
- Add pureed vegetables and cook for 20 minutes until emulsified
- Add salt and pepper to taste and cream before serving
Serves 2
If you want to find out more information about staying healthy this winter, please contact the Ayurvedic Wellness Centre Bondi Junction through our website or on (02) 9389 2581
