With cold and flu season approaching, it is important to maintain a diet containing immune boosting foods packed with antioxidants and vitamins. Luckily, most of these immune boosting spices and foods contain tons of flavour and are easy to add to your dinner. Check out our list of ingredients and recipes on how to use them for easy dinners, popular in the various Canadian provinces.

Ginger

Adds a bright and spicy dimension to food that no other seasoning does. Ginger has antibacterial properties and can help prevent and stop nausea. (1,2)

Want to try adding ginger to your meal? Try this Albertan’s recipe here for a flavour packed Crispy Ginger Beef meal.

Garlic

Garlic is a favourite flavour booster in many comfort dishes. You may not know that a compound in garlic, allicin, contributes to garlic’s antibacterial, anti-virial and anti-fungal properties. Next time you add garlic to your food don’t hesitate to add a little extra to your sauce! For a garlic recipe you can try tonight, take a look here at this Garlic Risotto with Roasted Asparagus.

Pomegranate

This tasty fruit contains many little seeds which hold some serious immune punch! Pomegranate contains powerful antioxidants and a huge helping of vitamin C. Antioxidants are known to help cells fight against free radicals and are important for the maintenance of good health.

Although this fruit can be intimidating to crack into, you can always cut it into quarters and scoop the juicy seeds out with a spoon. You can also soak your pomegranate in water, which will allow your seeds to release from the fruit membrane.

Adding some pomegranate seeds as a topper in your salad is a great way to boost the flavour in your salad and to add colour to your meal. For an idea on how to do this, check out this Torontonian’s recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprout Salad with Pomegranate.

Cloves

As fall draws near, spices and flavours like cloves are brought back into our palates. Cloves contain anti-oxidants and Eugenol, a compound with antimicrobial properties. (3,4)

One French Canadian classic which contains ample amounts of cloves is the famous meat pie – Tourtière. For an authentic recipe check out CBC’s recipe here.

References:

  1. Healthy Directions. 2018. 5 Foods That Boost Your Immune System. [ONLINE] Available at: View Here. [Accessed 30 August 2018].
  2. Live Strong. 2017. Ginger and the Immune System. [ONLINE] Available at: View Here. [Accessed 30 August 2018].
  3. Mercola. 2017. Cloves Can Help Improve Your Oral Health and Immune Function. [ONLINE] Available at: View Here. [Accessed 30 August 2018].
  4. Doctors Health Press. 2001. The Immune Booster in your Spice Cabinet. [ONLINE] Available at: View Here. [Accessed 30 August 2018].