10 Immune-Boosting Foods That Will Make Your Body Happy!

As we write this in February 2022, the world is experiencing a pandemic and many people are concerned about keeping themselves as healthy as possible. It is important to ensure that our immune systems are working at their best. This is especially true for people with pre-existing conditions; Exposure to any type of illness can further compromise their health.

One way to help ensure a healthy immune system is to include immune-boosting foods in your diet. Regular consumption of immune-boosting foods keeps the immune system strong and better prepared to fight illness and infection.

You can listen to us discuss these great immune boosting foods here or read on for a summary of everything we covered.

What are immune boosting foods?

Before we discuss immune boosting foods, let’s talk about the individual foods that go into those foods. After all, the whole is only as good as the sum of its parts!

Immune-boosting foods that help our bodies fight off potentially harmful microorganisms like bacteria and viruses. Foods that contain antioxidants and immunostimulants can help boost immunity by strengthening our immune system against these foreign invaders.

On episode 321 of the Vegan Zen Podcast, we spoke with Dr. Brooke Goldner, a board-certified medical doctor and author of three bestselling books: Goodbye Lupus, Goodbye Autoimmune DiseaseAnd Green smoothie recipes to jumpstart your health and healing.

In our interview, Dr. Goldner discusses how he healed himself Lupus A whole diet is based on a plant-based diet. The vitamins and nutrients of a whole food plant-based diet not only help increase your overall nutrition but also help reduce inflammation in your body. Chronic inflammation in your body can lead to a number of diseases, including type 2 diabetes.

Foods containing the following vitamins and nutrients can help boost your immune system.

Vitamin C – Sources include:

• Citrus fruit
• Qi
• tomato
• watermelon
• strawberry

Vitamin A – Sources include:

• Kale
• vegetables
• the carrot
• cantaloupe
• sweet potato

Beta carotene – Sources include:

Vitamin E – Source included

Probiotics – Sources include:

Polyphenols – Sources include:

• Broccoli
• shoot
• Berry
• red fruit
• green tea

Today and spices – Sources include:

Some foods that trigger an inflammatory response in your body and should therefore be avoided are:

• • Food processing
  • fried food
  • red meat
  • Refined carbohydrates
  • sugar
  • MSG
  • Trans fat
  • Saturated fat

Now that you have some ideas for individual foods that can help you build a healthy immune system, let’s get to those immune-boosting foods!

10 Immune-Boosting Recipes

1. Lazy 1-Pot Vegan Tom Yum Soup from The Minimalist Baker

this Sweet and Sour Vegetarian Soup The minimalist baker has garlic, lime, onion and ginger to boost your immune system.

2. Israeli Tahini Toast from The Edgy Veg

Start your day with this easy-to-make breakfast (or snack) made with colorful peppers, lemon juice, and tomatoes. While many tahini toast recipes include honey, this Israeli Tahini Toast recipe from The Ag Veg does not. It’s 100% vegan!

3. Miso Mushroom Bowl from Eat at Home

If you’re looking for a delicious umami-flavored soup, look no further Miso Mushroom Bowl From eating at home. Top with sprouts or seeds for an extra immunity boost.

4. Sweet Potato Nachos from 80Twenty Nutrition

I mentioned that Tex-Mex food is my favorite type of food. So much so that our wedding was catered by a vegetarian Tex-Mex restaurant. Nachos are at the top of my list of favorite foods, so you can imagine how excited I was to find this recipe. Sweet Potato Nachos 80 to twenty nutrients. Add pickled jalapeños for an extra boost of both flavor and probiotics.

5. Instant Pot Cauliflower Tikka Masala from Flower Tree

If you love Indian food, this is for you. this Instant Pot Cauliflower Tikka Masala Full of plants add lots of spice and can be topped with cashews for extra crunch.

6. Quinoa Stuffed Chili from Simple Veganista

My mom made the best stuffed bell peppers. Even though she wasn’t vegan, these quinoa stuffed peppers from The Simple Veganista are easy and nutrient-dense and make a great weeknight dinner.

7. Kale, Tangerine, Pepita Salad from Marisa Moore

This recipe for Kale, Tangerine and Pepita Salad by Marissa Moore works well as a light lunch or dinner salad. Hearty, leafy kale with tangy tangerine juice is not only healthy, it’s a great midday energizer.

8. Vegan Pad Thai with Tofu from Fork Over Knife

A few years ago I completed the Forks Over Knives cooking course Rouxbe. Boy, did I learn a lot about cooking! My previous experience included a lot of microwaving. This is a vegan pad thai recipe Forks Over Nives is loaded with a great mix of vegetables and tofu. Add peanuts and lime juice for an extra boost.

9. Vegan “bone” broth from whole hearted eating

Never fear, this recipe for vegan “bone” broth from Wholehearted Eats has zero bones. While traditional bone broth obviously involves slow-boiling the bones, this broth substitutes a healthy mix of immune-boosting vegetables, miso, garlic, ginger, and chili. Add some jalapeños to spice it up.

10. Inner Goddess Raspberry Breakfast Bowl from Pinch of Yum

We’re rounding out our list of delicious immune-boosting foods with breakfast recipes. This Inner Goddess Raspberry Breakfast Bowl from Pinch of Yum calls for frozen mangoes and peaches in addition to raspberries and is ready in less than 20 minutes. Top with granola, almonds and coconut cream if desired.

Our immune boosting drink recipe

I enjoy smoothies and wellness shots fairly regularly. Here are a few of our favorites.

If cooking isn’t your thing…

Whether you’re too busy or don’t enjoy cooking, you still have some options. Many restaurants are beginning to include plant-based foods in their menus to meet consumer demand.

Additionally, you can check out food delivery services such as Splendid Spoon. Be sure to check out our review of the Splendid Spoon here.

Fantastic Spoon prepares and delivers delicious plant-based meals directly to your doorstep on a subscription or on-demand basis. Along with some delicious immune-boosting foods, they also offer wellness shots and smoothies for a quick pick-me-up.

We hope these recipes have given you some inspiration and ideas to create supercharged immune-boosting meals that combine immune-boosting foods.

If you want to learn more about cooking to heal your body and stay strong, check out Cooking Rx Rouxbe. Culinary Rx is an online cooking course that I completed and really enjoyed. You can read my review of the course here.

In addition to learning basic kitchen techniques, you will learn:

• Nutrients Your Body Needs (Micronutrients and Macronutrients)
• How to read labels
• How to make smart choices when dining out

Further reading and resources used

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