Getting Sick? Stay Home and Eat These Immune Boosting Foods

We were recently interviewing interns. One candidate came in, shook our hands, sat down and proceeded to take one of those repulsive, slurpy sniffs. “I didn’t want to cancel but I’m not feeling well” was her opener. She was smart and qualified but I couldn’t finish fast enough to wash my hands. I’m not such a germophobe, much more of a sickaphobe.

Some who are sick may be in denial or even tell sick, little lies. Whenever I hear allergies or food poisoning I can’t help but wonder if it’s really a head cold or stomach virus. Who wants to confess to that when they’re breathing all over you? If you're reading this feeling sick contemplating going to work or whether or not to break plans I say don’t be a martyr; keep your germs to yourself, stay home. And as a thank you gift for doing so, here are all the foods you should eat to feel better.

Germ Riddance Smoothie

Blend this puppy up whenever you think you’re coming down with something or if you’re feeling sickaphobic. Whey protein and every single ingredient (other than the stevia is immune boosting.

Tera’s Whey Protein

1 cup frozen fruit (strawberries, peaches, pineapple or kiwi)

1 handful kale (only if in high powered blender club)

1 tsp. Coconut oil

4 ounces almond milk

Few slivers fresh, peeled ginger root- few slivers fresh ginger root or use a couple ounces Ginger Fireball juice from Juice Press

Shake of Cinnamon

Nu stevia
Note: if you use fresh fruit you'll need some ice cubes

Mid morning: 2 cups or more of White Tea. White tea is the best immune boosting tea and a killer of bacteria and viruses- love that.

Lunch: Miso Soup  and Salmon

This miso recipe from Whole Foods is the warm equivalent of the smoothie below.

Note, if gluten free some miso has barley derivatives. I like the South River miso.

Have some poached salmon in addition to the soup. Omega 3’s boost immunity by increasing phagocyte action. Think of these white blood cells as bacteria traps.

Mid Afternoon: either Kefir  or Siggis drinkable yogurt or green juice for infection ammunition

My kids have kefir most mornings and love the Evolve brand; I also like Nancy’s.

Dinner: Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Chicken is good for immune system due to zinc content. There’s also an amino acid released as chicken cooked that’s similar to a bronchitis drug (not incredibly appetizing information but according to the University of Nebraska, it’s true). Garlic contains sulfur-based components that are both antibacterial and antifungal.

So there you have the best foods to keep you healthy. The worst things for your immune system are sugar, inadequate (less than 7 hours per night) sleep and, as we spoke about a couple of weeks ago, lying. So the next time you’re tempted to sniff the day away and call it “allergies”…think twice.

Are you a sickaphobe? What do you do when you think you're coming down with something? Have you ever told a "sick" lie?

Not Feeling Well? It May Be the Chicken

Not my kind of "party"

Many people who watched Food Inc. saw chickens packed in dark, dirty pens, walking in each others’ feces and swore off chicken. On the other hand, maybe you blocked those images out and remain unconvinced of any danger. Well,  if you thought salmonella, arsenic, injected hormones or chlorine baths were your biggest concerns with feedlot chicken, think again. Researchers found that the culprit for almost all UTIs (urinary tract infections) in women isn’t from “holding it” or improper wiping but chicken. Yup, that chicken and broccoli may contain an extra ingredient namely E. coli bacteria.

I love skeptics. If you’re reading and wondering how the E. coli was traced to chicken, I’ll explain. Researchers from McGill look at the bacteria from women in California and Canada and played a little genome matching game with bacteria found in beef, pork and chicken. There is E. coli in other meat but it’s good old chicken that most closely resembles that in UTIs.  And the icing on the vile cake? Due to the overuse of antibiotics in factory farms many strains of E. coli are antibiotic resistant. The study was published in the March issue of the CDC's Emerging Infectious Diseases. 

From CDC website:

 Every year, 6–8 million cases of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTI) occur in the United States;  greater than 80% are associated with E. coli. The urinary tract is the most common source for E. coli causing bloodstream infections, which cause 40,000 deaths from sepsis each year in the United States.  Drug-resistant infections often require more complicated treatment regimens and result in more treatment failures.

This "extraintestinal E. coli" is somewhat less lethal than the 0157 strain that is responsible for many food recalls but "may kill you but chance is lower" doesn't reassure me. Additionally, this bacteria can lay dormant for six months before causing problems, what about the effects for children? A friend (who recently mentioned she had a UTI)  upon reading this information said, “Is anything safe to eat?” I hear that a lot and the truth is yes... but you have to do your homework. A few options:

1. I get it if you’re repulsed. How can you not be? These poor chickens peck at droppings from their fellow birds or drink water contaminated by stool. If sayonara chicken is what feels right, that’s one option
2. Organic Chicken- chickens are not given antibiotics. Increasingly, probiotics and essential oils are being used to reduce bacteria content naturally. They are also less cramped and therefore much less likely to be contaminated. I will not eat chicken that’s not organic and do not serve it to my family. In addition to organic or the next best thing is  "Certified Humane" . Unfortunately there are many loopholes around "raised without antibiotics." For example, some companies inject chickens before they hatch (seriously). Other producers, same name as a well-known sketchy boxer, use drugs that aren't technically antibiotics but ionophores. Once you're dealing with this kind of deceit, I'm shopping elsewhere. 
3. Cook properly- this is often put out there as a way to prove sub par chicken is safe. If you just cook it to the proper temperature (165 Fahrenheit for chicken) everything is killed off. Well maybe not everything there’s still the arsenic and antibiotics. Did I mention my husband and I happen to be  doing a raw, vegan week? No "dark" meat chicken for us.

Do you eat chicken? Are you selective about where it comes from? What do you do at restaurants? Which option above 1, 2 or 3 works for you?

Cooking Homework: Orphaned Appliances and Unread Books

Nobody puts Breville in the corner.

In October, I introduced the concept of cooking homework. It was a selfishly motivated endeavor to immerse myself in slow cookery but many of you seemed enthusiastic about it. The concept was to give yourself an assignment in the kitchen and then report back with progress. Timing may not be everything but my timing stunk and I checked back with all of you in November right as holiday hell festivities were getting started. Nobody, except me, had done their homework.

Well it’s a new (or newish) year, we’re all back from "winter break" and a new semester is starting. I’ll admit, I have temporarily abandoned my slow cooker and retreated to my cooking comfort zone. Only last week did I do a little rut busting and experimented with some recipes from a beautiful new book "Home Cooking with Jean-Georges". The recipes are manageable but I have to laugh when I see accomplished chef’s concept of “simple recipes”.  Simple to me is fewer than 10 ingredients and does not involve butchering. I cooked Cumin and Citrus Roasted Carrots and the most delicious chicken breasts ever and really enjoyed it. So, your first homework assignment is to cook 1-2 recipes from a cookbook you haven’t used or haven’t used in a while. I’ll continue to cook Jean-Georges but also plan to make recipes from “Appetite For Reduction” from the author of Veganomicon and “Healthy Hedonist” from one of my favorite chef’s Myra Kornfeld.

After the cooking homework I clearly need some photo homework

Assignment #2 refers to the photo above.  I’m very fickle in the kitchen and with the arrival of the slow cooker and the Vitamix my beloved Breville juicer (in addition to being fickle I’m a bit of an appliance whore, there are worse things right?) has been orphaned. With Organic Avenue opening just a few blocks from my house, I haven’t exactly been juice-deprived.

Can you name the blogger at the register purchasing everything in sight?

 Their Green Coco juice awaits me after a run or barre class while my loyal juicer sits in the corner tucked behind Nespresso. It took some good old-fashioned guilt to get through to me. I was talking to a friend about kitchens and the items we use every day and she said, “well I keep my juicer out because I use it daily.” “You really make a juice every single day?” I had to clarify. “Every day she insisted”. I love the ideal of juicing again (maybe not daily) and also don’t really think anyone needs to spend $10 for greens in a pretty bottle.  Assignment #2 is to revisit a neglected appliance. Whether it’s the blender, waffle iron or even your oven, change things up and maybe you’ll like it.

Mark your calendars, assignments are due a month from today or Friday 3/2. Class will be in session by 6am but you can “hand in” your work any time that day.

What do you think you’ll do for each assignment? Any great cookbook discoveries or new appliances you’d like to mention? Are you more of a cookbook or appliance whore?

Did I mention the NY Giant's Toaster? It's my son's, I swear. Go Giants!

10 Easy Foodtrainers-Approved Dinners

*Since this was late to post Friday (Blogger down) leaving it up to be sure you have chance to read.


Many of us start the day out strong but then our eating suffers by sundown. I asked our Market Melissa to share some of the information from her “Taming Takeout” Market Foodtraining tours to help us solve the dinner dilemma. Thanks M.

I know how it goes. It’s 7pm and you walk in the door. You are tired, hungry and cranky. What’s for dinner?  That’ll be takeout (again). My clients have been there; I ‘ve been there. It’s a pattern we can all fall into and it isn’t a good one.  While I don’t expect anyone to start dicing, slicing and following a 20-ingredient recipe, making dinner can be quick AND healthy. My 3 “supper secrets” are:

• Make a menu plan-menu sounds complicated but know what you’ll eat each night of the week and shop for missing ingredients.
• Be your own sous chef- chop vegetables on Sunday, do as much advance prep as possible.
• Make extra, I always try and make extra servings when I am cooking so I have leftovers nights during the week when I know I will be working late.

So put away your takeout menu collection and try some of our favorite easy dinners:

1.  Fajita Omelet – we love breakfast for dinner. Sauté peppers and onions in 1 tsp. olive oil. Add in 1-2 omega 3 eggs and top with salsa and/or avocado.
2.  Multipurpose Marinade-  this is a great marinade from Clean Eating magazine. I let chicken breasts, cut into strips, marinate over night for more flavor and it’s ready for a  grill pan as soon as I walk in the door. 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard, salt and pepper for (4) 4 oz. chicken breasts. Trader Joe’s pre-cooked brown rice is always in my pantry- heat and top with chicken.
3.  Roasted Shrimp Cocktail – I love this simple and quick Ina Garten recipe for roasted shrimp. Serve over dinosaur kale or pre-washed salad greens.
4. Easy Oven Roasted Cod from Rosaberry. Preheat the oven to 400º. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Season 1.5 pounds cod fillets with salt and pepper and sprinkle with lemon zest (1 tsp). Place the fillets on the parchment paper. In a bowl mix a pint grape tomatoes, ¼ cup pitted calamata olives, 2 tsp oregano, and  1 Tbs olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the tomato mixture over the cod. Roast 12-15 minutes. Squeeze lemon wedge over cooked fish.
5.  Trader Joe’s Organic Baked Tofu (teriyaki or savory flavor). This is always in my refrigerator to throw over a salad or quinoa for an instant dinner. Quinoa is a staple on my weekly menu. It is one of the quickest cooking whole grains out there, done in 10 minutes.
6. Poached chicken – Simmer organic chicken in low sodium broth for 20 minutes or until cooked through. I like to make several servings to have as leftovers. Enjoy with roasted vegetables or wrap it up in a whole wheat or corn tortilla.
7.  Burger Night -  I love anything Applegate Farms especially their organic turkey burgers . For a Vegetarian option, my go to veggie burger is Sunshine Burgers (I like the falafel flavor) Both can be kept in the freezer and pulled out right before cooking. They are great on their own, topped with avocado, hummus or salsa or with a side of Alexia sweet potato fries. 
8. Organic Bistro meals – I am not a huge proponent of frozen meals, but they are good to have in a pinch. This line is the best one out there in terms of sodium content and the lack of preservatives. All ingredients are “real food.” My kind of ingredient list. The Wild Alaskan Salmon is a favorite.  
9. Pasta – I like using brown rice or quinoa pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions. Sauté your veggie of choice in garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes (optional). Zucchini, asparagus & tomatoes, mushrooms, broccoli or kale are some of my favorites. Top pasta with veggies and fresh herbs (flat leaf parsley or basil work for any dish). Think more veggies and less pasta. Total time is less than 20 minutes. 
10. Portobello Pizza – Lauren told me about this one from the Swanky Dietitian and it has been in my rotation ever since. Super easy and helps satisfy my ever-present pizza cravings.                                                                                                                                      Are you a victim of the take out monster on weekdays? What are your go-to easy dinners? And what are your time-saving tips? To learn more about Melissa’s Market Foodtraining tours click here.