Boost Immunity This Winter: Easy Recipes Packed with Vitamins

Hey foodies, winters are around the corner and you might have started looking for healthy and delicious winter special immunity boosting recipes. There’s one thing you should keep in your mind while surfing and shortlisting recipes and that is nutritional value. Ignoring health quotients might lead to frequent health issues in chilly winters. This is where you need to look for Vitamin rich winter recipes. In this blog we will be exploring some of the winter special recipes that are almost forgotten now. Let’s dive into the blog.

Rediscovering Winter Wellness: Lost Recipes from Around the World

Let’s start from this chilly white season and its culinary treasures. Winter’s flashbacks overwhelm us with its beauty. Those soft blankets, bowl of warm soup, and general yearning for comfort, everything feels so captivating. All of these come associated with the idea of comfort, but winter also invokes the sense of care and wellness. 

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As a die hard foodie and traditional flavors lover, I have always been impressed with culturally celebrated nourishing immunity boosting recipes for winter season. Unfortunately, these culinary treasures are left behind. Someone has to find them or they will get lost soon.

So let’s revive them! Let’s bring back these lost recipes that remind us that wellness often starts in the kitchen.

Why Talk About Lost Recipes?

You might be wondering why we choose lost recipes. In today’s busy world, we’ve unknowingly drifted away from the foods our ancestors swore by years ago. Traditional winter recipes were way beyond taste, they were smartly created to keep our bodies warm, strong, and energized during the cold months. 

By using local, seasonal ingredients, these dishes were full of natural vitamins, spices, and goodness you can amplify the flavors of these lost treasures. By reviving these forgotten recipes, we’re not only cooking something nostalgic but are also reconnecting with food that heals us internally, feels like all time comfort, and brings us way too close to our roots.

1. Russian Borscht – Beetroot and Cabbage Immunity Soup (Vegetarian)

Why it Boosts Immunity:

It is a rich source of vitamins A & C. This winter special lost recipe is made with beetroot, cabbage and carrots, packed with folate and essential antioxidants. It is just like a fermented sour cream that is generally served along with probiotics.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium size peeled and grated beetroots
• 1/2 small size shredded cabbage
• 2 medium size grated carrots
• 1 medium size finely chopped onion
• 2 tomatoes, peeled and diced well
• 3 cloves of garlic (minced well)
• 6 cups of homemade vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp of sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp of tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Fresh dill and sour cream to garnish

Process:

1. Take a large pot, heat oil in it on a medium flame. Add sauté onions and garlic, until they get soft and pink.
2. Add grated beets, carrots, and cabbage in it. Cook for at least 5 minutes stirring continuously.
3. Put tomato paste, tomatoes, bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste into it and stir it well to mix.
4. Pour in homemade vegetable broth and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer it for at least 25 minutes.
5. Remove the bay leaves from it. Garnish with fresh dill and a dollop of sour cream. Serve it hot. 

2. Korean Samgyetang – Ginseng Chicken Soup (Non-Vegetarian)

Why it Boosts Immunity:

Ginseng is a well-known adaptogen that not only increases immunity but also boosts stamina. It’s no less than a wintertime powerhouse when paired with jujube, garlic, and an entire piece of chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1 small piece of young chicken (Cornish hen)
• ½ cup of soaked glutinous rice
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 2-3 slices of fresh ginger
• 4-5 dried jujubes (red dates)
• 1 small ginseng root (or powder if fresh if unavailable)
• 6 cups of water
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Spring onions and sesame seeds for garnish

Process:

1. Take the piece of chicken, stuff its cavity with soaked rice, garlic, ginger, and jujubes.
2. Keep the chicken in a large pot, pour some water then add ginseng in it.
3. Bring it to the boil. Skim the foam, cover and simmer it for at least 1.5-2 hours until the meat gets tender.
4. Season it with salt and pepper according to your taste. Garnish it with finely chopped spring onions and sesame seeds. Serve it hot!

3. Ethiopian Atmit – Nut and Grain Porridge (Vegetarian)

Why it Boosts Immunity:

Whole grains and nuts are a rich source of fiber, protein, healthy fats, and minerals essential to keep your body fit and healthy in winters.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of cracked wheat or barley
• 1/4 cup of chopped almonds or peanuts
• 1/4 cup of flaxseeds
• 3 tbsp of powdered fenugreek seeds (methi)
• 1 tbsp of honey or date syrup
• 3 cups of water or milk
• Cinnamon powder to taste

Process:

1. In a dry pan, roast the cracked wheat and nuts lightly on a low flame until aromatic.
2. In a pot, combine toasted grains, nuts, fenugreek powder, along with water or milk.
3. Cook it on medium heat, stir frequently for at least 15 minutes until the porridge gets thick.
4. To sweeten it, use honey. Sprinkle cinnamon powder before serving hot.

Conclusion: Rediscovering the Lost Healing Power of Traditional Recipes

These lost recipes from around the world offer several flavors and health benefits in their ultimate quest for natural immunity this winter season. These recipes use healthy local ingredients and centuries of wisdom, that’s how these recipes reconnect us to the past.

These also remind us that good food has the power to heal deeply by nourishing our bodies, warming our hearts, and reconnecting us to traditions that are abundant in health and taste. Stay healthy and for more winter healthy food recipes like this, stay tuned with us at Chefs Home Around!

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