Immune Strengthening & Activating Soup

There's no denying that we're in some very strange times right now. Everyone's wondering what is the best way to take care of ourselves and how to prevent the implantation of the virus COVID-19. Along with the general guide-lines of social distancing, washing your hands and being mindful, there are even more holistic preventions you can be taking to feel more confident and safe in this time of worry.

First things first, you need to know how your immune system works. Instead of getting into the nitty gritty details, you can take a look at another blog post I have called "Top 10 Ways To Keep Your Dogs Immunity Strong" where I explain an analogy I use that correlates a castle to your body. Seriously, go take a look! It will help you have a deeper understanding of what your body goes through and how to support it. Oh yeah and don't worry, it's not just for dogs! Our bodies work the same in this regard!

Alright, lets' get into it.

What you will need:

• Garlic

• Onions

• Ginger

• Fennel

• Orange Peel

• Water

• Bone and/or vegetable broth

• Miso paste

• Ramen noodles

• Chicken or any other meat if desired

• Any other vegetable that sounds good to add into the soup : Sweet potato, Mushrooms, Peppers, Broccoli, Cabbage, Garlic, Onion, Kale, etc.

1. Make a decoction (simmered tea) in a large pot with chopped up garlic, half an onion, ginger, fennel seeds and an organic peel. There isn't an exact science to this but roughly 5 cloves or garlic, half an onion, a thumb of ginger, a small handful of fennel seeds and one orange peel. Put these in a large pot with about half a gallon of water. Simmer on low for 2 hours. If you taste this mixture now, it will remind you of the taste of pho broth. If it's too strong you can always add more water.

2. Either make your own or purchase bone broth (or vegetable broth). If you want instruction on how to make bone broth check out my blog post "Simple Broth Recipe To Help Support You And Your Dog". In my opinion a vegetable-bone broth will give you the most benefit but if your are vegetarian/vegan than a vegetable broth will still give you a good dose of nutrients.

3. Sautee any extra vegetables you want to eat within the soup. This part is up to you and is pure personal preference.

4. Combine half herbal decoction and half broth. Bring to a boil and add in the Ramen noodles. Follow instructions on the box for noodles.

5. In a bowl, first place your vegetables, then scoop in the noodles. Ladel out broth to cover the soup to your desired preference. Add a scoop of Miso paste and stir in.

6. Take a small sip and decide if you want more Miso. We add the Miso last because if the Miso gets boiled or too hot, the beneficial bacteria in it will die off.

7. Sit with your loved ones and enjoy!

Now let's go into why this recipe is so beneficial for our immune systems.

• Garlic and onions are both antibacterial and antiviral. They act as a "bomb" in the castle. These are also high in Quercitin. There is new research coming out showing that Quercitin works as a "zinc ionophore". A zinc ionophore helps drive zinc INTO our cells. This is huge when it comes to utilizing zinc to boost our immunity and fight off pathogens. This research is already starting to trickle into mainstream media specifically for COVID-19. Other foods high in Quercitin is kale, tomatoes, citrus fruit & peel, apples, green tea, black tea, peppers and berries. I believe we are soon going to be finding more and more research on this theory as the pandemic continues.

• Fennel and Orange peels have specific antibacterial actions that benefit the bacteria in our mouth that we inherently swallow and ends up in our digestive tract. Fennel seeds are also beneficial for all sorts of stomach upset like constipation, indigestion, bloating and IBS.

• Bone broth is extremely nourishing and high in a variety of vitamins and minerals. It also aids in digestion and contains an amino acid called glutamine which is healing to the intestinal walls.

• Miso is fermented soy beans. When soy is fermented and used more like a condiment, in smaller amounts, it can provide a wide variety of minerals as well as beneficial bacteria to your digestive system called, probiotics. Our body can utilize these probiotics very easily because they are in whole food form. When probiotics are in whole food form they naturally come with what is called a prebiotic. Probiotics are the food for the probiotics (bacteria). Just like us, they are living creatures that need to eat to survive. The longer the probiotic can survive in our bodies, the more they can reproduce. Probiotics benefit how we digest and assimilate nutrients and keep.

You could also make this decoction (tea) and sip it as is but this recipe makes it much easier and tastier to consume. Plus, it has the added benefit of bone broth and miso for a healthy digestive system. Most of our immunity begins in our digestive tract. If we don't have a healthy digestive tract, we are going to be much more susceptible to pathogens of all kinds.

As always, I do like to give recipes that both you and your dog can consume but this one specifically should only be eaten by humans! Unless you make it without the onions and just a tad of garlic. Onion should never be eaten by your dog and garlic is controversial but is used in their pest management.

Keeping or immunity strong during this uncertain and scary time is imperative. Bookmark this recipe for future cold and flu seasons too. The key to not letting pathogens invade your body is building up your "castle wall".

By understanding how our bodies work and how it works with different foods is precious knowledege. Let's continue to educate yourselves on how to take care of and strengthen our own defenses.

This is a great recipe for you, in times of stress. But how can we make this dog friendly? Simple, remove the onions, ramen noodles and miso and viola! You have a broth that can be added to your dogs food. Watch him or her get excited over delicious, nutritious, nutrient dense broth mixed in with their normal meals.

The future is prevention!