Tasty Ways to Boost Your Immune System

Jan here, bringing news that is news to nobody! 

We're in the middle of a viral event, compounded by the annual flu and cold season.  No matter which virus is headed your way, it just makes sense to be prepared - both in keeping easy-to-heat-up-if-we're-under-the-weather soups on hand, and keeping our immune system in tip-top shape.

I shared these recipes a few years ago, and I thought now would be a good time to repeat them!

One thing, though. In this post, I talk about lactose-intolerance - a condition I had resigned myself to live with at that time. But I don't worry about it now. Why? I found that by slowly introducing dairy back into my diet, I was able to teach my body to digest it properly again. That experience makes me wonder if that method would help with other dietary sensitivities (not dietary allergies - that's a whole different ball game!) But since I don't have other sensitivities, I haven't been able to test my theory.

Anyway, here are some yummy treats that will make you WANT to boost your immune system!

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An Orange Smoothie for Cold and Flu Season

 Yes, it's here. Flu season.

It's that time of year when the sun hangs low in the southern sky and the cold temps make most of us want to stay inside.

Jan here, with some tips on how to avoid catching the flu...or to lessen its impact on your life.

1) Get your flu shot.

No, it isn't too late. And no, I haven't gotten mine yet. (And yes, I had the flu over Christmas!)

Ever since a younger, fitter, and healthier acquaintance died of complications from the flu a few years ago, I vowed I would get my flu shot every year. This year? I kept putting it off. Now that I'm finally healthy again, I'll be getting my flu shot this week.

I've heard (from reliable sources) that even if you catch the flu after getting a shot, your experience with the virus will be much less serious than if you hadn't gotten the shot. My hubby is the perfect example. He got his shot in the fall, but then came down with the flu in December...and he didn't even realize what he had until I came down with the same symptoms a week later, but more severe and longer lasting. He felt better after a few days. It took me nearly two weeks to feel like I could put two sentences together!


2) Wash your hands.

Your mom was right. Washing your hands is the best way to protect yourself from being infected with a virus like the flu.


3) Get enough rest.

Your immune system needs to be in tip-top shape, and sleep is number one in keeping it there.


4) Eat well to keep that immune system revved.

Orange juice anyone? How about a smoothie?


And here's where today's recipe comes in!

Just over a year ago, I shared a drink recipe that I love - my Winter Sunshine drink! Check out the recipe here: Jan's Winter Sunshine

I love this drink, but sometimes I want something a little...sweeter?...ice creamier?...filling?

This smoothie answers all of those cravings. I'm going to give you two separate recipes. One for normal folks, and one for those with some restrictions on their diet (voluntary or otherwise.)

Orange Julius-Style Smoothie

This recipe is for those who have no dietary restrictions. It was a favorite with my children when they were younger!

1 6-oz can frozen orange juice

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

10-12 ice cubes

Blend the first four ingredients in a blender. Add the ice cubes 2 or 3 at a time until well blended. Drink right away, or freeze and eat as sherbet.

{Update: I forgot to say that this makes about four servings. I'm sure some you were shuddering at the thought of 1/2 cup sugar in one serving!}

Easy-peasy, right?

Unless you want to avoid sugar and happen to be lactose-intolerant (a recent development...I blame age). Then, this smoothie is for you:

Orange Dreamsicle Smoothie

The original recipe for this is in the Trim Healthy Mama cookbook, but it calls for cottage cheese. The only dairy I can eat is yogurt, so I substituted a couple things, and came up with this delicious, protein-rich smoothie.

1 medium, or 2 small oranges, peeled and seeded

1/2 cup unsweetened almond or cashew milk

1/2 cup unsweetened plain Greek yogurt

3/4 teaspoon orange extract

3 teaspoons stevia/erithrytol blend (like Truvia)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Vitamin C powder

2 Tablespoons integral collagen, or 1 scoop whey protein powder

1 1/2 - 2 cups ice cubes

In a blender, blend the orange slices and almond milk until the orange is completely blended. Add the yogurt, orange extract, sweetener, salt, Vitamin C powder, and collagen (not the whey protein powder).

Blend until smooth.

Add the ice cubes, 2-3 at a time (or if you have a powerful blender like a Ninja or Vitamix, add them all at once) and blend until smooth.

If you use whey protein powder, add it now, and blend for an additional 10 seconds.

Pour it into a large glass (I use a 1 quart canning jar) and enjoy!

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Back to 2020! I hope you're all weathering the storm our country (and world) is going through right now. 

With Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, it's important to remember to celebrate those holidays, even if the crowd around the table is smaller this year. There is a reason for both holidays beyond big meals and get-togethers, and I plan to let my Thanksgiving to God for His provisions and my celebration of Christ's birth take center stage this year. No matter what else is happening.

Next week we celebrate Thanksgiving! Are you ready?

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com.

Recharging our immune systems, part two

Happy Monday! Jan here, talking about our health again.


Two weeks ago, I talked about the importance of recharging our immune systems in this time of quarantine and hyper-sensitivity to viruses. (You can read that post here.)

Today I’m continuing that post, and I can feel myself getting healthier with every word!

Remember, I am not a doctor and have no medical training whatsoever. But I am a mom, and I’ve been around for a while. Common sense and experience go a long way in uncertain times, and it is only common sense that keeping healthy is much better than trying to become healthy after an illness.

So, let’s work some more on our immune systems!

If you remember, #1 was eating healthy foods. Now on to the rest of the list:


2. Reduce as much stress as you can

Stress is a killer. It keeps us from the healthy lifestyle we need by interrupting our sleep, causing us to eat poorly, making us tired and depressed…you all know what I mean.

So how do I reduce stress? It’s hard, but these four things are a great help for me:

First, I spend time with God every day. Every day. I read and study my Bible, I pray, I sing, and I meditate. Before Sam came into our lives, I was spending an hour first thing every morning this way. Once he’s past this puppy stage, I’ll go back to my morning routine. I can’t wait! But until then, my hour comes after breakfast and before I start writing. When I miss a day, I can tell.

Second, I have learned to give God the things I can’t handle myself – which is most things. I know His plans for me and my loved ones are the best. Everything happens for my good and His glory…even if I can’t see that right now. So, I rest in His grace, love, and sovereignty. My part is to pray and listen.

Third, I plan and prepare. Believe me, our well-stocked pantry has been a real blessing these past few months, and an effective stress reducer!

But that isn’t the only way I prepare. I’m a list maker. Whenever a major event is coming up (a move, a wedding, a trip to visit relatives, planting a garden, painting the living room) I make a list of the steps I need to take from point A to point B. Having my tasks written down means I don’t need to remember them, and I’m not likely to forget anything…unless I forgot to write it on the list!

Fourth, I have a few hobbies that I love. Counted cross stitch is one, and playing the piano is another. Reading is a definite stress reducer, and so is hiking in the Hills. Other people paint, do jigsaw puzzles, color, or do genealogy. The main thing about a hobby is that it needs to occupy your mind and your time, and it needs to be enjoyable. If you find yourself stressing over your hobby, it’s time to find another one! 

3. Get Enough Sleep

Getting enough sleep is so important to good health! But how much sleep do you need?

Try an experiment – for a week, go to bed at least eight or nine hours before you need to get up. Don’t set an alarm. Let yourself wake up naturally. Keep track of how long you slept each night.

For me, 7 1/2 hours is my sweet spot. If I go to bed on time (and my sleep isn’t interrupted by stress,) I wake up rested and refreshed.

If you have trouble falling asleep, try turning off the television or computer an hour before bedtime and read instead. Sometimes a cup of herbal tea is what helps me relax. Often, a game of solitaire or two (with real cards, not on the computer) will have me nodding off.

Being able to stay asleep is important, too. Until we moved to the country, we always ran a fan at night to provide white noise and air circulation. Now? Unless the temperatures are below 40°, I crack the window open. Even a quarter inch is enough to bring in fresh air and restful nighttime noises.

Sleep is the time your body needs to heal and fight off infections. Use that time well.



4. Exercise regularly, and outside if possible

Sometimes I think we were crazy for adopting two puppies at our stage of life. But without that constant (and sometimes smelly) reminder that they need to be taken out regularly, I would sit at my computer for endless hours.

Jack (the corgi) doesn’t need as much roadwork, and can get by easily with about a half-mile a day and occasional romp in the yard with Sam. 

A rare quiet moment.

But Sam the Border Collie needs to get miles under his feet before he’s able to be calm in the house. Since he’s still a puppy, I’m working his (and my!) distance up gradually. We do about a mile and a half in the morning and a half mile at noon. Throw in another mile in the evening, and I’m walking three miles a day. Even on rainy days we get in a half mile three times a day.

That’s good for me and good for Sam. It’s good exercise and it’s outside. The challenge is to find something you enjoy, someone who will make sure you do it, and strenuous enough for you to get your heart rate up a bit.

The benefits of exercise include lifting your mood, good air circulation in your lungs, and increased energy. And it’s free!



5. Don’t smoke, and keep alcohol consumption in moderation (if you drink)

I don’t have to go into the health benefits of not smoking. Whether you’re a smoker or not, you know what they are.

I see alcohol as a personal choice, but too much doesn’t do anyone any good.



6. Keep chronic conditions under control

Chronic health issues are a problem. Depending on what they are, we really don’t have much control over them. But you can learn how to alleviate the symptoms in your own body. Keeping your A1C down through diet and exercise if you’re a diabetic, being religious about avoiding gluten if you are dealing with celiac disease, and using prescribed exercises if you have joint problems are just some of the ways you can be proactive with your health and your immune system.

My only chronic problems have to do with plantar fasciitis, an inherited bunion (thank you, Grandma!) and dealing with the effects of minor injuries I sustained in a car accident years ago. I have found that wearing the right shoes the right way works wonders for my foot problems, and learning (and doing) some simple back exercises helps with the rest. Without educating myself on how to control the symptoms of my problems, I wouldn’t be able to walk three miles a day.

Everything is connected, isn’t it?



I hope I’ve encouraged you to take control of your own immune system. It is SO important to be in control rather than suffering as a victim of our own poor choices. And it’s never too late to start getting healthy! Whether we’re 17, 47, or 87, there is no better gift we can give ourselves than good health.



What are some of the ways you have changed your lifestyle for better healthy lately?

Jan Drexler is an author by day who is addicted to counted cross stitch and sauntering through the Hills with her dear husband and their puppies - goofy corgi Jack and growing-fast border collie Sam. You can find Jan's books and other fun things on her website: www.JanDrexler.com.

Recharging our immune systems, part one

Jan here, talking about our immune systems.

I’m not a doctor, and I don’t play one on TV, but I have been thinking about this subject for the past few years. 

That’s when I started getting very tired of the yearly flu/cold/virus that knocked me out for two weeks every winter. And the weekly round of exposure to the germ-factories (my pre-school Sunday School students) and a day of feeling lousy every Thursday (three to four days after being exposed to the germ-factories.) The next week it would happen again. All winter long. Add seasonal allergies on top of that and you’ve got a good idea of what my life was like.

The last thing I wanted to do was to pump my body full of medicines. Decongestants, antihistamines, pain killers… Yes, I took them all on a daily basis, just to keep my allergies and colds from turning into sinus infections or bronchitis.

And I was miserable. But no longer! What changed? I started working on restoring my immune system naturally. I read theories from different medical organizations and some not-as-medical well-meaning folks, and I used my common sense. I learned a lot.

In our current situation with the Covid-19 virus, I’ve been concerned about my friends and family throughout the country. It seems that a lot of things we are doing are counter intuitive. But most concerning is that someday we’ll go back to normal life and be exposed to other people again. However, our bodies – our immune systems - won’t be prepared. We'll be the perfect target for every germ out there.

Think about it – how many germs (viruses and bacteria) have you been exposed to in the last three months? Through isolating ourselves from the Covid-19 virus, we’ve also isolated ourselves from all the other viruses and bacteria…even the good ones. And that can serve to deplete our natural immunity to the germs that used to surround us every day.

I’ve learned some simple tools that can help us prepare our immune systems for the future. I’m sharing the biggest one today, and I’ll go through the rest of them next Monday.

1) Eat a healthy diet.

This is a “duh” moment, right? We all know a healthy diet is important for a healthy life. Foods can help give your immune system a boost - foods rich in Vitamin A, C, E, B6 and B12, zinc, folate, iron, selenium, copper…the list goes on. I’m not saying you need to memorize the nutrients in all the foods you eat. A healthy diet is much easier than that.

The best way (best because it’s so easy you’ll stick to it) is to eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, quality protein, and healthy fats like butter, coconut oil, and olive oil.

A very important thing to remember, though, is to not gorge yourself on any one food. Just because I CAN eat butter doesn’t mean that I down a cup of it a day. A half teaspoon of butter on a serving of steamed broccoli helps make the vitamins in the vegetable more accessible to my body, so I enjoy the bit of butter on my veggies.

The key to getting the large variety of nutrients in our diet is to eat a large variety of foods. Simple? Yes. Fruits and veggies are high in vitamins and antioxidants, which help prevent inflammation. Meat, including red meat, has a lot of quality protein, along with micro-nutrients you can’t get in any other foods.

We've all done our research. We need to use our common sense, eat the foods we enjoy, branch out to try unfamiliar foods once in a while, and eat a varied diet. That practice should supply almost all the vitamins and minerals we need.

But one nutrient isn’t readily available in food. Our bodies manufacture it easily, but there’s a catch. We need sunshine to do it. If you live in the northern hemisphere, there are very few months that the sun’s rays are strong enough to allow our bodies to produce enough vitamin D. On sunny days I make sure I get some sun exposure (10-20 minutes with no sunscreen is not a recipe for skin cancer but for increased health!) In the winter months I take a vitamin D3 supplement.

Here are some foods that can give our immune systems an extra boost:


Berries, especially blueberries

Berries are high in vitamins and fiber, but blueberries have a type of flavonoid called anthocyanin. In a 2016 study (you can read it here,) researchers found that flavonoids appear to play an essential role in the upper respiratory tract's immune defense system.

Dark Chocolate

Okay, this one is a bit controversial. I've heard that the studies claiming the antioxidant benefits of dark chocolate weren't good ones...but hey. I'm going with it. Because even if dark chocolate doesn't provide all the health benefits those studies said it did, it appears that there are some antioxidants in it. Besides, the darker the chocolate, the less sugar you're adding to your diet. I call that a win/win.

Turmeric

We've talked about this one before in the Cafe. High in curcumin, turmeric can improve our bodies' immunity. Turmeric is also an anti-inflammatory and full of antioxidants.

Oily Fish

Salmon, tuna, and other oily fish are a great source of Omega-3's. Much of our diet is overbalanced with Omega-6, and we need Omega-3 to bring it back into balance.

Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables

Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts...all these vegetables are high in vitamin C and antioxidants. Some other veggies with the same benefits are kale, arugula, cabbage, bok choy, etc.

Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

These veggies are high in beta carotene, the antioxidant that give them their orange color. Beta carotene is a good source of vitamin A.

Spinach and other leafy greens

These veggies are high in vitamin C. Beware of eating too much raw spinach since it can lead to a build-up of oxalic acid. So eat your spinach in salads, but also cooked. I use frozen spinach (slightly cooked as it is blanched) in my smoothies to add green power.


I've suggested only a few of the many ways foods can boost our immune systems. What are some of your favorites?

Next week we'll look at other ways we can use our lifestyles to boost our immune system. Here's to good health!

*all photos courtesy of PicMonkey

Jan Drexler is an author by day who is addicted to counted cross stitch and sauntering through the Hills with her dear husband and their puppies - goofy corgi Jack and growing-fast border collie Sam. You can find Jan's books and other fun things on her website: www.JanDrexler.com.