When I was sick as a child, all I ever wanted was a bowl of Heinz tomato soup. Warm, comforting, safe and most importantly, tradition! The perfect combination to conquer the chills. Our memories and the connotations we attach to certain foods influence our choices, particularly when we have important needs to be fulfilled.
There’s nothing worse than having to do chores when feeling under the weather. Luckily, the majority of the ingredients for my immune boosting stew are pantry staples, which means you wont be coughing and spluttering at the grocery store. It’s easy to prep, requires one pot and is steaming on your lap in 30 minutes. Not quite as quick or hassle free as canned tomato soup, but I promise it’s worth it! Packed with vitamins A, C & E, iron, zinc and anti-viral herbs, this is a dish that will nourish both body and mind.
I made this yesterday and (I’m not ashamed to say) I ate the entire pot! Eating patterns become skewed when we’re sick. Its certainly ingrained that we should ‘feed a cold’ and this is in fact sound advice, but our appetite doesn’t always like to cooperate. I didn’t have lunch (and never skip a meal!) so by the evening was in much need of replenishment. Move away from obsessing about portion size, particularly when your body is under stress and instead focus on listening to internal cues.
I’ve not specified how many servings per recipe for that very reason, but in reality there should be enough to feed more than one little piggy. If you have some leftover, I promise it tastes even better the following day. Oh, and try to switch out your beloved caffeine for ginger tea!
Ingredients:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced (have a jar in the fridge for emergencies!)
Thumb size piece of ginger, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled, sliced & quartered
4 oz brown mushrooms, sliced
1 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes (I use San Marzano)
Juice of a lemon
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp oregano
2 cups vegetable broth (I use Pacific – organic low sodium)
2 tbsp chick peas
2 tbsp cannellini beans
3 tbsp black beans
3 tbsp kidney beans
4 oz spinach
Fresh parsley, to garnish
Method:
- It’s as simple as it gets. Heat the oil and sauté the onion for two minutes over medium heat.
- Add the mushrooms, bell pepper, garlic, ginger and herbs, cooking for a further two minutes.
- Pour in the tomatoes, broth and lemon juice, season with salt & pepper, reduce heat and simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until the sweet potato has softened.
- Stir in the beans for an additional 5 minutes, adding the spinach in the closing minute.
- Serve into bowls and sprinkle with torn parsley leaves.
enjoy!
