Posted 11/15/2024

How to Strengthen Your Immune System

As I was making greens and tahini sauce today with tofu. I was recalling teaching it to a new client this past Sunday.

She had multiple food restrictions. Autoimmune issues and eagerness to learn how to strengthen her immune system.

And, yes, I was able to teach her how to cook greens in a garlic tahini sauce. Introduce her and her partner to several different kinds of greens: collards, broccolini, lacinato kale, a.k.a. “dino” kale, and curly green kale; all of which they never tasted, but was eager to try. And they liked them all.

During the private hands on cooking lesson, I started with my demonstrating knife skills.

Showed them how to slice up leafy greens, onions, butternut squash and garlic.

Being this was a food as medicine cooking class. I mentioned you get more medicine from the garlic if it’s raw, and so they minced the garlic and added and stirred it into the pot last.

However, when I cooked the dish for myself this afternoon, I made it with all “dino” kale.

And I coarsely chopped the garlic and onions, and sautéed them in the beginning before adding the greens. And I added tofu for some protein.

Also, during the private lesson, following their dietary preferences, I created a new recipe for them with butternut squash and onions cooked with bay leaves, seasoned with fresh picked, organic sage and rosemary. Since this dish was new to them, I introduced them to the concept of which ingredients go in first, second, and third. Then they could begin to create their own recipe variations.

While cooking, I instructed them to engage their senses.
Watch for visual cues to know when the vegetables are done. For example, when the butternut squash was beautiful, bright orange, peak color; that’s how you know it is time to taste it and see if it is as tender as you like. Peak color means peak nutrition.

We sauté the onions, first in the dish with some organic extra-virgin olive oil.

I also introduced them to other healthy fats that they’ve never tried: organic red palm oil, sesame oil, virgin coconut oil. Yes they could add that to extra virgin olive oil and avocado oil, which they already used.

That increased their list of foods to enhance their immune system and offer more variety in their cooking:

When they left, they felt nourished by the experience. Delighted by new flavors and more possibilities for expanding their diets and strengthening their immune systems. I also offered shopping tips for buying fresh organic, seasonal produce: farmers markets, coops, natural food stores, even Whole Foods, instead of regular supermarket chains.

Now, even with a restricted diet, they increased their list of foods they could eat, places they could shop and had two delicious dishes to eat when they got home, which they learned how to cook and could cook them again.

Plus, I also offered them advice on how to fix overzealous seasoning. Letting them know the only thing you can’t fix is if something came out burnt. Then you throw that away, but if it’s too spicy, sour, salty, sweet or bitter that’s easy to fix with herbs, water, fat, and or other Ingredients in the dish. And of course, I introduced all kinds of eco-friendly cooking techniques, alkalizing ingredients, plus knife skills.

Next time they come, I will show them how to cook with sea vegetables and more.