When treating acute illnesses herbalists will often recommend a cleansing diet. This usually entails taking freshly pressed fruit and vegetable juices or vegetable broths (soups.)
The recipe below was inspired by Vicki Pitman (author of Herbal Medicine). She named it "Potassium Broth" and claimed that it wreaks havoc on colds, infectious and feverish illnesses.
Since we believe in prevention we've tweaked the recipe slightly to help boost our immune systems. It really works and with a slight modification we also use it with great effect whenever we catch a cold. The recipe is loaded with potassium and therapeutic quantities of immune boosting nutrients and vitamins.
Use unpeeled and preferably organic vegetables from your own food garden. If you have to buy from the supermarket, scrub them thoroughly. Don't overcook the vegetables; you are aiming to extract the maximum amount of nutrients and phytochemicals. The same goes for the herbs and spices, aim for 10 minutes infusion time at the most. If you are used to chillies (cayenne) and garlic you can increase the amounts to suit your taste.
1 lt water
2 potatoes, diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, with leaves, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 big handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 Tbs fresh ginger root, mashed; or 1 tsp dried ginger powder
4 cloves garlic, mashed
1 tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp cumin seed, whole
Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and half of the flat-leaf parsley to the water. Cover, bring to the boil and simmer until nearly cooked. Add the remaining parsley, ginger, garlic, cayenne and cumin and simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the vegetables are done. If you have an acute cold, strain the vegetables and herbs and serve.
If you are taking this as part of your immune boosting (prevention) program, puree the strained vegetables in small batches and return to the broth before serving.
For a thicker soup add 1 cup of oats, brown rice or millet that has been soaked overnight then cooked. Puree the whole before serving.
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