IT’S already day-20 of the Movement Control Order (MCO), and if you’re like us, you’re probably spending a bit of your new-found “downtime” in the kitchen trying out new recipes.
If you are wondering how to stay as healthy as possible during this critical time, check out these six immunity and health boosting menus created by the wellness experts at Anantara Hotels, Resorts and Spas.
Anantara’s chefs combine ancient medicinal herbs, spices and the freshest organic produce with modern taste profiles, to create these drinks and dishes taht features ingredients that provide unique health benefits.
IMMUNITY BOOSTER TURMERIC TEA
Let’s start with a simple sipper: a soothing hot tea created by the chef at Al Baleed Resort Salalah by Anantara, Oman.
The key ingredient of this herbal drink is fresh turmeric, a root closely related to ginger and commonly used in Asian food.
Turmeric contains bioactive compounds including curcumin, a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory properties that increases the antioxidant capacity of the body and improves brain function, fights depression, contains anti-aging properties, and boosts your immune system.
INGREDIENTS:
½ cup of fresh raw turmeric
¼ cup of fresh raw ginger
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp of honey
4 tbsp of distilled water (boiled water that has cooled)
INSTRUCTION
Blend all ingredients until they become a well-emulsified paste. After you’ve created the base, use 2 tablespoons to 1 cup of hot water; let sit for 2 minutes and add a few mint leaves for serving.
CINNAMON LEMON HONEY IMMUNITY SHOT
Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort’s cinnamon-lemon-honey immunity shot is freshly prepared in-house every day and is served to guests as a welcome drink.
Lemons are loaded with vitamin C, honey has antibacterial properties and its high viscosity helps form a protective barrier in the body to help fight infection, while cinnamon is high in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties.
In addition to being a great immunity booster, this shot also helps boost collagen to help skin stay younger looking and the combination of lemon and honey helps combat water retention.
INGREDIENTS:
Cinnamon bark (about 3-4 sticks per 2 cups of water)
1-2 lemons (to taste)
Honey (to taste)
DIRECTIONS
Boil cinnamon bark for 45 minutes and strain. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Add fresh lemon and honey according to taste. You can store the drink in the refrigerator before serving.
POH TOK
Hot soup is a salve for the emotional soul, and Poh Tok, which is a spicy mixed seafood soup is curative for the body, too.
In addition to turmeric, it contains lemongrass, which is said to have antioxidant properties, prevent the growth of some bacteria and yeast, relieve pain and swelling, reduce fever, and improve levels of sugar and cholesterol.
The soup is also flavoured with kaffir lime, another traditional herbal medicine, due to its high content of beneficial organic compounds that can positively affect the body’s systems.
Here’s how the chef at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort, Thailand way of making it.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup of seafood. Can include peeled shrimp, seabass or other white fish filet cut into pieces; mussels or clams; squid; crab or lobster
1 straw sliced lemongrass
1/8 cup sliced galangal
2 pieces kaffir lime leave
1 tbsp kime juice
1 tbsp tamarind Juice
1½ tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sweet chili paste or roasted chili paste
3-5 pieces crushed bird’s eye chili
½ cup straw mushrooms or other mushrooms
2 cups chicken or fish stock
1/8 cup coriander leaves or Thai long saw parsley cut
1/8 cup Thai hot basil
1 tsp fried dried chilis
DIRECTIONS
Heat stock, then add lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves and bring to a boil. Add mushrooms and seafood. Boil until all seafood is completely cooked. Season with fish sauce, lime and tamarind juice, roasted chili paste, and bird’s eye chili. Sprinkle with coriander leave, fresh hot basil leaves, and dried chili on top of the soup before serving.
SEARED TUNA LOIN WITH PAPAYA SALAD
Papaya salad is a fresh tangy salad which use basil, lemongrass, cilantro and mint - all great immune system boosters.
It’s then topped with roasted peanuts, which are high in potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, and B vitamins.
Chef at Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort, Thailand suggests serving it alongside seared or grilled tuna, a fish rich in manganese, zinc, vitamin C, and selenium, all antioxidants that boost the immune system.
INGREDIENTS
For salad:
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup cherry tomatoes
¼ cup of a green papaya, shredded
¼ cup fresh lemongrass
¼ cup fresh mint, lightly packed
¼ cup fresh cilantro, lightly packed
¼ cup fresh basil, lightly packed
3 x 200g Lean tuna loin steaks cooked to your liking
¼ cup fried onions and ¼ cup roasted peanuts for toppings
For dressing:
¼ cup lime juice
2 tbsp palm sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced
⅛ tsp Vietnamese chili paste (or fresh chopped Thai chilis)
DIRECTIONS
Add all salad ingredients (except toppings) to a large mixing bowl and toss. Prepare the dressing: whisk lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, chili paste, and palm sugar together in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and stir to coat. Top with fried onions and roasted peanuts and then serve with pan-seared tuna.
CLASSIC GAZPACHO
Tomatoes are a great source of vitamins. A single tomato can provide about 40% of the daily recommended minimum of vitamin C.
Tomatoes also contain vitamin A, which supports immunity, vision, and skin health; and potassium, a key nutrient for heart function, muscle contractions, and maintaining a healthy blood pressure and fluid balance.
This healthy soup, served cold, is a Spanish favorite which is also served at Anantara Villa Padierna Palace Resort, Spain - that takes advantage of the bounty of the region, from fresh tomatoes to locally-produced olive oil.
INGREDIENTS
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
6 tbsp red wine vinegar
¼ tsp salt
½ cup slightly stale crusty white bread soaked in cold water for 20 minutes.
DIRECTIONS
Mix the diced tomatoes, peppers and cucumber with the crushed garlic and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Squeeze out the bread, tear it roughly into chunks, and add to the mixture. Blend until smooth and add the salt and vinegar to taste and stir well. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve, then cover and refrigerate until well chilled. Serve with small pieces of cucumber and pepper.
KOMBUCHA
Every morning in Hoi An, Vietnam, breakfast starts with Kombucha, the traditional fermented drink made from local green tea and sugar.
The fermented beverage is purported to improve digestion and diabetes, strengthen the immune system, reduce blood pressure, and detoxify the body.
The fermentation process takes seven to 13 days, and you need to have a live SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast).
You can purchase the Kombucha making kit or if you are unable to obtain it, you can get many of the same beneficial results from drinking fermented apple cider vinegar.
Here’s a trick suggested by Anantara Hoi An Resort - drinking vinegar is created by adding two tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar to a glass of distilled water (that’s water that has been boiled and cooled – or, in Ayurvedic terms, “cooked”). Drink every morning.
Boost your immune system with herbal and nutritional supplements at low price using iHerb Promo Code