Taking it easy

Being at home sick isn't fun for anyone. I have been eating tons of junk and traveling. I now have a sore throat and a general feeling of my immune system being down. Wanting to give my body a little break I am eating clean and simple foods with hopes that any extra energy will be used towards fighting off any sickness. Along with the below two recipes I am eating brown rice and fruit. This is in no way a diet but more of an approach to simple nourishment when you just want to take it easy for a day or so.


Pink Miso and Veggies
6 cups of water or vegetable broth
shitake mushrooms
zucchini
carrot
miso paste
beet greens
swiss chard
spinach
scallions

Bring water or vegetable broth to boil add sliced shitake mushrooms thinly sliced carrots and zucchini to the pot. Simmer for about five minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Take the pot of the stove and stir in about 4- 5 tablespoons of miso paste, you can always add more or less to suit your taste. Lastly thrown in all the greens spinach, beet greens, swiss chard and chopped scallions. These greens will cook perfectly when just left to steep in the hot broth. The color in the stems of the beet greens will turn your soup a pink-ish color.


Amrit Tonic
This has been my go to beverage since I was a little girl. Whenever I feel a cold or sore throat coming on make a big batch of this and sip it through out the day. My theory is that the cayenne pepper gets into your body and heats things up to burn out the bad guys. And no, this is not a master cleanse thing.

Water
Cayenne, dash or two
Ginger, large piece
Lemons, aprox 6 or about 1 cup of fresh lemon juice
Honey, 1 cup

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a dash or two cayenne pepper. I would err on the side of caution and not add too much as it can get pretty spicy.
Peel and slice a whole large piece of ginger and add to the pot. Cover, reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for about 15 minutes. While your waiting juice the lemons. Remove the ginger cayenne water from the heat and pour in the lemon juice and stir in the honey.
Drink warm.
For the vegan version of this just substitute agave for honey.