As winter sets in across the UK, little people are bringing home all manner of colds and bugs from school, playgroup and nursery. There’s an element of the inevitable when it comes to winter coughs and colds, but you can do your bit by making sure they’re eating a diet that’s rich in bug-busting nutrients.
Here are some menu and snack ideas for the winter:
Oranges:
Adequate amounts of Vitamin C can shorten the length of a cold, so get more of it into your charges’ (and your) diet by making sure lunch boxes have a satsuma or tangerine in, or go for guava which has almost twice the amount of Vitamin C that oranges do. Other good sources are found in kiwi fruit, papaya, dark leafy greens, and broccoli.
Sweet Potatoes:
Rich in Vitamin A, sweet potatoes are versatile vegetables that help maintain the health of mucosal surfaces like the nose lining, which is often the first place that infections get in. Serve tea with a side of sweet potato mash, whizz up a tasty sweet potato soup with creamed sweet corn and potato, or let them snack on home-made sweet potato fries with an avocado dip. Delicious! Other great foods for Vitamin A are eggs, carrots and pumpkin.
Chicken Soup:
Don’t wait to sickness to strike before you cook up a delicious chicken broth; keep bugs at bay with this age-old antidote to colds and flu. Hot liquid brings up the body temperature and helps looses mucous, whilst garlic beats bacteria into a swift decline and chicken brings that much-needed protein fix when they’re feeling below par. Jamie Oliver does a superb chicken soup recipe that we all swear by when we’re feeling poorly – we’ve included it for you below.
Nanny’s Leftover Chicken Soup by Jamie Oliver: Serves 4-6
“This soup is something similar to what my nanny would have made. It’s all about using up leftover veg and meat, so if you have anything else that needs using, throw it in! You can either have it unblitzed as more of a traditional broth, or blitz it to make a lovely thick soup – its up to you!”
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 bunch of thyme, leaves picked
- 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 stick of celery, trimmed and roughly chopped
- 2 leeks, cleaned and roughly chopped
- Handful of potatoes, cleaned and roughly chopped
- 1.5 litres of chicken or veggies stock (preferably made from Sunday’s chicken roast!)
- sea salt
- ground black pepper
- few handfuls of leftover chicken, shredded
Place a large saucepan on a medium heat and add the oil. Throw in the garlic, thyme, carrots, celery and leeks, then cook for 5-10 minutes, or until softened.
Next, add the potatoes and stock, then cook for a further 20-30 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through and soup has reduced a little. Stir through the chicken 5 minutes before serving and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve up with a good wedge of fresh bread, spread with butter.
Wishing you a happy and healthy month!