When Winter Is at its Worst Eat and Drink Colorful Foods

You must not be astonished that there are actually many Corona infected. Viruses are most successful in January and February as the human immune system becomes weak after months of staying at home. What to do to avoid this? 1. Get fresh air, take long time walks daily, do your shopping without car! 2. Eat fresh and colorful foods.

 

Why colorful? Every color in plants stands for a benefit: red fruits (tomatoes, water melons, pomegranates, cranberries) contain lycopene, an antioxidant that helps to prevent some types of cancer, the orange (carrots, mangos, pumpkins, apricots) contain carotene that can be converted in the body into vitamin A, what plays a role in reducing the risk of some types of cancer, and the brown (beans, chickpeas, lentils) are full of folate, a B vitamin, that helps preventing heart diseases.

 

The green such as broccoli, cabbage and Brussel sprouts are rich in phytochemical with anticancer properties. Leafy green vegetables (cabbage, lettuce, radish leaves) can reduce risk of heart disease. Green vegetables are also packed with folic acid, vitamin K, carotenoids and omega 3 fatty acids. The antiinflammatory properties of purple and blue fruits and vegetables may lower risk for cancer and heart disease and lessening the painful effects of arthritis.

This is only a small part of all the fruits´ and vegetables´ benefits. Did you know that some contain so much protein that they are much better protein sources than milk, milk products and meat (the latter are, by the way, very acidy, indigestive and can cause serious diseases)? Which are they? The pulses: such as lentils, beans, peas, chickpeas. My husband and I love lentils so the “Lentil Loaf” is very appreciated for lunches. We had it two days ago and I took a quick and not so good photo with the cell phone – we were hungry and wanted to eat.

RECIPE LENTIL LOAF (for 2 hungry persons)

2 cups red rentils

3 – 4 middle size potatoes (boiled)

oil for the pan

1 small onion, chopped

1 – 2 carrot(s), chopped

2 cups chopped champignons

1 clove of garlic, chopped

2 tsp thyme and herbs (parsley, basil …)

salt, pepper

vegetable broth

extra peas, sliced mushrooms or red chopped peppers as filling

 

What you can prepare in the morning: boil potatoes and lentils. It is much easier to work when they are cold.

At lunch/dinner time: preheat the oven at 180 degrees C.

Roast onion, carrot(s), champignons and the garlic (not too much, you will later bake the loaf in the oven).

Put cooked lentils, cooked potatoes (roughly chopped), roasted vegetables, herbs, salt, pepper and thyme into a bowl and mix with a hand blender. Don´t overpuree and leave some chunks to bite on.

Mix the peas, cut red pepper and/or sliced champignons in and stir well. This tastes and looks nice when slicing the loaf.

Put the dough into a greased form or shape a loaf with your hands and bake in a greased pan for 30-40 minutes. Add vegetable broth (about 8 – 10 tbsp) and bake.

Take out, let rest for 3-5 minutes, slice, serve and enjoy! Bon appetit!