…. aka vegan bone broth, aka liquid, cold-crushing gold.
Upon the realization that almost every one of my friends, co-workers, acquaintances and family members were either fighting off a head cold or had contracted some sort of sinus infection fit for Satan himself, I decided it was time to step up my immunity game.
Unfortunately, I had my wisdom teeth extracted a couple of weeks ago (oh, the suffering), and was put on a round of antibiotics and bucketloads of pain killers, which left me feeling tired, bloated and weak… just in time for cold & flu season!
Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I woke up with a sore throat that I made a batch of this magic broth elixir, but, I figured it would be a good time to test out its efficiency!
I’ve been drinking a cup a day of this stuff for three days, and I can say with confidence that, while it hasn’t knocked out my cold completely, I’ve been able to go out and function like a normal human, which I’m totally stoked about. This a recipe for those times when, damn it, you can not afford to get sick right now!
This recipe features a blend of immune-boosting mushrooms, antibacterial, cold-fighting herbs and spices and mineral-rich seaweed.
The star players here are fresh ginger root and turmeric root – both are anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antimicrobial, as well as spicy and mucus-clearing. Oregano, garlic and parsley add antioxidant properties to round off this flu-season superhero.
The best thing about this broth, in my opinion, is that it’s actually freaking delicious. While yes, it is spicy, herbal-y, intensely ginger-y and garlic-y, it also has a rich depth of flavor and reminds me a lot of what I imagine bone broth to taste like. It’s also super low calorie, and optionally salt-free and oil-free. That being said, the 2 teaspoons of coconut oil used in the broth add richness and additional antimicrobial benefits.
The broth itself only takes about 10-15 minutes of prep time, but it requires three to four hours of simmer time, so plan ahead a bit! It’s totally worth it.
Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup chopped white onion
2 tbsp chopped fresh turmeric root
2 tbsp chopped fresh ginger root
1 oz dried mixed mushrooms (try to find a blend that includes shiitake, maitake or oyster mushrooms for their potent immune-boosting benefits)
2 four-inch pieces of kombu seaweed, wiped gently with a wet paper towel
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp organic coconut oil (optional)
2 tsp sea salt or Himalayan pink salt (optional)
12 cups filtered or spring water
1 cup organic vegetable broth (optional)
Directions:
- Begin by prepping your herbs, roots and spices.
- In a large soup pot, add coconut oil, garlic and onion, and sauté until translucent and fragrant.
- Add in vegetable broth, ginger and turmeric and bring to a low boil.
- After about five minutes, add in the rest of your ingredients, but start with only four cups of water.
- Bring to a rolling boil at high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for an hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so.
- After an hour, check the broth and add another four cups of water.
- Another hour later, add the final four cups of water, and let simmer for another hour.
- After the three hours of simmer time are up, strain your broth into a large mason jar or glass container. You can save the mushrooms if you’d like, but they’ll just taste like the rest of the soup – we’ve drained them of most of their flavor and benefits!
- Optionally, you can add more water or vegetable broth, as well as salt and pepper to adjust the soup to your desired potency!
- Enjoy this broth in abundance, especially while sick, and garnish with a lemon wedge and/or cayenne pepper, because we’re just fancy like that 😉
- Because of all the antibacterial ingredients in this soup, it can last up to a week in the fridge, but you’ll probably want to drink it all up before then. It will freeze beautifully as well.
Enjoy! ❤
