Its cold and flu season … just in case you hadn’t heard about it in the news … and I’m surrounded by people in various stages of sniffles and coughs, and plenty of people who have been down a few days and recovered.

With all this going on I’ve been thinking about how to fortify my immune system the low crap way.

So I started blending up a small clove of garlic with my morning smoothie.  I don’t do it every day …  just the days that I wake up with a little tickle in my throat (which is a sure sign my immune system is under serious strain.)

I’ve discovered over the years that when my body needs a garlic boost I am not bothered by the unpleasant smell normally associated with eating raw garlic. When I start to smell garlic coming through my skin, then I know that the garlic has done its job in fortifying my immune function and I won’t eat it for a few days.

If you really don’t like the taste of garlic in your smoothie (its actually quite subtle) then you can take deodorized garlic tablets (1 or 2 per day is plenty) and achieve the same results. Remember though, processed garlic tablets are not low crap … what with all the packaging and processing that goes on to make them.

Garlic is worthy food medicine to keep on hand. It has antibiotic and antiviral properties and it is excellent for both preventing and treating respiratory conditions such as colds and flu. While you are keeping away colds and flus you will also be doing your heart good as garlic will lower cholesterol. Be aware though that garlic is a natural blood thinner; so use caution if you have a bleeding disorder or are using pharmaceutical blood thinners.

Fresh raw garlic is truly low crap, self-packaged goodness.

If you have a few random vegetables in the fridge and whole grain or lentils in the pantry … then you’ve got soup.

Home made soup is wonderful low crap food. The possibilities are endless and its quicker than you think.

No crappy tin cans are involved.

If you have a slow cooker, you can assemble your soup in a hurry and have it cooking while you go about your day.

It is a perfect way to get low cost real food nourishment into growing bodies.

Throw in a few cloves of garlic and you have a flu-defying remedy in a bowl.

I like to serve my home made soup over a handful of fresh spinach leaves to get an extra serving of greens into my day.

I don’t have specific recipes that I use. It all depends on what I have on hand. Here’s some general instructions to get you started. Remember, like smoothies, you really can’t go wrong. As long as you like all the ingredients that you put into your soup, it should turn out just fine.

Ingredients for approximately 1 liter of soup
1 liter of water
½ – 1 cup of uncooked brown rice, wild rice, lentils, quinoa (or a combination)
2 – 6 cups chopped vegetables (Cabbage, Carrots, Celery, Corn, Green Beans, Leeks, Onion, Parsnip, Peas, Potatoes, Squash, Tomato, Yams, Zucchini, etc)
Seasoning (Herbs, Pepper, Salt, Spices, Curry, etc)

Directions
1. Wash and chop veggies into bite size pieces.
2. For extra flavour, sauté the stronger flavoured vegetables in a little butter or olive oil until tender and slightly browned (celery, garlic, leeks, onions).
3. Place all ingredients into pot or slow cooker.
4. Add ½ to 1 tsp sea salt, and other spices and herbs. Taste the broth at this point, but know that the flavour will change as everything gets cooked up together.
5. Bring to a boil, cover, and then simmer until the grains/legumes are cooked and the vegetables are tender, approximately 30 – 60 minutes. If using a slow cooker, set on low over night or while you are away at work.
6. Just before serving adjust the seasoning.

Its been five days since I brought home $60 of Low Crap Food, so its time to take an inventory and see what I’ve got left and tell you what I’ve been eating.

On Saturday I hosted a picnic for three friends who were helping with some video research at Thompson Small Farm. (Stay tuned for those posts over the coming weeks.)

For the picnic I prepared Garlic Broccoli Offering, Yogurt Garlic Potatoes, Brown Rice Salad, Nettle/Raspberry/Oat Straw Tea, and hard boiled eggs. I also brought along some goat’s cheese and a fresh tomato for slicing and serving on corn crackers. There was chocolate for dessert thanks to Kerri. We were so busy exchanging ideas that no one thought to snap a picture.

The picnic used up some of the peppers, garlic, and cucumber, a little of the spinach and cilantro, 2 of the broccoli stalks, the limes, most of the eggs and ½ the tub of yogurt.

The oranges, kale, ginger and most of the remaining spinach has been consumed in Orange Green juice, my favourite breakfast and after running juice.

I attended a potluck dinner on Sunday, and used the rest of the broccoli, more of the garlic and had to substitute a lemon (as I was out of limes) in another batch of Garlic Broccoli Offering, which was met with rave reviews.

Half of the onion and another bulb of garlic went into a stew served over brown rice. Other ingredients found in the fridge and thrown into the stew were: half of a sweet potato, 3 carrots, and five bison sausages cut up.

I’ve also gone through a pot of quinoa, which I usually eat cold after adding chopped salad ingredients, olives and feta cheese.

So after five days, I still have about 1/3 of the produce left. That pineapple is just about perfectly ripe and ready to eat. This morning I chopped up the cauliflower, tossed it with  salt, and it is now dehydrating as I write in hopes of becoming a crunchy low crap snack food. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Quick to prepare, this raw dish is perfect for those last minute potluck get-togethers.

Garlic Broccoli Offering is:
- Medium Alkaline forming
- Diabetic Friendly
- Gluten Free
- High Fiber
- Raw

Ingredients
2 stalks broccoli
6 garlic cloves (adjust to your preference)
½ tsp sea salt (adjust to your preference)
¼ cup hemp or olive oil
Juice from two limes
Handful of chopped cilantro and/or parsley (optional)

Directions
1. Finely chop broccoli and garlic
2. Mix all ingredients together
3. Enjoy with a friend