Immune Boosting Homemade Vegetable Broth

“Fights Off the Bad Guys”

This has been one heck of a flu season hasn’t it. It can be pretty scary and quite overwhelming especially with little ones to worry about. That’s why I, with no questions asked, make this Immune Boosting Homemade Vegetable Broth for my boys almost every week (sometimes every other week). It’s of the upmost importance we all take care of ourselves and do what we can to keep our immune systems strong and healthy. This is basically your all in one anti-inflammatory, immune boosting, gut-healing vegan version of bone broth.

Our immune system is our army against invaders. This army fights off the bad guys and in this case the bad guys are bacteria, inflammation, viruses, yeast overgrowths and any other infection or disease that tries to roll deep our sweet bods. We can’t be having none of that.

This Should Be Made Once a Week

I load my vegetable broth up with a TON of immune boosting vegetables like celery, carrots, mushrooms, cabbage, collard greens, onions, garlic – basically anything I can get my veggie loving hands on. And lets not even get me started on herbs and spices…Uugh the possibilities, turmeric, parsley and the list goes on. By the time you’re done making this broth, just from the smell of it, invaders will beware.

Although this is lengthily and time consuming to make once you’re done, you’re done and you don’t have to worry about making it for another week or so. I made this on my IG Stories and I spoke about how it does require a bit of time but it’s so well worth it. You can drink the broth straight up or make a big bowl of soup out of it with all the veggies and enjoy it that way too. It’s a detox of sorts too because you’re putting so much good nourishing ingredients up inside your body, it literally is forcing the bad stuff out of you.

Health Benefits of Immune Boosting Homemade Vegetable Broth

Celery – How can I not start with one of the highest foods containing vitamin C and antioxidants! Celery is like THE immune system ultra booster and makes it more active and efficient. You can eat the entire thing from the root all the way to the leaves! EAT THE LEAVES! Eating this on the regular can reduce your risk of catching viruses like the common cold and protect you against a variety of other illnesses. #winning

Carrots – Carrots, like most veggies, have a high amount of dietary fiber which is ideal for maintaining gut health. Being constipated is a sign of not enough fiber in your diet. Healing and maintaining gut health ensures a healthy immune system. Fiber also helps the heart by getting rid of excess LDL cholesterol from the walls of arteries and blood vessels. #yaaasss

Collard Greens – Another GI friendly vegetable, research, published in Food &Function, suggests the absence of the plant enzyme myrosinase like in cooked broccoli but also found in collard greens could help protect the health of our stomach lining by preventing bacterial overgrowth and the clinging of bacteria to our stomach wall. Not eating Collard Greens will be a huge disservice to your body. Not to mention it’s amazingness for hair, skin, and nails ladies.

Cabbage – Not only is Cabbage an anti-inflammatory agent, improves bones, and can regulate blood sugar, it detoxifies the body! There are soooo many health benefits to cabbage it’s unreal. If it’s not in your diet yet, add it asap. One of the best things about this superfood is the sulfur content. Sulfur is a very useful nutrient that fights infections. A deficiency of sulfur can result in microbial infections and a greatly reduced rate in the healing of wounds.

Mustard Greens – Pregnant mama’s, Mustard Greens are Ah-mazing for your growing baby as it’s high in folate. Along with it’s anti-inflammatory and digestive health properties this is one green (among the rest of them) you shouldn’t go without! Having them in a broth just makes it even better. Great source for vitamin A and K, think eye health, think brain food, think healing. Just one cup of mustard greens gives you the daily recommended needs of vitamin A & K.

Parsley – Though mostly known to be the prettiest garnish, parsley comes packed with it’s own list of health benefits. Parsley is known to reduce internal inflammation and helps the liver. Don’t let this pretty little garnish fool you, this gigantic immune boosting herb is full of antioxidants. Also super high in chlorophyll, which in itself has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties as well. Woman who are pregnant or breastfeeding should avoid high amounts of parsley.

Onions – We all know how much I love onions and all their healing properties. If you haven’t read my post on how to fight against colds and flus using onions you can read it here. Onions are super high in flavonoids and antioxidants but especially high in the flavanoid quercitin. Quercitin has been shown to lower cholesterol, prevent heart disease, thin the blood and ward off blood clots, good for asthma, chronic bronchitis, diabetes, and infections. It’s even been linked to prohibited some forms of cancer. And just like other members of the allium family (think garlic, shallots, leeks, and scallions) onions are anti-inflammatory, anti-virual, and anti-bacterial.

Garlic – With very much similarities to it’s cousin the onion, garlic is another anti-viral, anti-mbcrobial, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal food that is a daily must. Garlic treats almost everything from ear aches, to hypertension to common colds. Garlic should be your BFF because as it destroys those nasty immune disrupting invaders, it doesn’t harm the healthy functioning bacteria we need in our guts. It’s best eaten raw but that can be harsh so I recommend eating it in a broth such as this or lightly roasted with a little avocado oil to keep the nutritional value.

Mushrooms – Mushrooms are my absolute fave. I will put them in just about anything. According to Dr. Joel Fuhrman eating just one cup of mushrooms a day can lower a women’s risk of breast cancer by 44%! And what’s even more amazing about mushrooms that most people don’t know is that it’s loaded with absorbable vitamin D! Mushrooms are full of powerful antioxidants making them extremely effective in boosting the immune system. Another vegetable that contains sulfur too!

Turmeric – One of the most well known (and respected I might add) spices for being anti-inflammatory, Turmeric holds up against some of the strongest medicines in western culture. Eaten or used as an external paste, turmeric can be used for just about anything. It’s healing benefits are known to lower cholesterol, aid in liver detoxification, and can even help with depression. Can we call it the king of spices? I think so.

If all this isn’t enough reason to get your vegetable broth on then I don’t know what is! Having all these amazing vegetables, herbs, and spices marinating together to make one hell of a healing concoction, is the type of happy hour I’d show up to daily.

There is no one way to make vegetable broth. If one veggie is not for you add or remove it with whatever you like!

I like to make this on Sunday’s particularly so I have it for the week. Get your biggest pots ready and colds and flus watch out because an Immune Booster is coming atcha.

I’d love to know if you make your own broth and if so what’s your must have in the recipe?

Print Recipe

Immune Boosting Homemade Vegetable Broth

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Fight against colds and flus by building up your immune system with this anti-inflammatory broth. Keeping healthy no matter what the season is optimal.

Ingredients:

 

• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• 1-2 white onion, cut in wedges
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 64 oz low sodium vegetable broth
• 24 oz of water
• 5 collard greens (or however much you can fit)
• 5 mustard greens (or however much you can fit)
• 1/2 head of cabbage (or the whole thing if you can fit it)
• 2 1/2 cups celery, chopped
• 2 cups carrots, cut in discs
• 1 cup mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 5 small red jacket potatoes cut in half (optional)
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp dried parsley or fresh if you have it on hand
• salt/pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp of vegetable bouillon or 2 cubes of vegetable bouillon I use this one

Directions:

1. In a large pot add the avocado oil, onion and garlic and let cook until onion gets translucent.
2. Add in carrots, celery and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until celery and carrots become a bit softer. Give it a good mix.
3. Pour in vegetable broth and water, stir and let it cook on low to medium heat. You don't want it to boil but you want it to get hot without compromising nutrients.
4. When broth is hot add in all other vegetables, herbs, seasonings and spices then stir and cover. Keep flame on low, mixing occasionally until cabbage and collard greens are tender. This takes 2 hours once all vegetables are added.
5. Leave the pot on the stove all day on a low simmer to keep warm.
6. Adjust seasonings as desired. Add or remove vegetables to suit ones own personal likes.
7. Serve right away or store in glass airtight jars and keep the fridge for up to 5 days. To heat up simply place back in a pot and let cook on low until warmed through.
8. You can eat this as a soup with the veggies or you can pour yourself 8 ounces of broth twice a day for maximum healing benefits.

• You can make egg free noodles on the side when eating it as a soup.
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