Unfortunately, I got a terrible cold last week.  It started Wednesday night…I felt so tired and exhausted at work.  I just assumed it was work stress, but the next morning, I woke up with a sore throat.  That day, I had three shows to produce and by the end of it, let’s just say I was a sneezing sick mess. (Plus…you know it’s bad when all three of your anchors are begging you to call out sick the next day!)

True, there are a lot of cold products out there, but when I can, I try to heal myself the natural way.  I’m a big fan of soup and I recently had a black bean soup sample at Trader Joe’s that was out of this world.  I decided to alter it with some cold-fighting ingredients and it actually turned out very delicious.

Here’s the recipe:

Cold Fighting Black Bean Soup
Serving Size: 4 servings
Meal Prep Time: 25-30 min

 

Ingredients: 
– 1 carton of Trader Joe’s Latin Style Black Bean Soup
– 1 can of Trader Joe’s Cuban Style Black Beans
– 1/2 jar of Trader Jose’s Roasted Garlic Salsa
– 1 can of Trader Joe’s Premium Chunk White Chicken in Broth
-1 bag of Trader Joe’s Frozen Organic Brown Rice
-1 tbsp. of freshly chopped ginger (or less if you don’t like the taste of ginger)
-1 tsp. of cinnamon powder
-Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Bring Trader Joe’s Latin Style Black Bean soup to a low boil.  Add in Trader Joe’s Cuban Style Black Beans, Trader Jose’s Roasted Garlic Salsa, and freshly chopped ginger.  Heat up Trade Joe’s Frozen Organic Brown Rice and add it to soup, along with Trader Joe’s Premium Chunk White Chicken.  Add cinnamon powder. Let it boil for about 25-30 minutes.  (Optional – serve with 1/2 an avocado on top and extra bread for dipping)

So the big cold-fighting ingredients that are in there are ginger and cinnamon.  Ginger is a natural antiviral which helps fight against illness and bacteria that causes a cold. Cinnamon acts as an antiseptic that can kill the cold virus and soothe sore throats (Source: Home Remedies for Life)

Another natural remedy I found while internet searching is honey and cinnamon. By taking a tbsp. of honey with 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon, it can be preventative, and also helpful if you have a cough.

Of course, natural remedies don’t always do the trick right away, but I’d much rather at least try them then load myself up on regular medications.  And the key to really getting better is giving your body a lot of rest and TLC. (And let’s be honest… most of the time, we don’t give it that!)

What are some of your remedies for fighting a cold?

-Brittany