5 Deliciously Potent Garlic Recipes To Fight Colds & Flu

I don’t know about vampires, but garlic most certainly can keep infections away! 

Garlic has potent anti-microbial properties (1), supports healthy cholesterol levels (2), is a great prebiotic to feed healthy gut bacteria and is high in the amino acid cysteine which supports glutathione (a key component to regulation of a healthy immune system and detoxification) (3) and acting as an expectorant to loosen up mucus in your respiratory tract. 

And chances are when you start to feel something coming on, you probably already have it in your house. When that tingle starts in your throat or ears, that nose starts to get stuffy or you feel the fatigue or aches of an infection wash over you, simply crush a clove and mix it with honey and take it down! Honey with added propolis is my favorite as propolis is immune supportive and antimicrobial in it’s own right. 

Save 15% on my fav propolis powered honey with this link. 

A clove of garlic right in your mouth too intense? You’re not alone! Here are a few tasty recipes that are chock full of garlic and a little easier to get down for most – myself included. 

Want to print these recipes out? Click here.

And be sure to check out this article and this one too for more immune support info.

Edit: March 23, 2020 Please note that no natural medicine, herb or supplement has been proven effective against COVID-19. Please speak with your health care provider and follow recommendations of the CDC and WHO regarding testing and treatment for COVD-19. 

 

Lemon Almond Garlic Dressing

• Mix together in food processor: 
• 1 cup olive oil (THIS is the best olive oil around, get a bottle for just $1)
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 4 cloves fresh, raw garlic
• 4 tsp vinegar (white wine, red wine or apple cider)
• 4 tsp fresh lemon juice
• Sea salt and black pepper to taste

We almost always have this on hand year round at our house because it’s so delicious but we for sure up the frequency during the virus season. It goes well on chicken, fish, raw veggies, broccoli, asparagus, kale or as a salad dressing on any other greens. Be generous to get those antimicrobial benefits!

If you have leftovers, it keeps in the fridge for one week.

 

Garlic Lemon Aid

Crush a cloves of garlic and put in a large mug, add the juice of one lemon and sweeten with honey to taste. Ideally use this propolis honey from BeeKeeper’s Naturals for an added immune boost. 

You can also make this ahead of time in a large jar you’d just double or triple the ingredients depending on the size of the jar. You can have 3-4 cups per day. With enough honey even kiddos will drink this.

 

Fire Cider

Fire Cider is an old school vinegar infusion of spicy herbs and veggies that is beneficial to the circulatory and immune system. Herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, brought this baby back to popularity in the 70s. It’s stood the test of time and is a great tonic to have on hand during the cold/flu season.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup fresh grated ginger
• 1/2 cup fresh grated horseradish (fresh, grated)
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 10 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
• 2 pepper, jalapeño, chopped or sliced (stem removed)
• Zest and juice of one lemon 
• Zest and juice of two oranges
• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary (or several sprigs of fresh rosemary)
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric or ½ cup grated fresh turmeric root
• apple cider vinegar to top off (see below) 
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Generous pinch of whole black peppercorns
• 1/4 cup honey (more to taste)

Instructions:

Put ginger, horseradish, onion, garlic, peppers, lemon zest, lemon juice, rosemary and turmeric in a quart canning jar. Cover with apple cider vinegar by about two inches or to fill the jar. Use a piece of natural parchment paper or wax paper over the top of jar and put lid on tightly. Shake well. 

Store in a dark, cool place such as a kitchen cabinet for one month and shake daily.

After one month, strain out the pulp and put the liquid into a clean jar getting as much liquid out as possible. Add ¼ cup of honey or more to taste and stir well. It should be sweet and spicy, warming your throat and belly.

I would not recommend Fire Cider if you are struggling with histamine intolerance. Not sure? Check out this post. 

To Use:

You can do a daily shot to stave off an infection during cold/flu season, upping the dose if you do get sick.

If a straight shot is too much you can instead:

Put a few teaspoons into a cup of tea (black, green rooibos or ginger teas work well)

You can use as a vinaigrette on salads or veggies.

Add to soup, chili, etc. 

Use as a marinade on steak or chicken. 

Mix with sparkling water and some fresh lemon and orange wedges for a spicy mocktail.

 

45 Clove Garlic Soup

You’ll see recipes like this one ranging from 40-52 cloves of garlic, so play with what may work for you – this one is potent! 

Ingredients:

• 25 garlic cloves, unpeeled + 20 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons grass fed butter
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 1.5 tsp fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tsp  dried oregano
• 1 tsp  dried basil
• 1 quart bone broth or chicken stock
• 1 fresh lemon, cut into wedges 
• Coarse sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 can coconut milk (note: coconut does also have some anti-viral properties thanks to lauric acid)
• Optional garnish: minced fresh parsley and chives.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the heads of garlic in half across the cloves but do not peel them. Separate garlic cloves leaving 20 aside. 

Put 25 cloves in a small glass or ceramic baking dish and cover them with olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss or stir them to coat each clove. Cover dish with foil and bake 45 minutes until cloves are fragrant, tender and lightly golden. Remove from oven and when they’ve cooled squeeze out the roasted garlic and put in a small dish, set aside. 

Next, in large soup pot, melt butter over medium heat and then add onion, cooking until soft and translucent (about 5 minutes). Next add basil, oregano and thyme. Give a stir and then add the roasted garlic as well as the 20 peeled raw garlic cloves. Cook for 3-5 minutes. 

Add bone broth or chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes or until garlic is very tender. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Using an immersion blender or transfer to a food processor, puree soup until smooth.

Put the soup back in the pot and add coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Upon serving you can garnish with fresh parsley and chives and squeeze in a lemon wedge.

 

Avgolemono (Lemon Garlic Soup)

I love this lemon garlic chicken soup that’s often called Greek Penicillin even when I’m not sick! But when I am this is always what I crave. 

Ingredients:

• 1 rotisserie chicken (remove meat from bones and cut or pull into small pieces)
• *You can also certainly roast a chicken yourself or make easy shredded chicken in an Instapot but when you’re sick, especially, a store bought rotisserie chicken may be easiest)
• 6 cups chicken stock or chicken bone broth

Optional: 1 small yellow onion diced, 2 carrots and 3 stalks of celery diced to make a mirepox as a soup started, but if you’re looking to make this really easy you can skip this part and it’s still delicious. 

• Juice of one lemon (about ¼-½ cup, I prefer a lot of lemon in this soup)
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ – 2 cups cauliflower rice OR 1 cup rice 
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 head garlic
• sea salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. With the flat side of your knife, crush the head of garlic so the cloves separate from the base. Toss any loose skins. Add the cloves to the boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove the garlic cloves and any stray skins from the pot. Let them rest on a cutting board until cool enough to pick off the skins.

If you’re doing the mirepoix, start with heating the olive oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the chopped onions, carrots and celery until onions are translucent and liquid has evaporated. Season with a bit of salt and pepper.

While this mix is simmering down, whisk eggs and lemon juice together in a mixing bowl. Next add the chicken broth to the mirepoix and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium high.

If you’re not doing the mirepoix, simply heat the chicken stock alone.

You will then slowly add a small amount of hot chicken broth to the bowl of eggs whisking constantly, this is called tempering. Have patience and go slow so that the eggs do not cook while you’re adding the hot stock. Then do a second ladle of stock, again going very slow making sure no clumps of cooked egg form. 

Next, toss in the blanched garlic cloves (whole), chicken meat and cauliflower rice or white rice into the soup pot and cook for a few minutes on medium heat to bring up to heat. The cauliflower rice will cook quickly but the white rice will take 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Finally, slowly add this stock+egg+lemon mixture to the soup pot, again go slow. Then you’re done! 

If you are up for it, a garnish of fresh dill and a few lemon slices are really amazing – and pretty!

Again, if you’d like a print out just click here!

Bon appetit and be well!

Dr Brooke 

 

1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9110580

2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29718835

3 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978012811959400016X