When life hand's you lemons... Make a Cake!

Unless your face has been buried in the sand for the last few weeks you have heard or felt the effects of COVID-19 more commonly referred to as the Coronavirus. As this pandemic rips through our country I think we have all been reminded of how delicate the balance of life really is. From school and daycare closures to entire companies being transitioned to work from home or being forced to close altogether, this virus has our full attention. I believe it is safe to say the entire country is on edge, mainly because we really don’t know how far this could go and partly because it seems as if it keeps getting worse. Every 5 mins there is a new update or breaking news alert about the what this illness and what it is doing to us as a nation. It has only been a few weeks, yet we are already tuned in for every NEW development. Grocery stores across the nation are also feeling the effects. As a consumer I have noticed my shopping trips have become eerily quiet and cold and the workers look like they haven’t slept in a week despite the half-stocked shelves riddled with missing items. I mean let’s face it, we will all remember the great toilet paper shortage of 2020. Customers still pile in to take a chance at securing their whole shopping list as they try this social distancing thing out in real life.

Social Distancing

In this whirlwind of information, panic, and mayhem there are plenty suggestions about how to sanitize and avoid contact but to my shock and dismay it seems as if those in power have once again missed the opportunity to stress the importance of a healthy diet. Have they once again dropped the ball by not informing the public that your diet can not only prevent the spread of disease but it could nearly eradicate them all together. In addition, a person with a strong immune system is much less likely to get sick in the first place. Food is the body’s number 1 fuel source, and during a time like this eating well couldn’t be more important. As a matter of fact, what you eat is so important that it was one of the first topics discussed during God’s first conversation with us as Human Beings. (Genesis 1:29) So yea, It’s THAT important!

Your body is a self-sustaining powerhouse. In our raw design we are perfect and complete. You were born with an amazing ability to self-heal and self-sustain. So much so that your body can survive 40 days without food at all! And yet as Americans we feel genuine self-inflected starvation if we miss 1 meal. With food being this important it would make sense to me to use this time to focus on arming ourselves from the inside out. We will discuss how to stock our pantry’s, freezers, and refrigerators with everything we will need to show our bodies a little self-love during a quarantine. But first let’s talk a little more about how the body is set up.

You are roughly 10% genetics, 20% lifestyle, and 70% diet. Yes, you read that right. Only 10% genetics This means you do not have to suffer from the same dispositions as your parents and grandparents. What you eat plays a major factor in your overall health. You can literally eat you way right out of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other ailments. So, while the term “it runs in the family” may mean you got your thighs from your grandmother, it is important that you understand that you don’t have to get the cancer. When an illness occurs in a family generationally its generally because nothing has changed from generation to generation. Meaning it’s more likely that a person’s father and grandfather both died from heart disease because they treated their bodies similarly then because they were related. Knowing this is power because we no longer have to live in fear that we will suffer the same fate as others our family tree.

What makes people sick is a combination of bad luck — exposures to viruses or other pathogens — and the state of their immune system, said Dr. Talia Swartz, an assistant professor and infectious disease expert at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. With that definition it makes sense that someone with a weakened immune system is likely to be more vulnerable to passing bugs than someone with a healthy one. Let’s evaluate our ability to get sick against the previously mentioned factors

1. Exposure

2. The State of the immune system.

Exposure

It’s hard to avoid people all together but state and federal agencies across the country have taken logical steps to lessen contact with others in an effort to slow and/or prevent exposure to the virus by implementing social distancing measures along with strategic closures and cancelations. But even with all of this done if you leave your house it will be difficult to avoid contact with people let alone sick people, especially during cold and flu season. So what can you do?Which brings us to our 2nd point. Strengthen your immune system.

The state of your immune system

By far this is the most important factor of the two because a strong immune system not only decreases your chances of getting sick in the first place but also helps you make a quicker recovery if you get exposed, which unfortunately is still possible. Strengthening yourself from the inside out is your body’s best defense. What if we took this period of isolation and made it work for our benefit. Imagine the things you could get accomplished with literally no where else to go. One place to consider spending some extra quality time could definitely be your kitchen. Give those pots and pans some love by making some memorable dishes. I made a list designed to help you have the things you may need on hand when boredom strikes and you want to create some magic. And we are not talking about the basics. It makes sense to grab extra milk, bread, and eggs during a time like this. We are going a little bit deeper with this one Ladies & Gentlemen. Let’s stock you up on the easily forgotten items that make your menu selections come to life. The ingredients you cook with…. The Supporting Cast Members of the kitchen if you will. Next time you go to the store take this checklist with you and I promise you will enable yourself to make hundreds of dishes. Boredom may strike but it won’s be at your dinner table! At the bottom I have also included a list of immune boosting food items to consider. I made this list for everyone who can see themselves spending some extra time in the kitchen over the next few weeks, and yes I am assuming some baking may or may not be going on. Lol! 😊

Happy Eating!

The “I’m Ready to Cook” Checklist:

1st and foremost check your spice cabinet! Make sure you are not out or low on anything! Cream or Neufchatel cheese Cottage Cheese Shredded or Brick Cheese Butter Garlic Ginger Cilantro Parsley Green Onion Scallions Plenty of Tomato or Alfredo Sauce or the menu components to make your own Red & Green Peppers Onions Tortellini Avocado Carrots Celery Mushrooms Tomato Flour Shortening Salt Vanilla Extract Baking Soda Canola Oil Baking Powder Molasses Honey White Wine Red Wine Worcestershire Sauce Lemon Juice Lime Juice Dry Beans Rice Pasta (Plenty of your choice) Chocolate chips Peanut Butter Chips White Chocolate Chips Marshmallows Graham Crackers Peanut butter Coconut milk Condensed Milk Sweetened Condensed Milk Chicken Broth Veggie Broth Beef Broth Popcorn Puff Pastry Yeast Olive oil Heavy Whipping Cream Buttermilk Brown Sugar Granulated Sugar Sour Cream Egg Roll or Won Ton Wrappers Tortilla Shells Cornmeal Bisquick Muffin Mix

Immune Boosting Foods:

Chickpeas Beans Lentils Peas Nuts Seeds Shellfish Legumes Oranges Grapefruit Red Bell Peppers Strawberries Sweet Potatoes Broccoli Carrots Almonds Hazelnuts Peanut Butter Spinach Broccoli

Do you have some quarantine go to items to add? Comment Down Below :)