Project flu! If you’ve been dealing with the flu, a bad cold, blocked nose, fever and all the rest super enjoyable symptoms that accompany a virus, welcome to the club! This is the perfect season to get the flu without even realizing how and when! Perhaps that’s all thanks to the crazy weather that’s still very warm during the day meaning that we all walk around in t-shirts all day long although we’re in the heart of autumn. Until sunset that is! When the sun goes down, the temperature drops rapidly and before we manage to put on the jacket, that we always carry around with us, we’ve already started feeling a bit.. Weird. As simple as that!

Around this time yesterday, I was just fine, I swear. Today, I woke up feeling my head extremely heavy and, of course, I knew what was coming next.. Severe headache, fever, dizziness. I’ve probably caught the seasonal flu. Although a simple cold is usually quite innocent, it really makes us feel exhausted. The body feels heavy and tired and that obviously leads to a very bad mood as well. On days like these, all we need is the comfort and warmth of our home, a cozy blanket and sleep.

I remember that as a kid I rarely got sick. I almost never visited the doctor and when I did, it would probably be for a vaccine. My relationship with drug prescriptions was almost nonexistent as well. That was a reason for me to complain when I was little. All my classmates used to get sick quite often, so they got to spend a couple of days in bed, enjoyed delicious strawberry flavoured cough syrups and missed a few days of school. But not me. Thus, my birthday and those rare times that I’d feel a bit under the weather were extremely important to me.

Today is one of those days that I feel like I need to take care of myself a bit more. All the signs tell me to slow down, dedicate some time to myself, pay attention to what my body needs, nurture and care for me, treat me with love and tenderness. I strongly believe that viruses and microbes are constantly around us but they can only affect us when we allow it. When we neglect our body and soul, when we are unprotected.. A little crack in our immune system and they won’t hesitate to invade. Sometimes we reach ourselves to the limit so much that those cracks become wide open doors welcoming the “enemy”.

Being sick feels like a form of punishment, a way to remind us that we’ve neglected our needs, didn’t treat us well and that we urgently need to regroup. As soon as we regain our strength, the “punishment” is over and we can go back to our normal selves.

I remember that during my childhood, we used to fight the seasonal flu and colds with a very specific recovery process according to my grandma’s instructions. Our prescription? The essential bed rest, grandma’s soup, a nice chest rub and compresses, fresh juices and warm herbal teas with honey. We almost never consumed any medicine.

Naturally, I’ve been following the same steps when dealing with a cold in my adult life as well. Every time I saw that promising shine in my daughter’s eyes and as soon as she started saying things that didn’t make much sense –clear signs of fever- I returned to my grandma’s recovery tips. I like to think of them as comfort recipes as they give you this feeling of warmth and relief. A sense of care and attention.. Which is pretty much everything you need at that moment. I only chose the option of medicine consumption under rare and extreme circumstances. Our bodies are more than perfectly capable of dealing with a cold and overcoming it. It just takes a bit of time, a lot of patience and grandma’s recipes!

When we refer to foods that help us get through a cold, we obviously speak of soups. I remember that I wasn’t a big fan as a kid. But sometimes, it takes a while to appreciate the value of certain things. Chicken soup and beef soup were a must and absolutely necessary to recover from a cold. And, oh, how warm and cared for they make you feel! They nurture the body with essential fluids, nutritious proteins and healthy seasonal vegetables. They’re usually served with a generous amount of lemon juice that can be somewhat unpleasant for kids but certainly does wonders!

Whenever I have some extra time, I like to diverge from the classic beef soup recipe and go for a lovely casserole stew instead. After adding all the necessary vegetables, onion, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, bay leaves and beef (I always prefer bone-in meat) to my casserole, I just put it in the oven and forget about it for quite a while. That’s why I love casseroles so much. You can forget about them and they’ll just do their job. Slow cooking. Around three hours later, the meat will be soft and tender and all the ingredients will have blended perfectly and transformed into a delicious stew. You can give it an extra boost with some fresh ground turmeric, ginger and chopped parsley! Yummy! If you find that your stew is too rich in fat, you can always let it cool down and then leave it in the refrigerator for about an hour. All the fat will gather in the surface forming a white crust that you can easily remove.

But there are other equally important home remedies to fight a cold besides soups. Like fresh fruit juices, emphasizing especially on oranges and pomegranates that are in season. Health bombs! I truly think that the fact they’re in season right on time for the flu rise cannot be incidental. Packed with Vitamin C and antioxidants, they help us fortify our immune system against threatening invaders. Trust them.

Last but not least, keeping your body hydrated is essential. Warm herbal teas can help with that. They can be truly beneficial and effective in recovering from a cold. If you add some lemon and honey, they’ll soothe your sore throat. A bit of ginger and turmeric powder as well. Muffle yourselves in a cozy blanket, enjoy being pampered by your loved ones and take your time! Feel better soon!