Nutmeg kefir winter salad for your immune system (and to entertain your tastebuds too)
Swap an iceberg for dark reds and greens and splash with kefir for a powerful health boost
Starter salads can get forgotten in the world of hot soups and stews this time of year, but I urge you to keep going with them if you can. They are a chance to bolster your health with special plant chemicals and dressings full of live bacteria as we approach coughs and cold season. And they take minutes to make. You’ll also feel full up quicker and digest the rest of your meal better with all that chewing switching on your digestive juices.
Here I share my tips for winter salads and include my German mother-in-law’s kefir and nutmeg recipe - which might also lift your mood.
I refined this dressing beyond her advice of “just add a bit of this” she says pointing to the nutmeg jar) “and that” as the kefir glugs out of the bottle in the bowl. She’s made it to 85 by the way and is in very good health so a great role model.
Forget iceberg lettuces this time of year - swap over to the ones with dark colourings
Iceberg is fine in summer for hydrating yourself. But in winter switch to salad leaves which have deep dark pigments. These contain high levels of plant chemicals called polyphenols which are really good for us.
They feed good bacteria in our gut which interact with the immune system and help keep us healthy.
Imagine for a month you dose up on an array of different leaves - from spinach, kale and rocket leaves, to red chicory, radicchio, and Lollo Rosso etc. Over 30 days you could do a lot of good to your body.
If you’re in a supermarket many of the mixed bags do a good job - just pick the ones with more deep dark colour mixes eg with the lamb’s lettuce and rocket mixed together.
You also get high levels of polyphenols from extra virgin olive oil so make sure you use that as base oil for the salad too.
Switch to salad leaves with dark colours for your immune system Add kefir to salad dressings in winter for a high dose of probiotic bacteria to help your immune system
The lactobacilli bacteria in it help modulate the immune system and may suppress viruses such as flu.
These levels are much higher than in plain yoghurt hence a better choice in winter. It also tastes great - like a slightly effervescent thick drinking yoghurt.
If you are lactose intolerant, open your mind to kefir. The starter culture of diverse living bacteria and yeast convert the milk sugar lactose to other substances so there is little left by time you have it.
You can make or buy kefir - from cow’s, goat’s, sheep, and camel (yes in the Middle East!). If you attended my live kefir-making Zoom demo last Saturday, you hopefully now know how to make it. Dates of other fermentation food demos coming soon.
The warm and woody smell of ground nutmeg to lift spirits?
Nutmeg is also a polyphenol powerhouse. It is rich in particular plant chemicals - namely tannins, flavonoids, and terpenoids which give that lovely smell.
However, don’t go mad with it - the terpenoids can induce hallucinogenic effects at big doses (but not the light amount in a salad). It may explain why some people say it lifts their mood when they have it.
You can buy nutmeg like this and grate it yourself or buy ready ground
RECIPE TIME
Nutmeg and kefir winter salad - ingredients and method