Last week I was down with the flu, at least I think it was the flu. Whatever it was, it was awful, and this time I really mean awful and not offal! Fever, cold sweats, then horrible coughing for days…. Just awful!
But as with everything in life, I try to focus on the positive! As a result of this bug, I have come out on the other side with several positives, including:
A day to unplug: The night I started feeling off was the same night my youngest daughter decided to wake up and stay awake for 3-4 hours. Needless to say, I was pooped and totally sick the next morning. My girls spent the day at Nana and Grandpa’s place (thanks Mom and Dad) so I could get some rest. I stayed in bed the entire afternoon, without my phone or computer! I didn’t sleep the whole afternoon, but I was well rested and relaxed despite being sick. I’m certain it was because I was totally unplugged, or maybe it was because there were no kids in the house? Either way, I was reminded of a recent Phoenix Helix podcast I had listened to where Eileen talked about having one day to unplug a week, and Erin from Enjoying this Journey talked about how she unplugs for one whole week out of each month! I am totally inspired and after my restful afternoon sans internet, I am convinced this is something I need to do regularly. From now on, I will unplug AND get rid of my kids every Friday! OK I am only going to unplug, kids are staying, but we’ll have fun without the internet.
Bedtime reset: While I was sick, I was going to bed really early. I was so exhausted I couldn’t even fight it! And that’s what I had been doing prior to getting sick, fighting sleep and pushing my bedtime later and later. Why was I doing this when I know I need sleep? I don’t know, I think once the kids are in bed it’s easy to say, ‘I only get so much time to myself or with hubby”, so that was my excuse. But you know what? There’s a reason sleep is such an important part of the AIP. Staying up that extra hour and fighting it, is just not worth it. Sleep is way more important for my healing. Something had to happen! Who knew all I needed was to get sick? BAM, bedtime reset! But if your bedtime needs to be earlier, I highly suggest resetting it before you get sick…
Breathe Easy Salad: When I’m sick, I tend to eat salads. Classic soup is good too, and I do make sure I get my bone broth in, but I tend to crave cool salads. So while I was hacking up my lungs (or at least that’s what it felt like), I came up with this breathe easy salad. Basically, if there was a food in my fridge that could potentially help my cough, I added it to this salad! Turns out I had a lot in the fridge that aids congestion, including radishes, pear, ginger, and mint!
Radishes: If you’ve had raw radishes before, you know it has that kick that’ll help you breathe clear.
Pear: Traditional Chinese medicine considers the pear as a cooling food which can help dissolve phlegm.
Ginger: Ginger is one of those super foods I turn to often. Oh I’m feeling bloated, I’ll have some ginger. Got a little headache, ginger can help with that! Coughing? You must have ginger!
Mint: acts as an expectorant, exactly what I needed and I had mint in the fridge, so naturally I added it to the breathe easy salad.
If you’re feeling congested, give this salad a try. I added some tuna for a quick meal and some extra healing omega 3s. Then I sipped on some peppermint tea for some extra relief!
Yield: 2 servings
Breathe Easy Salad (AIP/Paleo/Sugar Free)
5 minutes
5 minutes
Ingredients
Dressing
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 5 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 inch fresh ginger, finely grated
- 6-8 mint leaves, finely chopped
- 3 cups spring mix
- 1 cup arugula
- 1 cup cucumber, chopped
- 1/2 cup radishes, chopped
- 1 pear, chopped
Instructions
- Mix dressing ingredients together, set aside.
- Place all salad ingredients in a large bowl.
- Pour dressing over salad and toss.
- Enjoy!
Please note: This post contains affiliate links.
