Immune-Boosting (Lyme Prevention) Chocolate Shake
When you Google search “how to prevent lyme disease” the very first thing you will see is this: The best way to prevent Lyme disease is to avoid areas where deer ticks live, especially wooded, bushy areas with long grass.
Well, I live in the woods. And I have a great love for the outdoors. And as I’ve discussed on my podcast before, being in nature is one of the ways that I support my overactive stress response, my health and one of the tools I use to keep an autoimmune disease in remission.
The way I see it—the benefits of the outdoors far outweigh any drawbacks. And I really don’t want to live my life in fear of one of my favorite places.
At the same time, I don’t want to be reckless. Lyme Disease is not something I take lightly. When I was in high school, my mom was completely debilitated by chronic Lyme. I’ve seen firsthand the devastating effects of this tick-borne illness.
This past weekend, we were out doing yard work and I started thinking about our approach to ticks and Lyme prevention.
Today on the Funk’tional Nutrition Podcast I’m sharing my approach to Lyme prevention & overall immune system health.
Herbalist and Lyme expert Stephen Buhner recommends using astragalus root to optimize immune function. He recommends taking 1,000mg every day, and up to 3000mg during Lyme season. I take encapsulated herb or tincture.
Since my daughter is only 5, I work astragalus powder into her foods. like my Immune Boosting Hot Chocolate recipe. We’re fast approaching summer, so I tweaked that popular recipe in order to create a cold and creamy milkshake.
For other ways I bolster my family’s immune system, check out all the resources mentioned in Episode 62 of The Funk’tional Nutrition Podcast.
CHOCOLATE SHAKE INGREDIENTS
1 cup frozen cauliflower rice*
1 cup almond or coconut milk
2 pitted Medjool dates
2 Tablespoons cacao powder
2 Tablespoons almond butter
1 scoop collagen powder - I use this brand (use code FUNK for 20% off)
¼ teaspoon organic astragalus powder
INSTRUCTIONS
I always buy the bags of organic frozen cauliflower rice at Trader Joe’s because I love using it in smoothies. It’s an awesome way to get in extra veg—I often use it instead of ice when I’m making my kiddo’s smoothie, too!
Blend all ingredients until creamy.
