Warding off winter colds with the king of cold prevention foods, citrus.

Forget the zinc lozenge cold remedies…let’s fight off those winter colds with a daily dose of those Vitamin C powerhouses—citrus fruit!

You may have heard that vitamin C helps the immune system fight bacteria, viruses, and infection, and decrease inflammation, but did you know that consuming vitamin C only helps before you get sick! Therefore, if you already have a sore throat and stuffy nose, eating massive amounts of C will NOT decrease the duration of your sickness. With C, you need to think PREVENTION.

On these cold, gray, winter days, how about adding some sweet and sour vitamin C to your salads and side dishes with slices of various types of oranges (cara cara, navel, blood red orange, etc.), grapefruit, and a splash of orange juice for dressing, featured in this week’s recipe, Winter Citrus Salad.

(If you don’t like citrus fruits, luckily, there are many other fruits and vegetables that have a greater or similar vitamin C content than citrus fruits such as kiwi, guava, papaya, pineapple, broccoli, bell peppers, brussels sprouts, kale, and mustard greens.)

Here is a low fat, zero cholesterol recipe of Winter Citrus Salad that boosts immunity and reduce cholesterol.

Winter Citrus Salad

Fresh fennel bulb is similar to the crunchy texture of celery, but it has a distinct licorice flavor that will make your winter salad unique!

Yield: 4 servings (1 cup per serving)

Ingredients:

• 2 beets, sliced
• 1 navel orange, sliced
• 1 cara cara, sliced
• 1 grapefruit, sliced
• ½ cup funnel bulb, sliced into strips
• ¼ of red onion, sliced
• 1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons of 100% orange juice
• ½ tsp of cracked black pepper

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 ºF and line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the sliced beets on the baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Roast the beets for 30 minutes. In a medium size bowl, add all the prepped vegetables and fruit (add the beets last). Drizzle your salad with olive oil, orange juice, and black pepper.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:

Calories: 97 kcal,
Fat: 2 g,
Cholesterol: 0 mg,
Carbohydrate: 20 g,
Dietary Fiber: 4 g,
Protein: 2g,
Sodium: 43 mg