My 30-Minute Vegan Meal Prep for the Cold & Flu Season!

This was absolutely not something that was on my agenda to share, but life happens and children get sick. Hopefully, we are well enough to care for them through their entire illness as a healthy parent, but you can never be too sure. I have been in a situation where I was sick with my children (both of them!) and it was ANYTHING but fun. The memories are cute now, but at the moment, it was horrible.

Ever since that “catastrophe of 2019” as we call it now (hahaha), I never ever miss my 30-Minute Vegan Flu Meal Prep. This Meal prep is not only for the flu, but it is for anytime my children get sick with just about anything. I have found that healing soup, homemade popsicles, taking care of our guts, and herbal tea can help to cure a lot of common issues.

I start the meal prep as SOON as the fever hits. This time around, it hit at three in the morning. Alessandro began to cry a very extreme cry in the middle of the night and when I went to check on him, he was burning hot. He immediately took his place on my hip, and without even a hesitation, I began this exact meal prep. I got this thing down like a science and it gets me through all the rough patches. I do hope this helps you all as much as it has helped me!

My 30-Minute Vegan Meal Prep for the Cold & Flu: The Soup

The first step in my My 30-Minute Vegan Flu Meal Prep is the chicken-less noodle soup. The prep time on this is about 5 minutes and then simmer time is 25-30. You will complete the rest of the tasks during the simmer time! This is my absolute favorite soup of all time and it freezes and stores SO unbelievably well.

The key is to cook the healing broth and the noodles separately. I combine when we are about to eat (always cooking the noodles fresh). If you skip this step, it won’t make a HUGE deal, but the noodles will tend to get slimy. Because I have the option of staying home with my children, I can take that extra 11 minutes to cook the pasta noodles separately. A little tip: Rice noodles are wonderful for on the go because you just need to sit them in boiling water for 4-5 minutes. If meal prepping for yourself or for on the go, go with the rice noodle option! Rice noodles are also great for gluten-free folks!

Click here for the chicken-less noodle soup recipe!

My 30-Minute Vegan Meal Prep for the Cold & Flu: The popsicles/ice cube molds

Step two of My 30-Minute Vegan Flu Meal Prep is the ultimate popsicles! All you need is some frozen fruit, a splash of water or non-dairy milk, and anything else you wish to add. I like to add the boys’ vitamin drops to the popsicles, to blend in their probiotics or just to leave them as is. It is so easy to blend in all the extras into popsicles (or even smoothies) without them knowing.

My current favorite is frozen mango, blended, with a splash of ripple milk and 1 full serving of their vitamin drops. Enjoy!

My 30-Minute Vegan Meal Prep for the Cold & Flu: The Herbal Tea

While the soup is cooking, I like to make some herbal tea for the boys with whatever we have on hand at that moment. This could be fresh ginger, a gorgeous mix I picked up from our local tea shop, or just some of our dried flowers turned into a tea. The boys really love tea with a splash of vanilla non-dairy milk and it works wonders to help them stay hydrated while also soothing their throats and coughs.

Teas safe for children

Fennel Tea

Ginger Tea

Chamomile Tea

Mullein Tea

Cardamom Tea

Extra Tips to Staying Sane and Also Taking Care of Yourself!

• Get that extra load of clothes washed/dried. Just do it. I promise it will pay off.
• If your child has a dry cough with the fever, do a steam room sit at least three times a day. Let the bathroom steam up from the shower and sit with your child to breathe in the humid air. You can also hang a wet towel in their bedroom or use a humidifier. 
• As soon as your bub gets to sleep, jump into the shower. Get that good scrub down now because tomorrow you will have to be ON.
• Be sure to have your probiotics and prebiotics for the day and have plenty of your healing soup and popsicles as well. Don’t just sit there while your child eats, eat with them! You need all those nutrients just as much as they do.
• Drink plenty of water. I like to drink a huge glass of warm water with about 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, a dash of maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon. This always helps me feel super fresh.
• Sleep as much as you can. Whenever my children are sick, I always sleep with them but if you constantly wake up (or wake them up), then sleep either in different beds or in separate rooms (if this is normal for you). Do what works for you and your family.

That’s all for today, Mamas! I hope this blog post helped and please feel free to leave a comment about your own journey or to ask any questions! Heads up, we did use a few affiliate links and will receive a small commission if you purchase through them. As always, we truly stand behind the products we link. Thanks for stopping by!

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