Loving the honey!

I don't usually get on any kind of soap box, it's just not my style. I do share under the right circumstances and I don't hide, you may be observant and happen to see homemade toothpaste on the sink or look in my bathroom drawer to see I use natural deodorant. If you came to the wedding you were treated to my home made mosquito repellants. I'm not a hard core natural-only kinda mom. We still have Goldfish crackers and Kraft Dinner and hot dogs in the kitchen. Mark still uses Crest and drinks pop. I drink too much coffee.  I don't eat fast food but I don't eat enough vegetables either. These are my personal choices and I don't force them on others. I do believe there's too many chemicals and additives in the world around us and it contributes to our health. Those that are healthy can better balance and purge these things but people with a slow metabolism and not top health need an extra boost to purge and not pile on heaps more for a body to deal with. I've never done a "cleanse", I try not to get swept into the "next best" health fad...that I know of. But I am trying to balance the chemicals and foods going into my body.

Now here's where you roll you're eyes....Pinterest has really become an amazing place to share knowledge and recipes for some tried and true natural remedies. Some are a little too experimental for me, I use my personal knowledge and common sense and listen to my body more than believe everything put infront of me. I do extra research and often times use and embellish the natural remedies and recipes. My facebook friends also share things that interest me. Pinterest is just structurally better suited to keeping this information in albums instead of having to search a chronological news feed.

I gotta tell you, I'm amazed and awed....... I found a cold remedy that I was excited to try. Within two weeks I'm on my third batch already because we are loving it AND I just had to share with a few neighbors. Mark and I have both thwarted the last cold with two hot steaming cups of this before bed and one in the morning when we thought we were getting a cold. Ali has a cold and it's making it definitely more manageable, but it's hard to pinpoint the healing because it doesn't have druggy side effects or mask sickness. It's just honey, ginger and lemon but they all have anti bacterial antiviral, anti-inflammatory and analgesic qualities that make a power house remedy. Sure you could put lemon and honey in tea but letting them sit together really brings out their healing properties. I don't mean to sound like an infomercial or ad, but I can't help but share this. As with all natural cures, what works for one may not work for the next so if it may not work for everyone.

                                Home Cold and Flu Remedy from Remedy from Instructables.com                     

With my embellishments and comments

Jar can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Ingredients: 

• Fresh lemon
• antiseptic, aids digestion, great source of calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, bioflavonoids
• Fresh ginger
• antiviral, anti-inflammatory, aids digestion,  effective against human respiratory syncytial virus, great for upset tummie
• Raw honey
• antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral
• Disclaimer: Experts don't recommend giving honey to children younger than 1

Directions:

• Slice lemon into quarters or slices and pack into jar  
• I use two lemons
• Peel and grate ginger, and add to lemon
• I prefer diced. I use one large sized ginger root but the amount is up to you
• Fill the jar and cover lemon and ginger with honey  
• almost 1 kg, unpasteurized is better
• I let mine sit for 24 hours to bring out the juice of the ginger and lemon and thin the honey, you will need to stir once as the honey settles to the bottom the first day

To Use:

• Add 1 tablespoon (or more to taste) to hot water and stir. it's a nice soothing hot drink.
• We use two or three
• drink it from a tbsp like a cough syrup

Embellishments:

• 5 - 10 sprigs of Fresh Thyme 
• The flowers, leaves and oil of thyme are commonly used for, stomach ache, arthritis, colic, sore throat, cough (including whooping cough), bronchitis, flatulence and as a diuretic (to increase urination).
• 10 - 20 Whole Cloves
•  Helps digestive issues, an expectorant, soothes sore throats, cloves are anti-fungal, antibacterial, antiseptic and analgesic. They’re packed with antioxidants and are good sources of minerals (especially manganese), omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and vitamins
• 1 tsp Cinnamon 
• In medieval times doctors used cinnamon to treat conditions such as coughing, arthritis and sore throats.

I noticed Ali's not as diligent about nose blowing and because of that she gets a bit of a sour stomach due to nasal drip. With the ginger and lemon and with added cloves, this stuff even helps settle her stomach!

I've gotta say, in the past, for me, adding honey and lemon in tea hasn't really done much for me and colds, I feel like it was just the hot water soothing my sore throat for a short period of time, it never really shortened or thwarted an oncoming cold, but this combination and the way it's put together seems to perfect it. If you do try it and it works for you, please let me know.