Natural Sore Throat and Cough Syrup

As much as we'd love for it to not happen, it's cold and flu season and, inevitably those nasty bugs are going to creep into either you or someone else in your house.  Redmond has already brought a cold home from school once this year - both him and Ashlyn were all kinds of snotty for about a week.  Somehow I managed to be skipped over.  I always catch whatever the kids have.  Honestly?  I think I can thank my daily dose of Kombucha for not catching it this time.

I'm hoping my luck will continue through the winter, but let's be real.  If not me, someone else in our house will be coughing, sneezing and complaining of a sore throat soon.

That's why I wanted to whip up a natural remedy for when this happens.  I can make it now and it will be ready when and if we need it in the coming months.

Just three ingredients.  Three ingredients that I generally already have on hand - raw honey, lemon and ginger.  And, I'll let you in on a little secret - I don't always use organic ingredients.  Yep, I know, I know, organic is "best", but honestly, unless I know where my produce comes from (i.e. not the grocery store) then I don't trust that it's 100% organic (and it probably isn't).  So, with that said - if you have organic ingredients - great!  If not, that's ok too.  I have a way that you can get your lemon squeaky clean.  And, you're going to peel the ginger anyways ;)  Now, I do, however, only use local, raw honey.  That stuff you buy in the store is not honey.  Please try your best to find it.  You'll never go back.  If you're unable to find it locally, a lot of grocery stores now sell raw honey.  It may not be local, but at least it's real honey.

Ok, off of my soap box now.  On to the recipe.  It's super simple.  Here's what you need:

• One lemon
• 1/2 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
• raw honey (preferably local)
• Pint mason jar

Directions:

1.  To clean the lemon - Scrub the lemon with warm water.  Place the lemon in a bowl or wide mouth mason jar.  Cover with water and add in 1 tbsp. of vinegar.  Allow the lemon to sit for at least 30 minutes, rotating it if it floats to the surface.  Vinegar is a natural abrasive (and a great cleaner!) and will help rid of anything that may have been sprayed on the lemon.  Once it's done in the vinegar/water solution, scrub again under warm water.

 

2.  Slice the lemon and, if desired, remove the seeds (I did this just so I didn't have to worry about picking them out later).  Place the lemon and ginger in the jar.  Spoon or pour honey over the lemon and ginger.  Raw honey is generally fairly solid at room temperature.  If you can scoop it out - do that.  If not, just stick the jar in a pot of water over a low heat on the stove.  The water will liquefy the honey so that you can pour or spoon it easier.  Stir the mixture to ensure that the honey reaches in between all of the lemon slices.

 

3.  The natural acid from the lemon will begin breaking down the honey right away, making the honey a thick syrup.  It will be ready for use in as little as a couple of hours!

 

4.  Cover and store your syrup in the fridge - it will stay good and potent for up to 3 months.  Take a spoonful to help ease cough and/or a sore throat.   You could also stir a heaping tablespoon into hot tea or hot water.  Add additional honey as needed.

 

 

Feel better soon!

 

~ Sara :)