‘tis the season for the sniffles and sneezes and, whilst there are loads of nutrients and herbs that can help you through the winter months, I’d like to share one of my favourite winter staples to feeling better quickly when I’m under the weather.
This little gem of a recipe has been handed down and around through generations of Naturopaths and a dear colleague of mine from college, Robyn, gave it to me.
It has a wonderfully soothing effect on sore throats, is a brilliant decongestant for clogged sinuses, and in the event you have the ‘flu – it’s exceptional at relieving those awful body aches that come with it.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of water
- 2 lemons – quartered
- A bulb of garlic – turn bulb on it’s side and cut in half – splitting each clove
- 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 inch of ginger root – roughly chopped
- A pinch of cayenne pepper
Method
Throw all of this into a pot, cover with a lid, bring it to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and drink this hot. It tastes much nicer than it sounds, I promise!
Tips
I repeat. It tastes a Whole Lot Yummier than it sounds. But, you may add honey to taste if you wish – I recommend Comvita UMF 15+ Manuka Honey. It is more expensive than regular honey but imparts further immunological benefits that I think are worth it.
This recipe makes 2 cups but you can easily double or triple it. It’s great in a flask to sip on during the day or you can simply freeze the surplus and then reheat it. For the smaller family members – try pouring the brew into ice-cube trays and freezing. When ready to serve – throw 2-3 cubes into a mug and top up with boiling water and a splash of honey.
Amie, if you had a choice between organic apple cider vinegar in a plastic bottle or regular apple cider vinegar in a glass bottle, which would you buy??
Dearie me.. you do like throwing me the tricky ones don’t you?! 😉
That’s a really tough one; obviously, in an ideal world, organic in glass is best.
Knowing how much apples are sprayed it might look like the organic option in a plastic bottle would be better but given the pH (really acidic!) and the chemicals and phytooestrogens in plastic – I personally would buy the apple cider vinegar in a glass bottle even if it wasn’t organic.
Ha! I should probably find another supermarket, I was at Woolies & these were my only 2 options! I really appreciate you being so generous with your time, I know you are a super busy lady. It seems everytime you answer a question, 10 more pop into my head…like this one; Is a plastic container only a problem for liquid? I’m guessing so as Whey less comes in a plastic tub.
You’re so welcome!
Generally speaking – plastic is a problem for liquids and for hot things. The softer the plastic, the worse it is (glad-wrap!!). For example – bottled water. Especially when you reuse the plastic bottle over and over and especially if you leave it in a hot car/in the sun!
You must never heat anything in a plastic container either, and the more acidic the fluid in it (apple cider vinegar being a great example) the worse the leaching will be. But even water (neutral pH) is heavily affected.
Dry goods are a different story – so powders, flours, legumes etc don’t react with the plastic the same way as fluid does (for a start the surface area for contact is greatly reduced). Also, for storage (i.e. tupperware) just ensure the food has cooled before packing it away.