Best Cold Medicine..... EVER.

Merry Meet!

So, for the past week and a half we've all been bouncing around this almost cold business. Finally it has settled on who else? The parents, of course! The Magicks are running around like crazed monkeys hopped up on Mountain Dew because they feel better.... and we feel worse. Lol.

Photo credit rootsofhealthyliving.com

To escape the madness for a while, I popped over to a local new age shop. She has the most awesome collection of herbs, I knew I could find something there. We chatted for a bit about the household sickies and she suggested that I make Elderberry Syrup. She said it was delicious and kept her healthy through a particularly bad flu season. I was sold. Here is the recipe that I got from Crunchy Betty (if you don't follow her blog, you should!! www.Crunchybetty.com)



Elderberry-Echinacea Syrup Recipe
1/2 c. dried elderberries (or 1 cup fresh)
2 Tbsp dried echincacea (it’s perfectly fine to open an echinacea tea bag and use that)
1 Tbsp dried ginger root (or 2 Tbsp fresh ginger root)
1-2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half (I used ground, about 1/2 tsp)
1-2 Tbsp dried peppermint (my own addition)
Several dried cloves (also, my own addition.. I think I threw in half a dozen or so)
3 c. distilled water
3/4 c. raw honey

Directions:
First, sterilize everything you will be using to make your syrup. This is just good practice since you don't want any little bacteria monsters hanging out in your yummy syrup! Boiling all utensils for about 10 minutes will do the trick!

Now, take everything EXCEPT THE HONEY, DON'T PUT THE HONEY IN THE POT!!!! and dump it in your pot, stir and stir. Get your mixture warmed up to a simmer, just let everything go for about 45 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half.. Mine didn't take quite 45 minutes, so keep an eye on it. You'll also want to stir occasionally and mash the elderberries against the side of the pot with your spoon to really release their goodness.

After the liquid is reduced, you'll need to strain it. Use a fine mesh sieve or cheese cloth. Crunchy Betty used her french press, clever girl...  You will end up with a dark brownish-red liquid. It looks kind of like prune juice but it smells divine. Do not drink it yet... I hear it is pretty tart at this stage.

Thanky Crunchy Betty!

Let it cool just a bit and then stir into your honey. The way I went about this was to put my honey in the jar while the liquid cooled and then pour the elderberry liquid right into the jar. Then stir and stir and stir!! Make sure everything is stirred up so you don't end up with the honey and juice separating.

I let it cool for a while then put my lid on and popped it in the fridge. The whole family loves it! Little Magick said "please!!" as soon as he saw the jar come out of the fridge this morning!

Wellnessmama.com suggests dosage of 1/2-1 tsp for kids, and 1/2-1 Tbsp for adults. If you get sick with a cold or flu, take normal dosage every 2-3 hours until symptoms clear.

I am LOVING learning to heal myself and my family with gifts from the Earth. This is such a wonderful journey to be on... I can't wait to be able to get rid of the everyday otc medicines we all stock. I will be restocking my medicine cabinet with some fte medicines! From The Earth, baby!!

Just so you know, I am not a doctor. I don't even play one on TV. If you are seriously ill, please seek appropriate medical attention.