MR WASHY'S CUP OF TEA (FOR HIS COLD)

THE 3 SPECIAL INGREDIENTS:

1) Ginger

2) Lemon juice

3) Honey

WHY GINGER, LEMON AND HONEY?

Well, you probably know that lemon is high in Vitamin C. It is also full of phytochemicals. These are plant constituents that help boost the immune system and much more.

Ginger and honey are also well documented to help the immune system. Stephen Buhner does an incredible job of talking about the virtues of these and other herbs in his book, Herbal Antibiotics. It is where I got this great flu home remedy soup.

It’s a real basic and approachable book that will blow your mind with the amazing health giving gifts of some of the most common plants. Garlic, Echinacea, astragalus, shiitake mushrooms, grapefruit seed extract and more… It’s all in there. Recipes as well.

Here’s what you do: (you may need to experiment with amounts to get the taste that suits you)

1. Fill up your teakettle and get it boiling.
2. Meanwhile, grate a one-inch piece of fresh ginger root.
3. Get a thermos out. I have a quart thermos I use.
4. Put the ginger in the thermos.
5. Put a dash of lemon juice in the thermos. A dash is about 4 tablespoons. Actually, it's less of a dash and more of a small splash. :)
6. Add a dash of honey as well. A dash in this case is about three tablespoons. Hey, a dash means something different to all of us. Basically, add the honey to taste.
7. When your water is boiled, pour it in the thermos.
8. Cover it up and let it sit for 20 minutes.
9. Strain into a tea cup and enjoy!

Alternatives:

If you lack a thermos, you can also just simmer the water in an open pan with the ginger for 15 -20 minutes as well, or use a plunger. Add the lemon and honey to the pot AFTER you are finished simmering ginger. Just strain it into your cup. When you want more, just heat it back up. We just like the thermos because when we are sick it’s hard enough just to get up let alone heat something up.

You can vary the amounts as well. Play around so you get a flavor you really like. It tastes great!

OTHER THINGS WE SOMETIMES ADD:

1. A few cloves of crushed garlic.
2. Cayenne powder to taste (enough to break a little sweat)
3. A few slices of Astragalus root (an important immune system nourisher). Click here to order it. Scroll down the linked page to Astragalus root (not the powder).
4. Seaweed. Seaweed is so packed with vitamins and minerals. It’s literally super food. Click here to order Kelp powder. (There is a link on the order page of this link on how to use it.)
5. A few dropper bottle squirts of Echinacea tincture.Click here for more on that and how to make your own Echinacea tincture!

We don’t add all these at once… They are just variations we'll use depending on the situation. We added these to show you that there are no rules to these recipes. As you learn more about herbs, feel free to experiment with new ones. If this is all new to you, just stick to the basic recipe.