this is for my friend D, whose son is away at college and has had a cough and cold that has his mama worried. i said i’d give her some recommendations of natural remedies, and since i’ve been meaning to do a post on what we use here, including some new ones i just learned about this year, here’s my list:
I used to get acidophilus pills for the kids/us but I try to get the friendly bacteria now through other things like yogurt and kefir.
food items we stock esp. during the flu/cold season:
organic yogurt: we like
Oikos Yogurt
Fage Yogurt
Seven Stars Farm Yogurt
and kefir:
my kids’ favorite organic kefir from Lifeway
I also recently started making our own yogurt, using this method: Crock Pot Yogurt. It works!!
We also make smoothies often, using whatever’s on hand, usually some combination of the following:
- fresh fruits like banana, pears, peaches, nectarines (esp at end of season they become affordable and you can freeze some for later use)
- flax oil (see below) or flax seeds (ground in coffee grinder first)
- frozen blueberries, peaches, strawberries (if local produce is not available, I usually use Cascadian Farms, or whatever organic brand is on sale)
- sweeteners like maple syrup. honey, brown rice syrup, agave nectar; occasionally I use regular sugar, but only a bit
- a pinch of sea salt to balance flavors
- hemp protein powder (or an occasional flavored powder like vanilla, chocolate or strawberry)
- pumpkin or sunflower seeds, or almond or other nut butter
- canned organic pumpkin
- cinnamon and/or nutmeg
- a spoonful or so of superfood
- vanilla extract
- pre-cooked oatmeal
- pineapple, canned or fresh
- orange juice, lemon juice, apple juice or other fresh-squeezed juice I happen to have on hand
- yogurt, cow’s milk, soy, coconut, or almond milk
a couple other favorite combinations that I do once in a while (they’re not as healthy, but still contain superfoods, and they’re very yummy!):
chocolate ice cream – frozen raspberries – chocolate protein powder – flax oil
honey – pecans – lowfat butter pecan ice cream – vanilla protein powder
I’m not able to make healthy smoothies for dh and dd daily (they leave so early!), so I try to make them other healthy things for their lunch boxes like copycat Jocalat or Larabars (I’ll try to do a post on that in the next few days). Here’s what some of the products mentioned above look like, to help you out at the store:
I learned a couple of new things this year from the ladies, like
but maybe we’ll try those next year. Still have to do my research.
Two other things that helps us a lot during this season (besides getting lots of rest, which admittedly we fail at often): honey-garlic-cayenne pepper, warmed in a saucepan and taken several times a day, and warm saltwater gargles. And of course, the universal remedy: chicken soup, usually with LOTS AND LOTS of garlic and ginger.
Recent Comments