It's been remarkably frigid out here on the east coast of late and the bone chilling weather seems to be bringing with it another round of sniffles and head colds. Doctors advise that there's not much to do for a cold other than drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest. We can't help you with the rest, but I've got a tasty suggestion for making those liquids go down easy.
Whip up a quick infusion of honey, lemon and ginger. Simply grate a half inch chunk of ginger into a large mug. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon in on top (you can also add the zest if you're feeling daring) and add a heaping teaspoonful of honey (feel free to adjust the sweetness level to your personal taste). Fill the cup with boiling water and stir to combine. Drink while still warm and repeat as necessary.
It will soothe a sore throat, help with the cough (truly, honey has been found in scientific studies to calm a cough nearly as well as cough syrup) and taste good to boot!
1-21-2009 @10:36AM Canadianfoodiegirl said... Just thinking about that warms me up and makes me smile.
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1-21-2009 @11:03AM telefunken said... Here's my secret "feel a cold coming on" drink. I've had very good, consistent results with this recipe for many years.
2 cloves garlic (chopped somewhat fine, not pressed though)
1 chunk of fresh ginger root (maybe entire thumb size or slightly bigger, chopped like the garlic)
1 lemon (all of it's juice and some of it's pulp)
unpasteurized / raw honey
crushed red pepper or cayenne powder (be brave but careful...not too little, not too much...know your tolerance!)
good quality drinking water
1) heat water to 160 deg. F
2) using a large beverage mug, place garlic and ginger and pepper in mug and pour hot water until about 3/4 full
3) cover and let sit (shake a bit now and then) until the temp has dropped to about 120 deg. F
4) add reasonable amount of honey....don't overdo it!, stir until dissolved
5) add as much lemon and pulp as possible (I put it all in....more is better, but you have to be able to drink it too...)
6) stir and test/tweak until drinkable (should be sip-able and not entirely unpleasant...maybe like a good hot and sour Chinese soup, etc.)
If I drink one of these as soon as I feel the onset of a cold, I usually need only 1 to avoid the cold all together. On rare occasions I might take another dose several hours later.
http://www.giveittomeraw.com/xn/detail/1407416:Comment:550412
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1-21-2009 @11:53AM Aaron said... an excellent addition to the recipe, especially if you hate the taste of nyquil, is a jigger or two of whisky.
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1-21-2009 @12:07PM raffaele said... Try Mulled Wine! :D
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulled_wine
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1-21-2009 @10:12PM ayesha_dawson said... Oh we've been doing this for ages in India. It really does work.
Also the good old steam inhalation and warm salt water gargles help a lot.
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