Flu Season

Chai Pakistani style
Originally uploaded by Adventuress Heart.

After my sister got the flu a few days ago it finally caught up with me!

Scratchy throat, difficulty swallowing, slight throbbing in the head and knees.. *ahhhhhhh, it's awful*

Thankfully this morning I made myself a huge jug of nice tea which really helped, the stuff is amazing and I feel totally normal now.

Thought this was a great opportunity to share some of my family recipes for the flu, colds, sore throats and chest colds. They're pretty good and my mom swears by them.

For chest colds:
-My grandma back in Iraq used to recommend adding some ground black pepper to a cup of hot milk, drink and even though it may feel a bit "hot" it really helps with the cough.

- Roasted onion, placing a whole onion with the peel on a foil and tray then baking it in the oven until it's totally softened, peel off outter skins and eat the tender roasted onion, great for chest colds!


Cold, flu and more:

- Herbal tea: Mix ground ginger (or fresh), cinnamon sticks (and ground if you don't mind it), whole black seeds, licorice root (if available), add boiled water to the mixture and sweeten with honey. Drink throughout the day. *I love this stuff!!!!!!!*

For sore throats: Believe it or not ice cream soothes it, stay away from hot stuff as it can make the throat feel more inflammed. So cold beverages, natural popcicles and more.

Other beneficial herbs and remedies and immune system boosters are lemon, garlic, ginger, black seed, honey.

Let's not forget the fluids, soups and lots of rest..

If you have any homeopathic recipes of your own, feel free to share, I love hearing about traditional and helpful natural remedies!!

And now I go back to sipping my tea ... *slurp*