help

The Cold & Flu fairy came to see me about a week ago and brought an amazing gift witch resulted in me being sick for the past week! What started like just a little bug that I thought was going to last a day, ended up becoming an uncontrollable cough that wakes me up at night and bothers me in my daily routine. I can even say that I started a resistance to the DayQuill and NyQuill because even when taking those meds, my dry and itchy throat is still there and there is not much I can do….

…or is there?

Taking a ton of medication is not my thing. I will, if it’s absolutely necessary, but even taking an Advil or anything of the sort when I have a headache annoys me. I’m all about simple and natural remedies but I do understand that real chemicals are sometimes required. Although today, I’m gonna be your guinea pig and test out a few hopefully delicious homemade remedies. I hope you’ll find this post entertaining, interesting and informative.

Remedy 1 – Honey, Lemon, Cinnamon and Cloves tea.

This is actually the first thing that worked the best for my dry cough around the forth and fifth day of sickness. I always keep a cup close to me and drink it when I need it. The benefit effects of honey, cinnamon, cloves and lemon for the flu symptoms have been proven many times, so obviously this has to work. You can buy a “all prepared” version at the pharmacy but personally, I find they always taste weird so instead I created my own. Here’s my recipe… in a big tall cup I add:

2 big cloves

1 tablespoon of non pasteurized honey

1 stick of cinnamon, slightly scratch with a knife or a fork

1 tablespoon of lemon juice (not from concentrate)

2 cups of hot water hot water

Remedy 2 – My homemade Spiced tea blend.

For the past few weeks, this homemade blend has replaced my daily soy latte chai tea. It’s DELICIOUS and i’m addicted to it… In bonus, it help relieve some symptoms of the cold and flu! In the early days of my sickness, this was my saver… Just make sure to add a bit of honey in your cup to help bring out all the delicious and spicy flavors while suiting your throat.

1 tablespoon of rooibos tea

1/2 teaspoon of Schezuan peppercorns, coarsely crushed

1 teaspoon of black peppercorns, coarsely crushed

1 teaspoon of whole cloves, coarsely crushed

2 cinnamon sticks, coarsely crushed

1 teaspoon of dried sprearmint leaves

1/2 teaspoon of whole green cardamom pods, coarsely crushed

1 teaspoon of chamomile flowers

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This past week have been quit nice here in Montreal… The birds were singing, the sun was shining and my cherry tomato plant have been producing juice cherry tomatoes like crazy!! I’ve harvested so many, this week only, that after numerous salads and others tasty recipes, I decided that it was the time to find another way to preserve these tasty jewels by making a few batches of homemade sun dried tomatoes.

The concept is really simple and it’s almost not worth calling this a “recipe” but if you never made or wonder a way to make your own sun dried tomatoes, here’s one! There is obviously other ways to make these little pieces of heaven but i find that the oven technique is the fastest one. You barely need anything beside a bit of oil, some parchment paper and a LOT of patience!

I have to admit that the drying time is very long but its worth it so I always make sure to do a lot of tomatoes at the same time and then preserve them in an air tight container or bag in the fridge or the freeze for 6 to 9 months 🙂 Then the recipe possibilities you will have with those sun dried tomatoes are worth every hours you waited for these babies to dry in your oven. Hope you enjoy this post and you find it informative.

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Uncontrollable cough an itchy throat? Here’s a few homemade remedies that might do the trick.

Homemade Sun Dried Tomatoes