Detox/ Spa water May 21, 2013

Found this in either Natural Health or Eating Well magazine

1cucumber sliced
2 lemon sliced
5 sprigs mint torn
1 pitcher filtered water

Combine and put in fridge for 24 hrs and muddle before drinking. So delicious and refreshing!

Natural Cold/Flu Soother March 23, 2013

So husband has like the flu or something gross. He’s not a big fan of home remedies because they usually involve several pills or some form of syrup or drink which means you have to……taste it yuck. A friend from work gifted him a bottle of bourbon. He told him to make a hot toddy out of it since that is what he drinks every time he gets sick. And because it’s a gift from a friend he was willing to try it …yay!

(A brief aside I always found it funny that the korean word for medicine sounds alot like yuck….my mom would always come to me when I was sick and tell me to eat this or that yak and it was always just that, yuck.)

Hot Toddy

1 mugful of hot water
1 black tea bag
1 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp honey
2 oz bourbon (up to 4 oz but he’s not a big fan of alcohol)

Steep the black tea in the hot water for 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon and honey until the honey is dissolved. Pour in the bourbon and enjoy 🙂

This is great for when you are sick. The honey soothes the throat, the lemon juice has vitamin-c, the alcohol helps sleep, and the moist heat does wonders. It’s definitely not a cure but it’s definitely a help. Friends are awesome.

Ginger Beer! March 21, 2013

My husband has a soda addiction that he has been trying to curb. So I decided to try and make my own lactofermented soda sweetened with stevia for him.

Kumquaty Ginger Beer

2-3 tbs of ginger minced
1 cup 1 tbs sugar
2 cups filtered water + water to fill container
2 lemons rind and juice
1 orange rind and juice
2 tbs ginger powder
2 liter plastic bottle (i chose to use plastic this time since this is my first time making it and I’m a little afraid of the glass bottle exploding)

Start the ginger bug:

In a glass container add 1 cup of water, 2 tsp of minced ginger and 2 tsp of sugar. Stir. Cover with a coffee filter using a rubber band to keep it on. Swirl 1x a day and every other day add another tsp of ginger and sugar until you see a white film. It’s cold in the house since it’s winter so after 2 days I put it in the oven with the light on and by the end of the day I had a nice film on the top.

Make the syrup:

In a small pot add 1 cup of water. 1 cup of sugar. the rest of the minced ginger, ginger powder, lemon and oragne juice and lemon and orange peel. (if your fruit is not organic boil some water with a splash of vinegar and dip the fruits peel on into the water using a slotted spoon. Take out and rub with a dry cloth to get the wax and pesticides off to the degree possible). Let water come to a boil. Stir occasionally to make sugar sugar dissolves. Turn off and let cool to room temperature.

Add the ginger bug and cooled syrup into the 2 liter container. Fill to 1 inch of the top with filtered water. Twist top on tight and put in a non drafty corner. Squeeze bottle every other day to see if the pressure has built up in the bottle from the fermentation.