Ginger & Tumeric Tea

It’s starting to get colder. You know that winter is on its way and with it comes the cold and flu season. But you don’t have to fret, because here is an immune boosting tea that you can use right now to get strong! Besides that, we don’t always have to get sick every year, right? To ward off colds, be pro-active in your health now to build protection from within.

Drinking immune building teas on a daily basis is a good idea throughout the winter season. One really great herbal tea blend I like to sip is Ginger-Turmeric tea. Ginger is well known for its anti-nausea and ability to help with motion sickness and digestive difficulties. But, did you know that it is also an anti-inflammatory and preventative for flus and colds? It’s because the ginger makes you sweat a healthy type of sweat, and according to The World’s Healthiest Foods, “that sweat contains a potent germ-fighting agent that may help fight off infections.” I’d say that is some excellent immune boosting action.

Turmeric, on the other hand, is well-known to have anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. It is also used to boost immunity and that is why it is a part of this herbal tea blend. In the on-line article, Turmeric Powder – Health Benefits, Uses & Side Effects, Dr. Andrew Weil is quoted as saying, “Drinking turmeric tea daily may well increase your life span.” Now that is a no nonsense herb!

Ingredients:

         •        2-3 cups water

         •        1 teaspoon powdered ginger

         •        1 teaspoon powdered turmeric

         •        one lemon, juiced

Instructions

         1.      Boil 2- 3 cups of water.

         2.      Remove pan from burner and add 1 teaspoon each of powdered Ginger and powdered Turmeric. Stir, cover and let sit for 10-15 minutes.

         3.      In the meantime, juice one lemon and split between the two cups.

         4.      When the tea is ready, pour in both cups, and enjoy.

Drink to taste the essence of the herbs or add honey to enhance your herbal experience.

To have better health in the future, think about replacing your morning coffee with these tea types. If you are addicted to your morning coffee, at least consider rotating your herbal teas into your mix. Drink a cup of herbal tea, drink a cup of coffee and repeat, but hopefully with more herbal teas…catch my drift? Now you are on your way to building a better immune response.

Other miscellaneous ways to boost your immune system with fresh Ginger is to add it to your foods. Chop it up and add to soups, stir-fry, on top of your food. You can slice it thin and eat it as a condiment to your dish. Even adding ginger slices to your hot teas can enhance your drink to give you what you need.

*Contraindications of Ginger and Turmeric: Use with caution if you are pregnant and interactions can occur with some medications. Consult your doctor first before using.

Immunitea (Wellness Herbal Tea)

Do you feel like you are surrounded by coughing and sneezing people? Need a little help combating invading germs? ImmuniTea is a wonderful immune system booster that can be used daily during the cold and flu season. It is full of nourishing herbs that will help your body fight viruses and infections naturally. 

Tea is a huge part of my life! As a mom and herbalist I turn to herbs for healing every single day. They are my lifeline for health and wellness along with a real food diet!

Classic immune boosting herbs are used in this blend that support the immune system and keep it strong. They have been used for thousands of years to prevent illness and have a long history of effectiveness. This is a blend that my family has been using for quite a long time with wonderful results. It’s one of the many natural tools we use to prevent illness or shorten duration. 

What you’ll need to make ImmuniTea

I’ve linked to where you can buy all the ingredients for your convenience. 

Organic Elderberries – Rich in antioxidants and vitamins A, B, and C. Used to fight colds, coughs, flu, bacterial and viral infections. Bioflavonoids along with other proteins in elderberry destroy the ability for a cold or flu virus to infect the cell.

Organic Elderflowers – Wonderful for the respiratory system. Helps keep allergies at bay and the sinuses clear. Also wonderful for fevers, especially those that come on suddenly. It helps support the body’s natural defenses. 

Organic Chamomile – Very calming and anti-inflammatory. Wonderful for stomach ailments and colds. Also has antibacterial properties.

Organic Rose Hips – Contain 50% more vitamin C than oranges! Excellent immune system booster. Also high in vitamin A and a variety of antioxidants. 

Organic Astragalus – Wonderful immune enhancing herb. Useful in preventing the common cold.

Organic Echinacea Purpurea – Stimulates the cells so they can fight infection. Has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. 

Use 1 part of each herb for this blend. A part can be anything from a teaspoon to a cup or beyond. I make this in large batches for my store so I use a cup as my part. The recipe looks like this:

ImmuniTea Ingredients:

         •        1 part elderberries

         •        1 part elderflowers

         •        1 part chamomile

         •        1 part rose hips

         •        1 part astragalus

         •        1 part echinacea

Simply mix all the herbs together and store in an airtight container. 

To Brew

Using a tea ball or by leaving it loose in a mason jar or tea-designated French press, use 1 tsp of ImmuntiTea per 1 cup of hot water and steep for at least 20 minutes or overnight for a more potent herbal infusion. If keeping tea loose, strain through a mesh strainer and sweeten with raw honey for additional healing properties. Can also sweeten with Stevia(herb added to the blend, or liquid – homemade or store-bought) or leave unsweetened.

This tea is safe for all ages and is wonderful sipped hot or cold. Individuals with autoimmune diseases should use caution when using any immune stimulating herb. I do not recommend this tea in those cases. 

Drink throughout the day when you know you will be or have been exposed to illness, or are starting to feel sick

Enjoy and Be Well!

Do you use natural remedies? What is your favorite? Tell us in comments. We’d love to hear from you!

Elderberry Tea for Flavor and Health...

With our focus on building our immune systems this flu season, elderberry is an important tool. It can help prevent getting the flu or perhaps can help reduce our symptoms. In our own area we can actually harvest wild elderberries and make syrup that we freeze for the winter. It is that syrup we use in this tea. You can make your own syrup with dried berries and you can make your own tea with the berries themselves. (This is a good online source for dried elderberries — a partner of this website).

Elderberry screams for spice and these basic mulling spices give it just the zip it needs to make a pleasant tea.

Elderberry Tea Ingredients

2 cups water

2 tablespoons elderberry syrup or one heaping tablespoon of dried berries (or to taste)

1 cinnamon stick

2 cardamom pods

2 whole cloves Honey (optional, to taste)

Elderberry Tea Steps

Place all ingredients except for honey in a sauce pan.

Bring mixture to simmer and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Strain through strainer into tea cup.

Sweeten with honey or or other sweetener if you wish. The syrup is slightly sweet already so this drink really doesn’t need much more sweetener.

I like to make this tea in the morning in triple batches or larger and drink it throughout the day. If you make larger batches you probably only need to double the mulling spices and just allow your tea to simmer a little longer for a full flavor.