home remedies hot teaCooking Up a Cure with Home Remedies

You may not want to venture out into the wild looking for herbs and medicinal flowers, but luckily you can find home remedies right in your own pantry! There are common ailments that plague even the healthiest of us at times. Headaches, colds, the flu, and even digestive upset can hit anytime without warning. Did you know that the relief to your symptoms could be hiding behind your kitchen cupboard?

Using What You Already Have

Some of the best home remedies can be made simply using what you already have on hand. When you go shopping for your produce you may not think as much about sickness as you do about dinner, but these common items can be your key to relief. By simply buying what you already would purchase and maybe adding a couple small items to your shopping cart you could easily create a medicine cabinet out of your food pantry!

Garlic, Onions, & Ginger – Oh My!

Onions are not just good to eat, they also have properties that aid with relieving cold symptoms. If you have ever had a cough that wouldn’t go away, you know how irritating it can be. (Once, I coughed so hard I actually wrenched my stomach muscles and dislocated a rib!) Coughing itself isn’t a bad thing as it clears your airways and can help your body rid itself of unnecessary mucus that can build up with the common cold. What makes a cough bad is when it is not productive and it does nothing but irritate the lungs and throat and generally make you miserable with no end in sight. Onions are natural expectorants. The juice from an onion can break up mucus and help your cough actually work for you instead of against you. You can also make a poultice by cooking an onion with a little water until it is nice and clear. Then you take the warm onion wrap it in a light fabric and apply it to the chest. Cover this little bundle with a warm piece of wool or a heavy blanket. The heat and the properties of the onions will help to break up chest congestion! My daughter suffered from bronchitis every winter and this was a huge relief for her. Another easy home remedy you could make is a homemade cough syrup that I keep on hand all winter long:

Ingredients:

  • 1 large onion
  • 1/4c raw organic honey
  • 1 large lemon (juiced)
  • Blackberry Brandy

Instructions:

Use a quart sized glass jar and roughly chop the onion and place it in the jar. (Pack it in really well!) Cover the onion with honey and fresh lemon juice, and then pour in the brandy until it covers everything. Put the cover on it and give it a little shake to mix it well. I use a large onion and make almost a full jar since we use it so often. Place it in the fridge overnight. The next day, take the jar out and give it another shake. Strain and compost the onion or use it cooked with beef tips or chicken (yum!). Keep the jar of homemade cough syrup in the fridge and take a tablespoon as needed. Use a teaspoon for children under 12.

The onion is an expectorant, which means it breaks up the mucus, while lemon is a natural astringent and raw honey helps to soothe the throat and has antibacterial properties. The brandy helps the muscles relax so that instead of a nonproductive coughing fit your body can relax and only cough when something needs to come up. Garlic is also a great addition to your pantry. It adds a wonderful flavor to foods and can help you stay healthy as well. Garlic is a natural antioxidant and when used topically it can even help treat acne! Garlic gives your immune system a boost. If you chop up a clove of garlic and steep it in hot water as a tea you can shorten the duration of a cold! Lastly, ginger is known to aid in relieving nausea and upset stomachs. Ginger also has anti-spasmodic, anti-fungal, and an anti-inflammatory properties. According to Top 10 Home Remedies ginger is also a good source of vitamin A, C, E, and B-complex! Stock up on your everyday produce and you may just be stocking your home remedy pantry too!  

Applications & Resources for Home Remedies

GOZEN is a philosophy and a way of life. The best solution is often the simplest. This applies to wellness too! When we keep it simple and as nature intended we can greatly improve our health and help preserve our environment. Stock up on your favorite natural remedies and natural cleaners by starting with iGOZEN food washes.