Foodie Friday: Homeopathic Flu Remedies

Welcome to the last Friday of February, my dear reader. March first is the official meteorological first day of spring, and I welcome it with open arms. The Bean has been home from school with round two of Flu A all week. This one was a doozie; I haven't been this worried about my daughter since she was a toddler hospitalized with pneumonia. Although we saw the pediatrician on the first day of the infection and got Tamiflu to help shorten the time and lessen the severity of the illness, it was a miserable week.

Since we are still in the throes of flu season, I thought I would share a few things I do to help keep my child comfortable when she is sick with a cold or the flu. These practices do not replace a doctor's care; I am not claiming they cure the flu. They are simply small things that I do to comfort my child when she is miserable. If you or someone you love displays flu symptoms, I encourage you to see a doctor as soon as possible to ensure the illness does not exacerbate chronic conditions such as asthma.

Doctors tell us that drinking fluids is the most critical action during any illness. Our family is a water drinking family. I keep miniature cans of ginger ale and Sprite on hand in case someone has an upset stomach, but very rarely do we have anything in the house to drink besides water, coffee, and tea. When one of us is sick, I make a big pot of chicken noodle soup and keep it on hand for the duration of the illness. Soup is an easy way to include extra hydration for someone who doesn't feel like eating or drinking. It's warm, comforting, and provides essential nutrients the ailing body needs. I make a strong broth loaded with onions, celery, garlic, and thyme. Onions help clear the congestion, garlic boosts the immune system, and thyme adds flavor without salt. You can search my blog posts for my recipe for homemade chicken noodle soup if you don't have a favorite recipe.

Along with soup, I also advocate strong black tea. Black tea is a warming, gentle drink I crave when I don't feel well. I assume this is part of my English and Welsh heritage and that my parents were tea drinkers when I was a child. To me, tea is comfort. There is scientific proof that tea helps with illnesses. Tea contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatories that help the body fight infection. A nice mug of strong black tea with raw honey makes one feel better when one has a cold.

My little bean, who is not so little anymore, has developed a taste for pineapple. On Monday, after taking The Bean to the pediatrician, I went to the grocery store and picked up a fresh pineapple and pineapple juice for her to eat and drink. Pineapple is a good source for vitamin C and is believed to help thin mucus. I made The Bean a fresh pineapple drink with lemon juice, ginger, cinnamon, a touch of honey, and snuck in a bit of turmeric. I will share this recipe at the end of my post. It was a simple, delicious drink that seemed to thin the mucus, ease her coughing, and taste light and refreshing.

One last homeopathic remedy I will share with you is aromatherapy. I am a firm believer in natural practices in conjunction with traditional medicine. I make a deconstructed shower steamer when we suffer from congestion due to illness or allergies. You can purchase cute little shaped shower steamers with various aromatherapeutic qualities such as calming, invigorating, focusing, and clearing. However, if you don't have any on hand, you can create your own simple aromatherapeutic shower steamers right in your kitchen. I take a half cup of baking soda, add a tablespoon of citric acid, and a blend of rosemary, eucalyptus, and tea tree essential oils, usually a half teaspoon, I like it strong. I sprinkle this mixture on the bottom of my shower away from the direct water stream, and allow the steam and essential oils to open up passageways. It helps to clear the sinuses, and eases inflamed bronchial tubes. It also makes the whole house smell wonderful. You could add this blend to a steam diffuser or a few drops in bath water, which also helps. We also turn to water when we are sick. Nothing makes one feel better than a nice warm bath or a steamy hot shower when one doesn't feel well.

Hopefully, these practices will help you and your loved ones feel a little better if they are unlucky enough to catch this God-forsaken flu. I will close with the recipe for the pineapple drink I made for The Bean. I have found recipes that include garlic, and cayenne, but those ingredients are unacceptable to my bean. I hope you all stay healthy, but if you get sick, I hope this helps comfort you.

Pineapple Cold and Flu Drink

Ingredients:

-One fresh pineapple, peeled, and cubed

-3/4 Cup fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

-2 Lemons, peeled and seeded

-2 Tbls. Raw Honey

-1 tsp. Cinnamon

-1/4 tsp. Turmeric

Directions:

-Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender. Blend until pulverized and thick like a smoothie.

-Pour contents into a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth over a bowl.

-Squeeze all the juice from the pulp.

-Pour the juice into a glass pitcher and refrigerate for at least two hours.

-Serve cold and frequently throughout the day.

The Bean said she felt this drink helped to thin her mucus and ease her cough. She drank almost the whole pitcher in one day. I would not keep this drink longer than forty-eight hours. It is a delicious and refreshing drink that helps keep one hydrated and hopefully, has some healing qualities. If nothing else, it is a tasty way to stay hydrated.

On this gray, overcast Friday, stay safe, be smart, use natural remedies in conjunction with traditional medicine, and keep washing your hands. Hand washing is the easiest practice to combat germs.

Odds and Ends

There is an element of waste in soap making. With each loaf we cut, two end pieces are irregular in size, not very pretty, and often lack decorative details. These end pieces are necessary to create nine beautiful, fully formed, well-shaped, and pretty bars. It's part of the process, and there is no way around it. The soap is still high-quality. It smells lovely, is colorful, and is the same quality as the more beautiful slices, but it isn't pretty.

What do we do with these end pieces, you may ask? Well, this is the soap I have to use. One bib overall-wearing dictator squawks like a chicken if he sees me walking to the drying rack with intention. "NO, NO, NO! You take the ends!" Yes, that is how I live. I am permitted to create pretty soap, but I'm not allowed to use it. My bathroom closet is filled with odds-and-end bits of soap bars of every scent, color, and creation. We also take the ends to Miller's Bulk Food Store in Smicksburg. The ladies who run the store put it out and sell it at a discount, and in exchange, we put that towards our cost for coconut oil and lard. It is a great system that works out well for all. A good product doesn't go to waste; the ladies earn a profit, and we put money toward staple ingredients.

With odds-and-ends being so popular at the bulk store, one bibbed, bald genius packaged an assortment of ends, weighed them, and placed a discounted price on them for our soap family to try. It's a great way to try many different scents, allowing one to sample a variety of soaps, and the cost is minimal. You see, dear reader, he isn't just the eye candy of the operation.

Today, those cute little sample packages are available on the website. The Bibbed Wonder packaged them in one-pound bags for your bathing pleasure. They are $15, and the mix is varied and comprises whatever soaps we have on the drying rack at the time. It is entirely random, which I feel is fun and exciting. It's like Christmas; you aren't sure what's inside the package. There may be soaps from our regular inventory, or you may get a sliver of soaps that have yet to be released. Surprise!

I proudly credit The Bibbed Wonder for this fun little endeavor. Check out the link below to explore this new option. On this grey, overcast last Thursday in February, stay safe, be smart, enjoy this new idea, and keep washing your hands.

One-Pound Sample Bags

Nitty-Gritty Hand Soap

Our new Nitty Gritty Hand Soap for hard-working hands

In the spirit of manifesting all things spring, we have released our new Nitty Gritty Hand Soap just in time for the upcoming outdoor projects. Thank goodness most of the snow and ice have melted here on the farm. Yesterday, as I sat with The Bean while she rested from the flu, I sat with my new Gardening Notebook. I have a notebook for everything: soaps, soap business ideas, menus, home ideas, and now gardening. My To-Do List Notebook has been placed on the back burner while The Bean is sick.

She still wants her mom when she doesn't feel well, and I eat that up. I will drop everything to ensure my baby is well taken care of and feels safe. This flu has been frightening. I have not been this worried about The Bean since she was tiny. With Flu A, she has respiratory symptoms. With respiratory symptoms, her asthma, which has been easy to control for the last several years, is aggravated. She had a rather severe asthma attack yesterday afternoon, and it was frightening. I can't imagine what it must feel like to have your airways swollen and feel like you can't get enough air. Her emergency inhaler got her symptoms under control and opened her airways, but it left us both frightened and a bit clingy.

As she lay with her head on my lap, sleeping. I planned my garden—a gardener I am not, dear reader. However, I have decided that this year, I will tackle our landscaping and begin making progress in developing an herb and vegetable garden. Much to my surprise and delight, Facebook Marketplace has a nice selection of plants for sale. I had no idea people sold plants on Facebook. While I watched over The Bean, I scrolled, looking at all the plant options for sale. It was inspiring.

If you are a gardener or love to get your hands dirty, our new Nitty Gritty Hand Soap was created with you in mind. I have taken our original moisturizing goat's milk soap recipe and added pumice, walnut shells, and chai seeds to create an extra textured soap that is great for removing tough dirt and grime. I also added Tussah silk fibers and aloe vera juice to give it an extra boost of moisturizing qualities. This soap is a hard-working soap, but it leaves your skin feeling soft and pampered.

The icing on the cake is the scent. In my opinion, this soap smells divine. I blended lemon, rosemary, and vanilla essential oils to create the freshest, most delightful scent. I love this scent blend so much that I plan to make a matching body bar and moisturizer. The only drawback is the vanilla turned my beautifully colored sunshiny yellow soap a dark brown. Discoloration is the main drawback to using vanilla scents. However, there are a few things I can try to remedy this. I hope you love the soap and scent as much as I do.

If you are a gardener or have a job or hobby that gets your hands dirty, I encourage you to try our new Nitty Gritty Hand Soap. It would also make a lovely spring gift or an addition to an Easter basket. Pair it with pretty garden gloves and a few new gardening tools, and you will surely make someone smile. I have also been using this soap for my at-home pedicures. The textured soap feels wonderful on tired feet.

On this grey, overcast day, stay safe, be smart, and please wash your hands as the flu virus continues to spread. Flu A is no joke; be safe.

Shop Our New Nitty Gritty Hand Soap