Herbal medicine making can be so easy!!

This recipe I made from items that many people have in their kitchen on a regular basis. It is a food based formula designed to boost your immune system.

This is an incredibly simple preparation. Equal parts finely chopped garlic & ginger, then mashed – I used a mortar & pestle. Blended would be wonderful too, I would suggest a small food processor.

Once the garlic & ginger are well macerated place them in a jar – the same jar you will store it in. Add 2 heaping tablespoons of honey. Warm a small amount of water up along the bottom of a saucepan, take it off the heat and place the jar inside. This is simply to allow the honey to melt so you can stir it together, assess the ratios and add more honey as necessary. We’re talking low heat! Just enough warmth to melt the honey slightly for stirring. This medicine is potent raw, we aren’t trying to cook anything.

Stir and add honey with the herbs until the ratio seems appropriate. You want the honey to compete with the garlic and ginger for flavour – you don’t want the sweet or the pungent flavour to be dominant – look for balance here – both flavours popping forth in tandem at almost the same strength. Taste testing with a clean, dry spoon and NO double dipping – double dipping will contaminate the entire batch with your mouth bacteria.

Mix well and let stand, place in a cool, dark place for storage and stir before using. All parts of this formula are anti-bacterial. As long as you are making small batches, consuming regularly and not double dipping your utensils – it should not go bad. If you are concerned – let stand for 3-4days, stir well and then refrigerate.
I recommend a 1/4 to a 1/2 teaspoon once or twice a day for a healthy person looking for an immune boost.

I love putting about a 1/4 teaspoon in my chamomile tea with a fresh squeeze of lemon at the end of the evening. I am relaxed and my lymphatic system feels enlivened as I head to sleep. Makes me feel like I’m supporting my body in it’s nightly regeneration process.