I awoke last Monday morning with that dreaded tickle in the back of my throat. The one that tells you that the child you thought was teething is actually sick. Being so generous, my little boy had shared his cold with me.
My husband’s solution to everything flu or cold related is Nyquil. So he told me to take some Nyquil and I would be fine. My husband has not quite made it over to the crunchy side. He tolerates my crunchiness but has yet fully embrace it himself. Nyquil is one of his last non-crunchy strongholds, and I am determined to get rid of that awful green concoction once and for all.
I was told the solution to my troubles was Elderberry Syrup. Now, whenever someone mentions to me they are going to make Elderberry Syrup I always picture witches around a cauldron under a full moon. I assumed something so healing must take hours to make and be a complicated task. How very wrong I was. It took six ingredients and 40 minutes to complete this magical elixir. I didn’t even need to pull out my witches hat and recite “Bubble, Bubble toil and trouble”, though I really wanted to.
Recipe for Elderberry Syrup
Ingredients:
½ cup dried elderberries
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 cups water
1 cup honey
Instructions:
1. Add elderberries, cinnamon stick, cloves, ginger, and water to a pot. Cover and place on stove.
2. Simmer until the liquid reduces by about half. It took about 30 minutes for mine to reduce down.
3. Pour the mixture through a sieve and use the back of a spoon to squeeze out any additional juice left in the berries.
4. Add the honey and stir until it is incorporated.
5. Let the syrup cool. Store in a glass jar in the fridge. This can be stored for up to 2 months in the fridge
Adults can take one tablespoon a day for immunity boosting. You can increase that to a tablespoon every three hours if you are sick. Children can follow the same protocol just use a teaspoon instead.
The Verdict: Good-bye Nyquil!
I was diligent about taking Elderberry Syrup every three hours for the first day or so. My cold never actually hit. I was a little stuffy but that was the extent of it. A little peppermint oil and I was good to go.
Unbeknownst to my husband, I have officially rid my house of every trace of Nyquil. The next time my husband is sick he will be forced to give Elderberry Syrup a chance. I think I am going to win him over on taste alone, that stuff is delicious!
Whenever he does give it a try, I will let you know what he thinks. Hopefully, this will be one more crunchy win for my household.
