Crud-Fighting Healing Tea

Yes, ’tis the season! The season for sore throats, colds, sniffles, and cabin fever. Nothing serious, mind you! Just that crud that can wipe you out for a couple days. Timing is key when “catching the crud”, however. Avoid holidays, weekends, busy days, and anniversaries. Make sure you get sick when there is something really fun to watch on TV, when you are all caught up on household chores, and when your children plan on being perfectly well-behaved.

Yeah, RIGHT!!!

Crud comes calling at the most inconvenient time. There are some things to do at the onset of the first symptoms that, with any luck, will help you feel better. At least it will shorten the duration and minimize the severity. Mind you, I am not a physician! I am merely someone who has researched and found what works for me.

The “weakest link” in my body is my throat/voice. My voice has always been soft and fragile, and the first sign of any crud is a sore throat. For decades I have used a 4-pronged approach to tackling sore throats, which is my first symptom of the crud:

1. ramp up supplement intake — vitamins B, C, D, K, and Z(inc)
2. sip bone broth twice a day
3. eat teaspoons of sage honey
4. and drink this crud-fighting tea all day long

All of these have great health benefits, and are easy to have on hand for that inconvenient time when the crud comes knocking on your door. I like to keep ginger in the freezer — peeled and cut into manageable chunks, stored in a freezer bag. Fresh garlic is always in the pantry. And dried herbs are in my really sweet, custom made spice rack, built on the end of the cabinet next to the cooktop.

Yes, I alphabetize my spices. Got a problem with that? 😂

What’s included in the tea? Simply ginger, garlic, oregano, marjoram, sage, whole cloves, and cinnamon — all powerhouse ingredients that provide antioxidants, minimize inflammation, and fight bacterial and viral infections. This is a savory tea! It has a warm and cosy taste that I actually crave when feeling under the weather.

If you want, lemon is a great addition, and adds some vitamin C. If you like sweetness, add some honey to the tea. However, I find that I can drink more tea when it is not sweetened. In fact, I refill the teapot a couple times before replacing the ingredients.

Even though the ingredients are beneficial in fighting whatever ails you, one huge advantage of this crud-fighting tea is that you drink. Drink. Drink more water. Everyone knows how important hydration is to combatting illness, but we also recognize that, when you feel like crap, it’s really difficult to drink enough.

Keep this recipe in your back pocket, and bring it out next time you, or family members, are fighting the crud.

Print