Stay Healthy in the New Year: Cold and Flu Remedies

Quick show of hands: How many of you overextended yourself over the holidays? After the festive season of sharing meals, gifts, and sometimes unintentional germs, it’s no surprise that many of us step into January feeling a little under the weather. Fight those post-holiday blues and blahs with healthy recipes to give your immune system a boost during cold and flu season.

Ginger Tea

Loaded with antioxidants, ginger has been used as an alternative form of medicine throughout history. Ginger boosts immunity thanks to gingerol, the bioactive compound found in raw ginger, which offers antimicrobial and antifungal properties. Ginger has also been shown to ease symptoms associated with the flu and the common cold. Cozy up with a mug of this Ginger Tea. It could help you clear congestion and soothe sore muscles.

Ingredients

2 cup water
2 Tbsp Spice World Ready-to-Use Minced Ginger
1 lemon
2 Tbsp honey
3-5 fresh mint leaves (optional)

Instructions

Add room-temperature water to a bowl or mug.
Spoon Spice World Ready-to-Use Minced Ginger into water. If desired, add fresh mint leaves.
Pour water into a kettle or saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow it to simmer for 5 minutes.
Pour tea through a fine sieve to remove ginger particles and pour into your favorite mug.
Halve your lemon. Squeeze one half into tea and cut the other half into thinly sliced rounds. Add 1 lemon slice to your tea.
Add a drizzle of honey and fresh mint leaves (optional) and enjoy.

Immunity-Boosting Carrot Turmeric Soup

There’s just something about a bowl of soup that feels like a hug. This brightly-hued carrot soup is loaded with flavor and nutrition, thanks to Vitamin A and carotenoids from the carrots and a range of potential immune booting benefits from nutrient-dense and antioxidant-rich garlic, onion, and ginger.

Equipment

Dutch oven
Immersion blender or stand blender

Ingredients

1½ Tbsp coconut or olive oil
½ cup Spice World Ready-to-Use Chopped Easy Onion
1 Tbsp Spice World Squeezable Minced Ginger
2 cloves Spice World Fresh Garlic, minced
1½ Tbsp turmeric
1½ pounds carrots, peeled and chopped
4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth or chicken broth
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
½ Tbsp kosher salt
¼ Tbsp black pepper
Optional garnishes: Greek yogurt cilantro leaves, sunflower seeds

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or other soup pot over medium heat. Add Spice World Ready-to-Use Chopped Easy Onion and cook until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the Spice World Squeezable Minced Ginger, Spice World Fresh Garlic, and turmeric and cook another minute until fragrant. Add the carrots and broth. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook until carrots are tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the orange juice, salt, and pepper.
Using an immersion blender, carefully puree the soup until smooth. Alternatively, you can puree the soup in a blender.
To serve, ladle the soup into four bowls and top each with garnishes like Greek yogurt, cilantro, and sunflower seeds.

Garlic Honey

Children average 6-8 colds a year, and adults average 2-4, so garlic honey, an all-natural sore throat remedy is perfect to keep on hand the next time cold or flu strikes. Raw garlic is a powerful immune booster that may help fight off bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. Combined with honey’s anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties, these potent, poppable cloves provide relief and stay fresh in the fridge for up to a year. The garlic is ready to eat after a few days, and the flavor improves after a few months of soaking up that sweet honey. Pro tip: Make it before you need it.

Ingredients

3 heads of Spice World Fresh Garlic (separated into cloves) or 24 cloves Spice World Peeled Garlic
Raw honey (enough to fill a glass jar)

Instructions

Fill a Mason jar or similar glass jar with garlic cloves, then pour the honey over the garlic and seal with an airtight lid. Allow mixture to infuse for several days before using, then store in the refrigerator. The garlic honey will stay fresh for a year.
At the first sign of illness, start eating a clove every hour or two, up to 6 cloves per day. The honey can be taken on its own by the spoonful as a cough syrup. You could also mix a tablespoon of the honey with some raw apple cider vinegar and hot water and drink this as a tonic when you’re sick.

Here’s to a healthy, happy New Year! Visit Spice World Inc. for more recipe inspiration to help keep you healthy all year long!