Garlic lemonade and staying well this flu season

It's cold and flu season again and I swear it has come earlier than usual to our house. We have already been through hand, foot and mouth and a nasty, nasty cold and it's just the beginning of December! I will give some credit to my kids though, usually when they get sick, they cycle through it pretty quickly.  We don't get a cough or congestion that sticks around for months (knock on wood).  

Today I wanted to talk about what I do to try and keep myself healthy when everyone else is down.  I posted about garlic lemonade last year and I think it deserves to be posted again.  While I do lots of things to try to stay well, I'm going to keep it at 3 for now.

1.  Garlic Lemonade.  Sounds gross, I love it.  The second I feel any sort of anything coming on, I drink some.  To make it:  Smash 4 or 5 garlic gloves with a knife and steep in boiling water in a mason jar for 15 minutes.  Then add lemon and honey to taste.  I will also often steep some ginger root in there and add cayenne pepper.  Drink warm.

The original recipe I got from Aviva Romm's blog.  She suggests giving it to your kids also, I can't get mine to drink it.  

2.  NetiPot.  Again, the second I feel anything in my nose or throat or I've been around sick people all day, I will use the NetiPot before bed.  I'm always surprised when I suggest the NetiPot to people and they've either never heard of it or just the idea of it grosses them out.  While it is kind of gross, it is a lifesaver.  Wash the ick out before it gets a chance to stick around.

3.  Elderberry Syrup.  There has been a lot going around Facebook lately about elderberry syrup and all I can say is that it's an awesome immune booster.  It tastes great and can easily be made into fun things like gummies for kids...or husbands.  It can be bought at any health food market or it's pretty easy to make at home if you can get your hands on some elderberries.  More on that in another post!

I spend most of my day around sick people this time of year.  All of these things help and I generally ward off most of the sickness that comes in the door.  Not every time, but most of the time!  Other great ideas are kombucha, increasing Vitamin D3 intake, herbal throat spray, essential oils, water and sleep.  Stay well!