Winter is time to play in the snow! Get outside and enjoy the quietness of the forest, as most plants are dormant and critters hibernate or take shelter from the cold weather. The colder season also brings along . . . you guessed it, colds.
Colder weather taxes our immune system, which may be run down after a busy summer of playing hard, to the hustle of fall as we tuck away our gardens beds, gather firewood and whatever it is we need to do before the snow flies. By the time winter comes, we are exhausted!
When you or your loved ones get sick, we go to the medicine cabinet and pull out our favorite arsenal of elixirs and potions, whether store-bought or handmade, in hopes to relieve symptoms quickly and regain our health. In this article, I’d like to share with you a kick-ass tea recipe that I make when I have that irritating stuffy head and congested lung from viruses.
First, I take a sip of elderberry syrup every day to keep viruses at bay. But sometimes, a cold catches us, and then you’re down. This is when I go for the stronger stuff. My personal army of heroic herbal remedies. Here is my recipe:
In a pot, rehydrate dried rose hips for a couple of hours. Then add ginger, turmeric, a dash of black pepper and gently simmer for 10-20 minutes. Turn off the heat and immediately add the following herbs: usnea, yerba santa, red root ceanothus, and stinging nettle to the pot. Let this steep for a few minutes. Then comes the final kicker; lomatium dissectum in raw honey!
Why these herbs? Rose Hips (fresh or dried) have 25 times more vitamin C than oranges!
- Ginger root (fresh) is anti-inflammatory, expectorant, warms the body, and can soothe a sore throat.
- Turmeric (fresh) is an anti-inflammatory and helps calm those body aches.
- Black Pepper (ground) increases the absorption of turmeric and activates its healing properties.
- Usnea (tincture is best) is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-microbial and an all-around kick-ass heroic herb!
- Yerba Santa (fresh or tinctured) is an expectorant, relieving coughs, colds, tuberculosis, asthma and chronic bronchitis.
- Red Root Ceanothus (dried or tinctured) helps to flush toxins through your lymphatic system.
- Stinging Nettle (fresh, dried or tinctured) is a natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory, reducing swollen nasal passages and relieving congestion and sneezing.
- Lomatium Dissectum Root (infused in raw honey), also called “bear root,” is another heroic herb that is antiviral, antibacterial and antiseptic.
- Raw Honey has propolis that boosts the immune system, is antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. It soothes a sore throat, and, like Mary Poppins says, “it helps the medicine go down!”
If your ingredients are dried or fresh roots or rose hips, they will need to simmer first, then add the leafy-type ingredients to steep. No need to worry about the alcohol in tinctures for kids or if you are non-alcoholic. The hot steaming water will evaporate off any alcohol in the tinctures.
A seasoned forager or herbalist will harvest these plants in the spring and summer and preserve them for later use, such as the winter cold and flu season. I like to have them in tincture form and readily available for when you need it most. When you’re sick! Most of these herbs are available at your local health food store, but what a blessing to have them already in your cupboard!
For more details on how to make this tea, check out my YouTube video on How to Make Kick-ass Cold and Flu Tea. In the meantime, stay well, stay warm and have a healthy winter!
Karie Lee Knoke is a wilderness/primitive skills instructor and founder of Sacred Cedars Wilderness School. She was a contestant on the reality survival TV show, Alone Season 9, on the History Channel. Go to www.karieleeknoke.com for more information or follow her on Facebook @SacredCedarsWildernessSchool or Instagram @karie_lee_knoke.
