Spring is in the air.......

Spring has to be my favourite time of year....... everything is blooming..... not to mention more daylight hours and a bit more sun and the prospect of turning off the central heating altogether ! Nice.......

Of course for some of us spring means ....... hay fever........ and for some like me more sinus headaches........

My home remedies for relief :  Garlic - fresh is best

Honey - local honey and unfiltered (if possible) - and if you can get it straight from the source

Bee pollen - available in granules from health food stores (seems to be a shortage here in UK at moment)

Ginger - fresh
Lemon juice - fresh
Sea salt
and Vitamin C.......

So what do you do with this list of items???  easy eat garlic often, include honey into your diet instead of sugar, bee pollen... well... just take it by the spoon full in morning juice and every 3-4 hrs during the day when hay fever symptoms full blown... for relief..... sea salt ? well I use it to rinse my nostrils and relieve the sinus pressure... a neti pot is good if you have one... or simple just use a dropper .... and just snort it..... whatever takes your fancy.... no need to get too complex with this.... and now to the best drink of all.... the concoction from my naturopathic study days....  it used to be coined the "Kill a Germ Drink"..... sounds a bit scary !! anyway here goes.......

"Kill a Germ Juice"
1 x whole bulb of Garlic
1-2 inches x Ginger
400g Honey
1-2 Pinch x Cayenne pepper or Cinnamon if you are not a chillie fan.....
Lemon juice
(if you wish you can make a smaller batch - just half everything)

Peel garlic cloves, peel ginger and chop into smaller pieces, place into a blender, add half the honey, blend until the garlic and ginger turn into fine pulp, add the rest of the honey and blend to distribute the garlic and ginger evenly.  You can add the cayenne pepper or cinnamon now give it another blend.

DO NOT ADD THE LEMON JUICE...... always add juice from half a small lemon to your drink just before drinking it.

Store in sterile glass jars you will need one 600g to 800g jar or two 400g jars - I prefer to distribute into smaller jars .... it is easier to use one small jar at a time than keep digging into the large jar.

Exact proportions are not too crucial.... as long as you have heaps of garlic and a good dose of ginger and enough honey to sweeten the drink.....

and now this is how you take your "Kill a Germ Drink"....
in a good sized mug place 2-3 teaspoons of your concoction
add juice of half a small lemon
top up with boiling water.... drink as hot as possible.

At first you may find it a bit of a challenge to drink ........ but you soon get used to it.......... just think of the first time you tasted alcohol .... it didn't really taste nice but you drank it anyway..........  and the benefits with "Kill a Germ Drink" are way better for you.........  and yes you will be a bit on the nose but hey if it helps relieve your hay fever, sinus, cold symptoms........ all the better....... I swear by it....... Oh and by the way you can always add the bee pollen to the drink as well and a bit more honey if you need it sweeter........
Bon appetit!