Monthly Archives: November 2016

Health Tonics & Elixers

Immunity Boosting Elerberry Syrup

IMMUNITY

You can find or forage this tasty berry, and concoct a natural and reasonably priced syrup, proven to shorten the duration of a cold or virus.  The recipe is below, however, If you’re too sick to make a bottle, there are store-bought versions like Honey Gardens Elderberry Syrup, $22.44,  pictured above.  There are other products as well however, you should always go organic to avoid pesticides and herbicides.  The last thing you need when ill, is more toxins.

I made a double batch of this stuff last year and will be once again cooking this brew in my kitchen over the next week-end.  It’s good to just have it on hand because you or someone you know will soon wake up chilled and feverish. Medical research has shown that taking an elderberry-based tincture within the first 48 hours of a virus’ onset can shorten the duration of symptoms by as much as four days.  And you want to have this stuff at the ready because when you are feeling puny is not the time to be trying to make it, even though its pretty easy to cook a batch up!  The taste is yummy.  Last year, I had friends who weren’t sick trying to get a nip of it.  Keep a stockpile of this syrup on hand for whenever illness strikes. It tastes way better than the cherry-flavored stuff, it’s all natural, and in under an hour you can make a batch large enough to keep you and your family healthy all winter long. Or if you’re too sick to make a bottle, there are store-bought versions like Urban Moonshine’s Herbal Immune Zoom that are quite nice, too.

If you are ready to batch up your personal stockpile of this syrup, I would suggest going all organic with the ingredients.  I have included links for the elderberries too.

I use Frontier Organic Elderberries, in the 1lb size, pack of 2 so I had enough on hand for now and later.  Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is abundant across North American, and its berries can be foraged from the wild across much of the United States.  I prefer to do my foraging on Amazon.

Elderberry Elixir Recipe – Makes 1 quart  (I prefer to double my recipe up and give out some to friends and family)  On this note, I still used only 1 cup of Vodka for a double batch and yes it still had a lot of kick to it! So adjust at will here.  I chose vodka for a clean taste but brandy could also be nice.

1 cups dry or fresh elderberries

2 cups water

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

1 cup 40 percent alcohol

1 cup raw local honey

1 quart size canning jar

Small bottles for dispensing

  1. In a large saucepan, combine the water, elderberries, ginger. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, then simmer for 20 minutes. Press and strain elderberry-ginger mixture into a quart-size canning jar. Stir in 1 cup honey and 1 cup alcohol to preserve the mixture. Shake well to mix. Divide into smaller containers, if you like. The elderberry elixir will keep in the refrigerator for 6 months.
  2. At the first signs of a cold or flu, take 2 tablespoons of elderberry every hour for up to 5 days.
Emotional Rescue

Following Through

A friend of mine is a Project Manager.  Her husband is far less organised. Things have sat in boxes, in the way of traffic and in the way of beautifying her home, for decades. There have been numerous promises to follow through.  When we fail to follow through, we disrespect both ourselves and the person we made the goal with.  When everything boils down, time is the ultimate gift we give both ourselves and those we love.  We spend our time and our money on who and what we love.

Life moves swiftly onward and as most of us are used to creating busy work in our days and planning ahead, it can be easy to lose the moment.  It can also be all too easy to fill ourselves up so much with stuff, with the dust of the day, that we have no time to breath or change direction, or see a friend.

Creating To Do lists are one of my favourite things to do!  Firstly, it solidifies plans.  You can delight and feel great about checking things off as done.  it keeps you on track, from writing a letter to a friend, to having lunch to joining a meeting, it’s all there.  But another cool thing about lists is that they reach another area of the brain and help make it so.  I created a to-do list for a lovely needy historic home and then that list got filed away.  A decade later, I came upon it once more and delighted in the fact that every single item on that list, from redoing the hardwoods to remodelling the bathroom, to landscape lighting got taken care of.

Following through is the ultimate act of love.  When you can trust your own words, that means a whole lot because you can then trust yourself.  Giving yourself weight, respect and significance of meaning what you say and saying what you mean is the very essence of love and self-respect.

Call it branding. In fact, there is a great article “Brand You” that I read a long time ago on this very topic.  As we go about living life, we are actually creating our brand.  Who and what do you stand for?  When people think of you, what would be the very first things to come to mind?  Honouring yourself begins with following through on commitments, both to yourself and to others.  This can also include following through in abusive situations, with managing your personal boundaries. We teach people daily how we wish to be treated by how and what we allow into our lives and by the boundaries we set with them.  We are empowered to gently but firmly maintain those boundaries from anyone who disrespects them and us.  If you find yourself in a situation where you have failed to follow through on your best life then know that you are empowered to change this now.

With 2017 looming large, get pen and pad out and start planning your follow through today.