burnt toast

Hi. How are you. Feeling like crap? Join the club. I don’t know if it’s a cold, the dust mites under my bed or a newly acquired allergy to some new pollen hybrid, but I am over going through a tissue box every few days. Weak and vulnerable could be one way to describe my delicate self at the moment. Or just plain over it. Have I tried taking cold and flu tablets? Yeah those things are crap. I’m convinced all they’re made of is compressed lint. Those people are making a fortune out of our gullible little minds. We’ll do anything to get better faster. But really, all we really can and should do is drink bucket loads of hot herbally liquids and stay in bed. With a few panadol. That always helps. Or at least my mind wants me to believe that.

So what to drink when Mr. Cold is visiting? Lemon and ginger always sounds like the best option. The teabag version is alright. It’s a bit weak in my opinion though. I like something that makes my lips pucker, my throat burn and my eyes water, just ever so slightly. The zingy spicy punch it gives my tastebuds after that first sip. Something with that effect must be good for me. Home made lemon and ginger tea, my savior.

Both lemons and ginger are both known for their vitamin C content, a powerful antioxidant that can help boost your immune system and decrease the severity of some of the symptoms associated with the flu and other illnesses. Lemon ginger tea may also temporarily relieve sinus pressure, a runny nose, a sore throat and coughing. This mixture of lemon, ginger and honey can stimulate the release of dermcidin, which is a compound that has anti-microbial properties and can help fight the flu. Let’s get ready to terminate this sucker.

You can use lemon instead of lime if you want. I’m quite partial to lime because on one of my trips to India one of the things I would frequently order at our favourite seaside restaurant in Goa was “Lemon Tea” – made with these round little lemon limes and lots of honey.

Lemon Lime and Ginger Tea

1 lime, juiced

3-4 thin slices of fresh ginger, bashed with the back of a knife to release the gingery goodness

1+ Tbsp honey

Recently boiled water

Combine the juice, ginger and honey in a mug. Give the ginger a bit of a workout with the back of a spoon – get those flavours going. You don’t want the water to be boiling or else it will kill the goodies in the juice and honey. You need these vitamins for a rapid recovery. Stir and add more honey. You’re sick, you can have it as sweet as you want. That’s my excuse anyway.

Get well soon chicken.