Food and Nutrition, Health and Beauty, Immune Health

Make Your Own Immune Tea or Soup with Less Than 5 Ingredients!

Posted on by admin
02
Dec

The Ginger Immune Tea

I always keep ginger in my home. It’s my go-to root herb for general health. Ginger is a heating herb. It has a sweet, pungent taste and is an expectorant and diuretic. In Ayurvedic Medicine it will balance vata and kapha so if you are experiencing congestive colds, sinus issues, headaches, anxiety, sleep issues, painful, cracking joints, this is a great root herb for you!  Simmering a tea for long lengths of time intesnifies the healing properties of the ingredients. This recipe is simple, easy and it’s one I try to make and store weekly, especially during the colder months.  3 qt saucepan or stock pot 4 cups of filtered water 2  pieces of fresh ginger 2-3″ long, peeled and chopped in fine to small pieces  5 cloves of garlic – peeled, chppped in half or leave whole optional; fennel or cumin seeds, fresh sage leaves chopped Combine all ingredients in the pot and simmer, covered on low for at least 2 hours.You will notice the liquid will reduce and tea will darken. This becomes a very pungent and strong tea. You can choose to drink it straight or fill a cup part way and add hot water to dilute it a bit for a lighter, less pungent tea. After the two hours I usually reduce heat to very low then turn it off and leave it there throughout the day. It’s my Sunday healing tea during self care, reading or writing. I also drink this before a meal or after dinner. If you have digestive issues, bloating or a queasy stomach, definitely add fennel to the pot. If you have chronic pain, swollen joints, add turmeric root or powder. Store the remaining tea stock in the fridge and it should last for at least a few days, until you brew your next batch stove top! TIP: Save your ginger peels and add them to a black tea for an extra push of sweet and pungent.

Alternate Option: The Soup Version

You can add chopped onion, fresh dill, rosemary to the pot of ingredients I listed above and throw in some turmeric powder (1tsp) to create an Immune soup!

Soup version

 
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2 thoughts on “Make Your Own Immune Tea or Soup with Less Than 5 Ingredients!”

  1. Qunol says:

    It’s interesting you mention turmeric for swollen joints. One issue is that there challenges absorbing turmeric, and you may find better absorption in supplement form.

    Reply
    • Dr. Melanie says:

      Hi! Thank you for the comment! You bring up a good point! Yes, turmeric in powdered or fresh root form is wonderful in maintaining health and adds to the anti-inflammatory effect (brain, gut, cellular, tissues/joints) in the general sense. However supplementation is recommended for problematic issues because of the therapeutic strength. I would be careful in selecting supplements and advise my patients to make sure they are free of fillers, additives and verify safe practices in harvesting, producing and packaging the nutrient. Turmeric, unlike medications, doesn’t damage the liver and kidneys. I prefer liquid emulsified versions for better absorption, particularly in people with chronic diseases, leaky gut and cancer. So basically supplementation is more therapeutic but it never hurts to add it to your cooking. Keep this one on the spice rack!

      Reply

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