It’s about that time of year; you know that time when the weather changes and everyone gets sick. With four kids I dread it! If you ever wanted to know how to lose a month of your life – have four kids that get sick. It is the quickest, sure fire way to lose days on end.
Now that said, I am a total crunchy momma {as most of you know} and I try my hardest to build up our immune systems here to prevent such scenarios from occurring. Every year I seem to add something ‘new‘ to my bag of tricks and this year it is ‘Homemade Elderberry Syrup’! In the past I only used the ‘magic syrup’ to help calm coughs and congestion in my littles – but, that was only until I learned about all the immune boosting properties that these tiny berries had.
Elderberries are…
High in Vitamin C {have more vitamin C that oranges in fact}
Very High in Quercitin {an antioxidant}
Are a Natural Anit-Inflamatory {calms those inflamed lungs during coughing spasms something wonderful}
They are antiviral in nature preventing those pesky colds/flu bugs from occurring
So with out further a due – Here is the Recipe I use;
Homemade Elderberry Syrup
Ingredients
- 2/3 Cup dried elderberries
- 31/2 Cups of water
- 2 Tbsp fresh or dried ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. whole cloves or clove powder
- 1 Cup raw honey
Instructions
- Pour water in medium sauce pan, add dried elderberries, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves {care to not add honey quite yet, as it will destroy some of the honey's medicinal benefits}
- Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer - simmer for 45 minutes-1 hour {approx until liquid is half}
- Remove from heat
- Pour through sieve in a glass bowl or I prefer a mason jar. {I use a canning funnel like this}
- Discard the elderberries and let the syrup cool
- Once it is no longer hot you can then add the 1 cup of honey, and stir.
- When the honey is well mixed, store the elderberry syrup in the fridge - it will last for months {unless, you are like us and use it daily - it never lasts that long}
Usage/Dosage;
1/2tsp-1tsp for kids, 1/2Tbsp. – 1 Tbsp. Adults (once daily)
If flu or cold are present use dosage above every 2-3 hours*
*The information and reference guides in this website are intended solely for the general information for the reader. The contents of this web site are not intended to offer personal medical advice, diagnose health problems or for treatment purposes. It is not a substitute for medical care provided by a licensed and qualified health professional. Please consult your health care provider for any advice on medications.
This is on my to do list. I’m buying some elderberry bushes this spring to plant. I invite you to share this recipe on my blog hop.
Thanks so much, sorry on my delay I’m finally getting back into the blogging thing over here. I love your site by the way and, I am really looking forward to joining your blog hop. Thanks for finding me. 😉