At-Home Cold Remedies; Let's be sick and frugal!

Hi Blogworld! I have definitely been slacking on my blogging; slogging if you will. The weather has been frightful, and I've been fighting off colds left and right. Being sick is pretty much the worst, and I've been doing research to avoid the doctor. Allow me to share what's been working on alleviating my sickness. And P.S.: all of these ideas came from THIS blog. It's grrrrreat.

Okay, now on to the two things that have been getting me by:

1) Terrible Tonic, or as I like to call it, Sickness Dressing

Here's what you need:

 

  

No babyfood was harmed in the making of this tonic.

   RECIPE FOR TERRIBLE TONIC:

   2-3 cloves of chopped garlic

   1 part raw, local honey

   2 parts apple cider vinegar
   
   Filtered water to taste

 

Mix it all together in a glass jar, shake, and take 1Tbs at a time. I've been taking this roughly four to five times a day, shaking before each does and usually after eating something. Store it in the fridge.

It's helping like crazy! It's supposed to be a natural cough suppressant as well as antibacterial because of the honey, I suppose. I don't mind the way it tastes.

2) Bone Broth

I've heard about this for years and never tried it. I'm sad I never did! All the recipes I see are different. I imagine everyone's grandmother has her own secret family recipe locked in her cellar. Here's how I did mine:

KATE'S HEARTY BONE BROTH RECIPE

• 1 chicken carcass
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 handful of collard greens
• 2 Tb of apple cider vinegar
• Enough water to cover the carcass 
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Salt and pepper if you feel frisky

Soak the chicken carcass in the cold water and vinegar in a large pot, or slow cooker, for 30 minutes. Add all the vegetables, except for the garlic, and bring to a rolling boil. Next, turn it on low and then you leave it to simmer for a looooooong time.

You're supposed to let it simmer for 24 hours......I only had 8, so next time I will let it sit longer. During the process, check to see if there's any fat you can skim off the top and toss it. Otherwise, just let it sit.

In the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the garlic cloves. When you're done cooking your bone broth, let it cool a bit and strain out all of the ingredients. Store in the fridge, or the freezer for long term, in jars. You can make beef bone or fish bone broth, too. It's also notable that you can add any vegetables and vegetable parts you might have on hand.

For only eight hours, it turned out quite nicely! I drank a cup before bed yesterday and immediately could breathe easier. I had another cup for lunch today with some chicken. I'm not ice skating with a gin and tonic or anything, but I really think it's working to roundhouse kick my cold.  
 

So, there ya go. Give these a try if you're feeling sick, and be well!