Garlic honey lemon tea - believe me this tastes much better than it sounds and my kids consumed it unwittingly for years.
Nicely antibiotic and health-giving - a strengthening restorative as well as home remedy for mild infections like a cold or flu. Especially useful in these conditions because useful garlic phytochemical exits the body via the breath, 'disinfecting' the lungs as they go.
To make the tea - choose healthy, robust garlic preferably organic. Peel 4 cloves. If you like the taste of garlic then crush it, if you want a milder taste chop it up finely. Add the garlic to a 1 pint sized vessel (kilner jar is ideal). Add 4 tbsp of raw honey to the garlic and the juice from 1 lemon (preferably organic) and mix well. Fill the vessel up with boiling water and leave it to steep for 20 minutes. Strain and consume up to 4 glasses (adult dose) per day. It will keep well in the fridge once cool for 24 hours if you don’t manage to drink it all in one day.
To make a nice general preventative tonic add a whole head of well crushed garlic to 2 tbsp of raw honey and pound them together in a pestle and mortar until the garlic is totally transparent, then add a further 6 tbsp of honey, pour into a jam jar, screw on lid and label with a date. This will keep well for 6 months and the adult preventative dose would be 1/2 tsp daily. As a remedy the dose can be increased up to 6 times daily. It can be taken directly or added to lemon and water, or diluted herb vinegar or even milk. Some people's tummies do not do well on garlic - so be aware before you start dosing the entire family. An alternative for them is to wipe garlic oil on the bottom of their feet at bedtime and let it move up and out of the body overnight.
To make garlic infused oil, crush a couple of cloves of garlic as above and this time add it to about 100mls of oil. Any oil will do, including olive oil, but sweet almond oil is nice if you have it to hand. Leave these in a closed jam jar overnight to macerate and the oil will be ready to apply the following evening.
Jules is the Medical Herbalist and Lifestyle Coach at Orchard Barn. Please visit our website or call the clinic for further information.
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