What's your favorite home remedy?

 

I'm having bad allergies right now. Or maybe it's a cold, I can't tell. There has been a heat wave in Los Angeles which has made the air really dry. Plus we've had some serious winds. Mix these two things together and you get a lot of bad stuff whooshing through the air and into my nostrils. I get allergies occasionally so that's what I assumed it was. But all the anti-histamine medication I've taken hasn't done a thing and my head is sooooo stuffy it's hard to think. Therefore sadly, I think this may actually be a cold. Damn.

For no particular reason I resist taking medication when I am sick. My husband is always trying to get me to take something and more often than not these days I give-in. And then of course I feel better and wonder why I was so resistant in the first place. But there is one home remedy I also rely on: a nice hot toddy. This is my mom's recipe and something she made for me as a teenager when I was sick or had cramps. You squeeze the juice of one lemon into a mug, add a tablespoon of honey, and about a tablespoon of brandy or whiskey. Then fill the mug with boiling water. Enjoy hot. Apparently the citrus gives you vitamin C, the heat helps loosen up all the yucky stuff in your sinuses and throat, and the alcohol is enough to make you feel a bit better without being so much that it messes with your immune system. I highly recommend it for when you have a cold, especially as a drink to enjoy before going to bed. And for a non-alcoholic version, just skip the alcohol! It's still really yummy with just the lemon and honey.

Any favorite home recipes? Do you have an alternate toddy recipe you recommend I try?

Image via. Their recipe calls for a tea bag but I've never found I needed to add tea.