A Super Charged Hot Lemon Drink to Cure the Winter Blues!

When the winter chills start setting in and the sniffles not long after, the first thing I do is start simmering up a saucepan of this nourishing goodness!

This super charged hot lemon drink is an immune-boosting dynamo, helping prevent or at least recover faster from colds, coughs and congestion... plus, it's full of goodness, and I think it tastes pretty delicious too! Consider it an immune boost that will help your body fight off the sniffles as best and quick as it can.

It's a bit of a 'throw it all in' type recipe (all of mine are, haha!) but as I am always being asked by friends for the recipe, I thought I should take the time to blog up a general guide to the ingredients, at least!! Feel free to add more or less depending on your taste buds (oh, and don't be freaked out by the garlic, you really can't taste it!)...

Super Charged Hot Lemon Drink Recipe

Ingredients - 

• Lemons - 3 or 4
• Tumeric - a couple cm's of fresh if possible, or 2 tsp ground
• Cayenne Pepper - about a third of a tsp (depending how much kick you want!)
• Ginger - 2cms of fresh ginger, or 3 tsp of the jarred stuff
• Garlic - 5 or 6 cloves
• A quarter cup or so of Apple Cider Vinegar
• Water - Approx 600-700ml or just enough for the lemons to be able to float and simmer.
• Honey (add later when drinking)

Instructions - 

• Quarter the lemons and throw them in a small saucepan, yep, rind and all! So much goodness in the zest, you don't want to miss a bit! It all blends up in the end, truly.
• Add in the garlic bulbs, the knobs or teaspoons of ginger and tumeric, and the ACV.
• Add water
• Simmer on a low heat for about 15-20 minutes or until the lemon skins are very soft
• Blend the whole lot up very well with a stick mixer (or pour into a blender, or do the whole thing in a Thermomix if you have one!) and it's done!!

This recipe makes a concentrate, to which you can then add extra hot water and honey to taste whenever you want to make up a cosy mugful. Keep it in a jar in the fridge, and just pour about an inch into your mug, topping up with hot water and however much honey to taste - maybe two or three teaspoons as obviously the mix is pretty tart! And honey is good for sore throats too :)

Tip - I like to make 'frozen lemon discs' by pouring an inch of the concentrate into the bases of muffin tins, freeze then later pop out the frozen disks and put them into a bag in the freezer. Then they are portion sized and ready to quickly pull out and use whenever the sniffles dare strike! 

So why is this little concoction so good for you? The lemons are packed with vitamin C, and the cayenne pepper is fantastic for soothing sore throats and breaking up congestion and coughs. Tumeric is an amazing anti-inflammatory, anti bacterial, and anti-viral. And we all know ginger and garlic are full of vitamins and goodness! The honey also soothes sore throats and if you can get it unprocessed, also full of nutrients for ailing bodies. Oh, you could also add a little coconut oil to your hot drink too for another immune boost... why not, haha! 

A disclaimer that (as you probably can guess from the ingredients) this is a very strong and tart mixture. Feel free to use less of the concentrate, with more water and honey, till it is palatable for you! I find the more I drink it, the stronger I can handle it, haha! ;)

The kids love this drink and ask for it as soon as the mildest sniffle begins... preferably served in a travel mug with plenty of honey, while they are snuggled up on the couch under a blanket. They totally like to milk the slightest sickness, haha! ;) My tip for serving this to kids is to start it off very weak and sweet till they can handle the sourness as well, then over time you can add in more and more of the concentrate too!

Happy soothing sipping, my friends!