Feel-better Tea

“I have been laid up with intentional flu.” Samuel Goldwyn, Polish-American film producer

It doesn’t seem quite fair. It’s been sweltering in the 90s for days, but cold and flu season is already rocketing through area schools like an embarrassing text. Coughing. Bleary eyes. Hoarse voices. It’s all here, at least for the youngest members of our household.

So, heat or not, I’m breaking out the Feel-better Tea, a concoction that is as much about self care and wishful thinking as it is about actual health benefits. Although, there is a whole lot of vitamin C in this and lots of lovely, throat-coating honey. (Sorry about that last one, my vegan friends.)

Warning: The lemon is intense, but the honey more than makes up for it. Studies have shown this amount of honey in warm water is as effective as a cough suppressant as over-the-counter medications.

If you or yours should succumb, here it is:

Feel-better Tea

Start with a bag or a ball of loose leaves of your favorite tea. (I prefer green tea for this drink.) Prepare the tea.

Add the juice of one lemon (about 1 Tablespoon). (If you don’t have real lemons in your vegetable crisper, get some before you succumb. They make almost everything taste better. You’ll use them up. You will.) Add 1-2 Tablespoons (yes, that much) honey. Stir and sip slowly while flipping through a good magazine, watching mindless TV or snuggling in a soft blanket with the dog by your side.

Remember to not give honey to infants. Feel better soon!