HOME REMEDY: Garlic Tea

The other day I woke up feeling like I could be coming down with something. My chest felt a little heavy and I started coughing. It's rare that I'm actually sick, and I believe part of it is due to the fact that as soon as I begin feeling intruders are trying to invade, I start bombarding myself with nutrient-rich foods and home remedies!

This one I'm sharing was a great discovery I made after marrying my sweet husband! During our early months of marriage, he got a nasty cold and would NOT stop coughing. He tried to sleep, but couldn't with the constant coughing. I remembered he had told me once that his mother used to always make a garlic tea that really helped him feel better when he was sick. Against his will, we called his mother to ask for the recipe. After we made the tea and he drank it, he slept the entire night like a baby (a good sleeping baby, not our daughter-type of baby! haha)-simply NO coughs! I could not believe it!

I was so puzzled by this experience, that I started researching about garlic. And surely, it seems that garlic is the superfood responsible for the amazing results! Apparently garlic has antimicrobial, antiviral and antibacterial properties, and it's a highly anti-inflammatory food! No wonder I'm rarely sick...hahaha...I eat LOTS of garlic in most my meals. Although my cousin who is a functional nutritionist in Brazil says you should never eat too much of anything daily! That our bodies need "variety", so that we don't build intolerance towards a certain food. I'm definitely not good at keeping this advice!

So I made this tea and drank it first thing in the morning! I normally would top that by drinking those immunity booster packs, but I had none left, so the tea was going to have to do it! And indeed it did! I felt great all day, and whatever was coming my way did not get a chance to progress into anything. 

I normally will modify the original recipe a bit just to make it a little more immune-boosting than it already is! But feel free to use the original recipe, if you prefer.

Following goes the recipe:

First you add a little oil/butter (I used earth balance vegan margarine for the taste)

Then you add LOTS of minced garlic, I used about 5 medium-large cloves. Mince the garlic onto the pan, since you want all the garlic juices in it!

Add a Tbsp of sugar.  I guess Mary Poppins was right, a spoon full of sugar does help the medicine go down!

I use turbinado raw sugar or brown sugar.I've also done with raw honey, but once heated, raw honey loses its good, medicinal properties, so you're better off just eating the raw honey later. The sugar here I believe is mostly for the taste! Or maybe to help soothe you with its sweetness :) I've also used less sugar, and then added molasses once tea was done. You can try different ways and see what works best for you!

Then you add a glass of milk. The original recipe calls for cow's milk. I use almond's milk or hazelnut milk that is even better! Hazelnut milk is highly anti-inflammatory. But, I still think anything with cow's milk tastes better. So if you're going for taste, go for cow's milk!

Bring to a boil.

Turn heat off, and let it cool down a little.

Filter out the garlic from tea.

And enjoy!!! You'll be quite surprised at how tasty this actually is. My husband does not like drinking tea at all, and he always jokes that this is the only tea he likes!

This is NOT a "cure-all" medicine, and not supposed to replace your Doctor's instructions. But in conjunction to a healthy, immune-boosting diet, this tea can be VERY effective in helping your body boost its immunity to kick the butt off of whatever is coming your way!!!

And it seems to be great at soothing coughs. My mother got really sick last year with an awful cough that would not go away, and I gave her this recipe and she said it really helped! 

So try it yourself and lemme know if it works ;)