It’s that time of year again. The sniffles, coughs, sore throats, and all-around puniness begin. I’ve been in my kitchen a lot this week prepping immune-boosting foods and thought I would share the elixir that I make for coughs.
Many of you know that I prefer making natural medicines to fall on when my family begins getting sick. My philosophy behind this is simple; it gives their immune system what it needs to fight the germ and soothe the symptoms. Some of my go-to medicinal ingredients: honey, peppermint, horehound, and ginger. Read more about there medicinal properties here.
Similar to my horehound lozenges recipe, this recipe uses simple ingredients that promote natural healing and is a great natural alternative to over-the-counter cough syrup (usually made with corn syrup). What I love about this cough syrup is it quickly calms coughing and breaks down mucus associated with colds with no side effects. For those of you who are sensitive to store-bought cough medicines, this homemade elixir doesn’t make you foggy-headed as some over-the-counter cold medicines can. Best of all, once you whip up a batch of cough syrup, you store it away in the refrigerator for when you are ready to use it.
Soothing Horehound Peppermint Cough Syrup
- 1/2 cup peppermint leaves
- 1/2 cup horehound
- 4 cups of water
- 1 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
- Bring water to a boil and add loose herbs. Stir herbs into the water and cover.
- Lower heat to low and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool.
- Strain and reserve liquid. Add used herbs to your compost pile.
- Add 1 cup of honey to the warm herbal liquid and stir until combined.
- Store elixir in refrigerator
Dosage amounts: The dosage for an adult is 1 teaspoon every four hours, about half as much for children, up to four times a day.
Note: honey-based syrups can last for up to three months, whereas sugar-based syrups can last for up to six months. If your syrup has for some reason fermented or develops any moldy growth (it happens), it should not be consumed.
Try some of our other natural medicine recipes:
Lomatium Root Organic Herbal Tincture Immune System Support
Homemade Slippery Elm Cough Elixir
