Thursday, October 8, 2009

More Inspiration from Grandma!

The cold and flu season is upon us…
time to buy bags of lemons and limes, oranges and grapefruits to provide some relief and plenty of VITAMIN C.

(BTW...the brown glass Ovaltine jar is actually full of HONEY that we got from a local bee farmer this summer)

This time of the year I usually reflect with fondness of memories of being a young girl and having my mom make me up some honey and lemon tea, OR, Postum/PERO when I had a sore throat or cold. This is what her mother had done for her and so she was doing the same for me.

(Speaking of Postum, they no longer make this beverage and so once our Postum in our food storage runs out it is no longer to be bought). (sadness)
At least you can still get PERO!!

I have to say that 9 times out of 10 those natural remedies really do work... if anything to soothe and comfort. Since the start of our marriage Tracy and I have been making honey/lemon tea when we felt a cold coming on AND also making up a brothy soup of chicken, LOTS of extra garlic and onions (then we normally put in) and veggies. We then sprinkle on whatever amount of Cayenne Pepper OR Crushed Red Pepper we want in our bowls and you have a great soothing and healing soup that cleans out the sinuses as well.

Jade was complaining about a throat tickle yesterday and so I bought limes, lemons, and grapefruits and we have been squeezing limes/lemons into mugs, filling them up with boiling water, putting in a heaping Tablespoon of honey and stirring well and drinking it.

I also bought some herbal tea that has a lot of good things in it to try out as well. This was a great alternative as well. Jade is my “nature” kid and likes to try different things (pretty much everything that is NOT normal, he likes to trywhenever we do eat at Restaurants or get treats , it gets interesting).
************************
What a touching inspiration it was to see NieNie on Oprah yesterday. Tracy and I both broke down into tears and we weren’t expecting to.
I really connect with her love of being a wife and mom AND her desire to “feed her family right” with LOTS of fresh veggies and fruit and very little meat (except Salmon/fish).
I just love her quote:
"Love your body and you will feed it right"
(I love all of her posts, but I REALLY love
her posts from May and June 2007)

My kids haven’t known any other lifestyle than one that we have. From the time they were babies they have been fed whatever food we eat (I pureed up whatever we were eating, rather than buying Gerber) and they really enjoy everything that we eat and I feel so fortunate to have NON-picky eaters for kids, who have a desire to want to be healthy and who rarely, if ever complain! (except for Raisins—still working on them with that). Over half of the meals that we eat are “meatless”, OR, if they do have meat, they have very little meat and are FULL of lots of yummy veggies, legumes or grains.

Hoping to make it thorough this season as a family, healthy and strong! (other than Jade's seizure struggles and Ethan getting RSV when he was an infant) none of us have missed school or work due to sickness in over 5 years.


Feeling VERY blessed that all of us have our health right now and it is definitely something that I DON’T take for granted!

7 comments:

Camille said...

When I lived in Purto Rico, any time I was sick, the Puerto Ricans would fill a huge serving spoon with honey and squeeze lime or lemon juice on it. I'd have to down that spoonful - and it seemed to do the trick! See? grandmas and Puerto Ricans (for that matter) know what's best! Loved your comments about NieNie. She really is an inspiration!

Sondra said...

Postum... that brings back memories =D. I remember my parents drinking that when I was little. I love things passed down from grandmothers. I felt a cold coming on last night and was exposed to H1N1. I immediately took off clothes, showered and washed everything in clorox. I cloroxed my house last night, changed sheets this morning. I put the humidifier on, metholatum on my chest, took nyquil last night. This morning an extra Vitamin C pill, orange juice and I feel much better today. I never get sick. It seems like I always nip it before it gets bad and am healthy quickly.

Last night Brady told me that I better not get swine flu because we are soooo prepared. He chastened me that I didn't have my masks and gloves in my car to clean the H1N1 house yesterday. I wasn't prepared - but I am now. If I can make it through the weekend - I am sure I avoided it. I hope, I hope.

Anyway.... Love your comments and that you are soooo healthy in what you eat. I am doing better. It helps to have recipes and try to cook yummy healthy things everyday. Thanks for all of your inspiration.

Small House said...

Postum....my dad drank Postum!! I forgot all about that until I read your post. Funny thing is, in all those years, I have never tried it.

Unfortuneately I missed Oprah. I get off of work when it comes on. I figured it would be wonderful though.

You are quite the mom. And very, very healthy. My poor kids. The quote "If you love your body....." kind of hit me. I guess I don't because I just don't always feed it very well. Certainly going to change that. Thanks for being so positive and inspiring me all the time.

Have a great day.
Sandra

Welcome to the Garden of Egan said...

Good post! I remember Postum from my younger days too.
I'm really sad I missed the Oprah show, I was working in the ER. Hopefully I will be able to find it on youtube or something.

Ann Marie said...

I have never had an Herbal tea.. or some of these "natural remedies.." I will have to try a few of them this year when the yuckiness comes...

My Dad drank Pero when I was little. I havent seen the stuff since then... I remember it being OK.. But not GREAT! When I saw the picture though.. it made me happy!

I LOVE the old brown jar.. so cool.

So glad that you loved Nie. I loved it too. After Oprah.. they had her on the news.. and they said that 2,000 people read her blog daily before the crash.. and now she has over 50,000 visits daily. That is crazy..
She really is an inspiration for me as a good wife and mother. We share alot of differences with eating though.. I admit.. I LOVE steak. :) ~ And other meats occasionally.. ;) I'm sure you both would be GREAT friends in real life.. you have LOTS in commen....

Hope your weekend is fabulous! XO

CB said...

I always remember seeing the sign in the school cafeteria when I was a girl "You are What You Eat". I remember thinking about that alot because I saw it each day.
I have never really used herbel remedies and my mom never did, etc...so these were interesting to me. I have never seen Postum or Pero - I guess I am really out of it.
I am the "handwashing woman!" Ha Ha My kids will tell you that when they come in from school or anywhere it is straight to the bathroom to wash up - I think that curbs alot of germs!
I like the idea of the herbal flu remedies. Taylor had the flu over conference weekend and I gave him a flu medicine that relieve fever, headache and body aches and it really did weird things to him - It really had a scary effect where he slept walked and carried on strange conversations - Anyway it was kinds freaky and so I didn't give it to him again. I'm going to have to try some of these to be prepared because Taylor had that short flu and I cleaned everything really well but I DO NOT want that Swine Flu - Ick!!!

I love NieNie's blog. It was great to see her and her husband on Oprah. It really makes you appreciate the things you can do.

You are so great Kimberly - You know all the best ways to keep your family healthy and strong.

Sorry about the book!

Connie said...

I remember Postum and Pero! But it's been a while since I've seen them in the store or even thought to look for them!
It's refreshing that you take such good care of your family. I can tell that you really do love being a mom and a wife! All your boys are very lucky to have you!
I too loved watching NieNie on Oprah. What a beautiful woman she is!