As a rule, all parents know that their kids are different from each other. This difference can be viewed in different ways—with my kiddos it is very evident in their tolerance and ability to take supplements. As winter rolls around, it’s easy to support our kids’ immunity by giving them some basic supplements to boost their immunity while they spend their days with lots of other children that may be sick. My son has no problems swallowing supplements—he definitely takes after my husband! My daughter, on the other hand, is much more ‘picky’. Last summer, my sister-in-law taught me a fantastic immune-boosting and digestion supporting recipe using ginger and lemon. Follow the directions below and once you have the concentrate, you can leave it in the fridge for over a week and it will still be fresh in a covered jar. One tablespoon per day in your water bottle or in a ‘ginger/lemon tea’ will leave you feeling refreshed and also more resilient!
Ginger & Lemon Concentrate
Ingredients
- 1 whole lemon
- Large piece of ginger root
Special Equipment:
- Nut Bag: You can purchase one at Whole Foods or through Amazon
- Squeeze 1 whole lemon into your blender
- Chop up whole ‘large’ ginger with peel and add to blender (make sure you chop it into smaller chunks if you don’t have a high-powered blender.
- Purée (you’ll need to use blender stopper if you have one, to help push ginger down into blade)
- Pour mixture into nut bag over bowl (you can find nut bags at Whole Foods Market or through amazon.com)
- Squeeze juice through nut bag into bowl and then pour into container
- Store juice in air tight container in fridge
- Discard ginger fiber (or store in freezer in chunks to use in cooking)
- Add 1-2 Tablespoons to glass of water or make into tea with 1 teaspoon of honey
Enjoy!
Dr. Ayelet Connell, PhD, PT, IMT, C is President and owner of Integrative Wellness & Physical Therapy in Bloomfield CT, a wellness center offering Physical Therapy, Integrative Manual Therapy, Chiropractic, Acupuncture, and nutritional wellness. Ayelet is a natural health expert and has written and published many articles on the subject. She is a Physical Therapist and Certified Integrative Manual Therapist and has taught courses all over the world in Holistic Physical Therapy. Ayelet is also a local of this community and has been living in the Greater Hartford area for many years, where she integrates a healthy lifestyle at home with her wonderful family.