With the winter season upon us, one of my favorite ways to fight off any cold/flu symptoms is with fresh lemons.  Lemons are high in vitamin C and pectin and considered to be a very effective anti-viral/antibacterial/anti-inflammatory agent.  If I’m making a recipe that calls for lemon zest, I squeeze the juice and freeze it….or if the recipe calls for lemon juice, I save the zest in any remaining lemon juice and freeze it.  Ice cube trays are convenient for this.

If you ingest a fair amount of processed foods, your body is probably acidic, which lends itself to illness.  Cells need to be alkaline to properly function.  Ironically, highly acidic lemon juice helps your body to become alkaline.

Note:  to preserve your tooth enamel, do NOT brush your teeth within a half hour of ingesting lemon juice.

For a sore throat:  Mix 2 Tbl fresh lemon juice with 1 tsp salt and 1 cup of warm water.  Gargle 3 times a day for 1 minute durations.  This only takes 1 or 2 days at most to get rid of the sore throat.

Classic Hot Toddy:  Heat 1 cup hot water or apple cider (do not boil) just to the simmer point, then turn off heat.  Meanwhile, measure 2 oz whiskey or bourbon, 1 Tbl fresh lemon juice and 1 Tbl manuka honey into a mug.  Pour hot water/cider over the ingredients.  Stir with a cinnamon stick until honey dissolves.  (the stick can be washed off and dried to be used over and over again).