Immunity Fire Cider

I would like to say Happy Holidays this year with a little immunity boost🎄Germs abound in flu season and you can have this simple witch’s brew on hand to combat viruses, bacteria, parasites, and inflammation 🌶️This tonic has got all the goods, so head to the store, grab your ingredients of choice, and whip this up 30 days before deep winter ❄️

In good health,

OneandahalfSlices

what you need

1-2 heads of fresh garlic

1 cup raw honey

2-3 fresh red chili peppers

1 large knob of fresh turmeric

2-3 knobs of fresh ginger

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

6-8 whole cloves

3-4 star anise

Several peppercorns worth of crushed black pepper

5-6 whole cardamom pods

1-2 lemons, washed, cut into quarters

16oz raw apple cider vinegar

1 small red onion, peeled and cut into quarters

(optional) 1 orange, washed, cut into quarters

(optional) any fresh herbs (like rosemary) or flowers (like calendula or lemon balm)

how to make it

**note: fire cider takes about 30 days, so start your winter batch early!

Place all ingredients into an extra large mason jar. Pour in the cup of honey and then add the apple cider vinegar so the liquid covers the top of the ingredients in the jar.

Shake several times lightly and let sit on the counter at room temperature for 30-60 days.

Give the jar a nice shake when you’re ready to prepare and then strain the liquid into a large jar.

Take the fire cider 1-2 tablespoons at a time at the first signs of a cold or flu. Or you can take daily if you can stand the extra spicy, extra garlick-y flavor.

*Note: both honey and apple cider vinegar are astringents. They work to pull the beneficial properties of all the jar’s contents (e.g., fresh turmeric root and ginger), into the liquid. So the remaining liquid basically functions as an anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic immunity shot for general holistic health and wellness.

If you are looking for such a concoction in a tastier form, you can just make my immunity soup 🙂