God's amazing creations...

(As I'm recommending a lot more products and supplements now, the name is also a hyperlink taking you to the website for further information. :D)

Well first of all...it's gorgeous today!!! I am addicted to days like this. However, as I came down sick last night...I have not been able to enjoy it to the fullest.

About 2 this morning...I started feeling crappy - stuffed up, dizzy, chills, the whole nine yards. I took two tylenol to lower the fever and went to bed. When I woke up this morning, my fever was at 104 so I made an executive decision and decided to rest rather than walk my flaming self to class. I was incredibly achy and weak so bed sounded better than Ancient Rome anyway. I did grab my water bottle and a glass of Simply Apple juice which I highly recommend as it 100% straight apple, not from concentrate. (It's about 3 bucks for a jug at Wal-Mart). Anyway, I woke up 6 hours later and felt a little bit better. Another big glass of water and another of apple juice and I set off to find some more natural remedies.

Stillwater has this cute little natural foods store that I love. There I found the most glorious throat lozenges ever (my throat feels like somebody poured broken glass down it.) I got the Zand Echinacea Zing lozenges - wild cherry flavor. I got a bag of 15 for $2.39 which had me jumping up and down. The amazing thing is that they take "all natural" to a new level. Using organic rice syrup as a sweetener - there is no sugar! No corn syrup, dextrose, not even pure cane. It also is composed of herbs, extracts, and natural cherry flavor - making it a very healthy option. Amazingly, they work like a dream. I sucked on one while I was in Wal-Mart and within 5 minutes my throat was soothed without the heavy coating you feel with unnatural lozenges. I thoroughly recommend them!!

As this new lifestyle has made me an herbal tea aficiando, I knew that finding one formulated to help with colds would be very useful and it wouldn't break the all natural streak I'm on. There were many to choose from all over Stillwater, but the most cost effective (at $2.49) was Good Earth's Tea for Colds and Cough Supressant. I'm actually just finishing a cup right now. It contains Meadowsweet flower, peppermint oil-menthol, Wild Thyme, Licorice root, plaintain leaf, juice of Echinacea, and elder flower. Believe it or not, the combination tastes wonderful. Mildly sweet, and without the bitter, pungent taste often associated with herbal teas. It's very soothing to the throat and the vapors helped clear my head. I also haven't coughed at all since I started drinking it....so I give it my seal of approval! It is pharmaceutical grade so it recommends the approval of a doctor for kids...but I would think it would be a better alternative for munchkins than guzzling tons of cough syrup that has a lot of other chemicals unneeded by the body.

Also recommended (and my splurge for the month) was Kalahari Cafe's Artisan Chocolatte Green Tea - Matcha mint. If that sounds sinful....it isn't :). It's delicious and once again - all natural and good for you. With the exception of a small piece of chocolate cake, I have not eaten any sweets other than fruits for almost a month now (woohoo!). This tea was bought to help serve as a dessert when I was craving chocolate. And I must say............WOW! It's like liquid peppermint patty...it takes indulgence to a whole new level. It contains organic sencha and matcha green teas, organic peppermint, organic dark roasted cacao, and organic chocolate flavor. I have not tried the other varities yet (cherry vanilla, hazlenut mocha, orange ginger, and raspberry truffle) but I'm anxious to. Price wise, the website has it listed for $4.99 and I believe I got it in the store for $5.99 so I would say buy in bulk online and it will be the most affordable.

Needless to say, with this combination of pure apple juice, rest, water, tea for colds, natural lozenges, and some chocolatte to cheer me up....I feel so much better than I did this morning!! And the only thing I took that was unnatural was two tylenol to lower my fever before bed last night (per Mom's orders).

I also want to recommend the book that Mom and I have basing our food choices off of in this new lifestyle: Prescription for Dietary Wellness by Phyllis A. Balch. It is by far the most inexhaustible resource we could find at Whole Foods and then we bought it off of amazon. :) The text takes you through a thorough overview of the immune system and how your body responds to food. Then she talks about each major food group and its constituents, listing off the pros and cons, as well as having several appendices prescribing fruits, vegetables, grains, and other natural remedies. So far, I've combatted two of my health issues by eating more of the things recommended and less of the things that aggravate it. This books is a huge blessing and gives you a great guide to changing your diet and your methods of treatment. For example, when I use to use anti-inflammatories for my bad knee...I now use a tea made of ginger root. More affordable, less toxic, and overall a healthier alternative.

The only thing I'm still feeling that I haven't found a remedy for is my runny nose...but considering how much better I feel overall...I think my nose can run a bit if it wants :).

Happy chocolate tea drinking :D

Bethany