ottawa foodies

Ok, I'm looking for suggestions on how to beat a cold in the heat. I went on vacation for a week and came home with a case of the sniffles (and then some). I attribute this to long days (too much partying), too much sun, followed by hours & hours on the way home sitting in a very air conditioned car. Having a cold in the winter is one thing, having one in the summer really sucks!

I'm hot and miserable, achey, somewhat cranky and seem to be on day 3 of the same headache. In the winter it's somewhat easy to curl up on the couch with a big blanket, but in the summer just getting comfortable is a feat (there are only so many layers a person can peel off and maintain their composure). I've found that the usual hot drink remedies (neocitran, chicken soup, hot toddy, tea with lemon etc), aren't that successful... all they do is make me that much hotter. Does anyone know of anything COLD that might make me feel better? Are there home remedies that are based on chilled ingredients?

Oh well at least I have the remote control (and a laptop) to pass the time... the Olympics have been a real godsend!

Drinking your orange juice in popsicle form, or smoothies based in orange juice, gingerale and ice cubes.

Drinking iced tea from chamomile or mint which will help for sore throats. Hydration is soooooo important here. Chamomile is also key in a stuffy nose cure: www.familyherbalremedies.com I know you don't want to sit over a thing of steam, but possibly if you make a warm bath with this....
Your iced teas should be made with lemon and ginger and honey since ginger and honey are great for the immune system and lemon is full of vitamin C

As for food, garlic is a natural home remedy: so on salads, or in whatever it is that you can keep down.

Get better!

I'd recommend lots of cold herbal tea and a vitamin supplement. Nothing beats good hydration and letting your immune system do it's thing.

A most refreshing tea to meet your needs would be the PC Moroccan-style Mint Green Tea: www.presidentschoice.ca

Food&Think My sympathies go out to you! I had a summer cold once and I get seasonal allergies to boot so for one week of my life I reeeeally couldn't breathe! I also caught my cold during a trip and I wish I could have blamed it on partying. But alas I went to Toronto during the hottest week of the year and alternated between one day walking tours outside in the sweltering heat then one day museum visits with air conditioning cranked up so high I could see my breath! Lady who Brunches offered some great tips and I would like to echo the garlic suggestion - garlic seems to nuke germs very well. And if you get tired of the Olympics there is always Rachael Ray, Living in Ottawa, and the Young and the Restless... (I was off for one week of sick leave last fall and now I have the tv schedule memorized!) Hope you feel better soooon!

ginger tea and echinacea. take about 500 ml. of water 1/2 lemon thinly sliced 3 tbsp. of good local honey and about a 3" piece of ginger thinly sliced. Bring to a boil and pour into to tea pot. drink hot or cold it helps sniffles, hangovers, upset tummies and just about any form of the dreaded lurgy.

I'm seconding FF's recommendation on the PC Mint Green Tea, except I add some lemon zinger herbal tea to the mix to add a little ZING to the iced tea mix. Delicious!!

Anyone know how to use (or dry then use) echinaccea flowers? we have a bunch growing

I seem to remember recent research showing that health claims about echinacea are bunk. Why not try chrysanthemum instead (the Chinese have been using it to boost immunity for a very long time). Coincidentally, I feel the aches and throat tickle of a cold coming on, so I'm sitting down with a hot pot of Chrysanthemum and Pu Erh tea and resting a bit.

Ahh... good call FF. Also, Koreans use ginseng tea, which I've tried. Too bad it tastes like arse!

Ha, ha, ha! That's hilarious FF!

"Home remedy A is bunk. Try home remedy B instead!". Why does the ABC commercial come to mind? "I don't see the difference, do you see the difference?"

I'm sure there has been research showing that chrysanthemum is bunk too :-)

Hi Everyone

Ok, I've taken bits and pieces from what everyone has posted...

So I'm doing the Iced Tea (a mix of green tea & white tea) with lemon and ginger (alas I'm out of honey), and I prepared it as to Bruce-the-Chef's instructions. Got to say it tastes good!

I've also taken my daily vitamins, have popped some echinacea tabs, and find myself chewing every now and then on a Vitaminc C caplet.

Pasta Lover & Fresh Foodie - Getting sick after going on vacation sucks! I think all 3 of us seem to have connected-the-dots here it has got to have something to do with intense air conditioning, I'm convinced. That and travelling puts one in contact with a whole lot of unfamiliar germs, especially if one is using any form of public transit.

My fave site for home remedies is www.earthclinic.com (not strictly food related true, but most remedies reccomended are ingredients normally found in your pantry). Click on the "CURES" tab at the top of the earthclinic screen to find a list of several ailments - once you click on an ailment you will be taken to a page of possible remedies and user "reviews" of how well it worked (or didn't work). There are pet remedies too!

Maybe a COLD TODDY, throw a shot of whiskey in that ice tea.

Can't hurt, might help. You may still have the cold, but you won't care!

Hi Everyone

Thanks for your kind advice, I am feeling much better. Without your input I never would have otherwise thought of turning the standard Hot Tea Remedy (tea - lemon - honey) into a cold version. And it worked out pretty good, and tasted better than I could have imagined.

Olivers Rock - LOL, fortunately for me I stayed away from the Whiskey, but now that I'm feeling better I'm beginning to wonder about what one could mix with ice tea ?

You have to ask F&T? Vodka, Tequila, Gin, and Rum, and imagine you're in Long Island drinking it ;-)

Drink enough of them and you will think you are ON Long Island !!

Oh course I'm speaking from experience here.

Pete & Captain C - I of course have heard of Long Island Ice Tea, but I was more referring to drinks using actual iced tea. Anyhow... I did a little googling and found The Webtender website www.webtender.com this site is kind of cool cause you can search by ingredient, it gave me a list of 2,989 possibilities. LOL

One of the first on the list was a JOHN DALY
made with Absolut Citron, Triple Sec, Lemonade and Ice Tea...
now this concoction has potential!

Cheers!