Last Updated on April 6, 2023 by Ellen Christian
Looking for homemade flu remedies? Try a cup of my flu survival tea and learn more about natural herbal remedies for when you don’t feel well.
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Homemade Flu Remedies
It’s definitely cold and flu season here in Vermont. Everyone we know seems to have the sniffles or some other form of the flu. I don’t generally run for traditional medication every time I feel a bit off.
I believe that there are herbal remedies for most illnesses. After all, our ancestors couldn’t run to the drug store two hundred years ago when they had a cold.
There must have been some sort of homemade flu remedies that they turned to instead. When I received Feasting on Food Storage for review, I was thrilled to find a section on home remedies included in the book.
What is the best homemade tea for when you’re sick?
According to the book, this is a powerful herbal tea that seems to be especially effective in treating the prevalent viruses of today. You should tore herbs in a covered container in a cool, dry area until needed.
I can find some of these herbs in our back yard (peppermint, comfrey, red raspberry leaves, red clover) but the others I need to purchase from our natural food coop.
You can also purchase them online if you cannot find them locally. This spring, you could also plant some in your yard so that you have them available in the summer to dry and store for use throughout the year.
Keep reading for my recipe.
How many cups does this make?
There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon so in order to make this in a smaller dosage, I added one tsp of each herb to the boiling water. This makes roughly three cups of tea or about enough tea for a day.
You can make it by the day or by the week as you prefer. I heated my tea up before drinking it because it’s winter and I’m cold. If it were summer time, I could enjoy it as iced tea.
How do you make homemade flu remedies?
I stirred in a little bit of local honey for added health benefits. Then I took my cup of tea to the couch with a good book. I love knowing that I can stay healthy with homemade flu remedies instead of running to the drug store every time I have a sniffle.
Some day, I may need to rely on what we’ve grown in our yard and when that happens, I’m prepared.
Feasting on Food Storage: Delicious and Healthy Recipes for Everyday Cooking is written by Jane Merrill and Karen Sunderland. It contains over 200 recipes to rotate and use your short and long term food storage. There are bonus sections for baby food, home remedies and even gluten free options.
Feasting on Food Storage review
If you have created or are in the process of creating food storage for emergency preparedness, you’ll know the importance of rotating your stock. These meals will let you use your food storage. This will save you money and keep you prepared for any emergency.
I was very pleased to find out that these recipes are very healthy for the most part even though they are prepared with mostly canned or packaged ingredients. This book also contains tips and tricks on meal planning, water storage, short and long-term storage goals, etc.
Feasting on Food Storage is definitely a book you’ll want to keep in your emergency pantry!
Like home remedies? Try my detox ginger bath tea recipe. And, stock up on these medicine cabinet essentials.
Flu Survival Tea
Looking for homemade flu remedies? Try a cup of my flu survival tea and learn more about natural herbal remedies for when you don't feel well.
Ingredients
- chamomile
- comfrey leaf
- peppermint
- red clover
- rose hips
- yarrow
- red raspberry leaves
- 8 cups pure water
Instructions
- Use one tea bag or one tablespoon of each herb.
- Bring water to a boil in a stainless steel saucepan.
- Add herbs, cover and steep for 30 - 40 minutes.
- Strain tea into a large pitcher or jar.
- Cover and refrigerate.
- Drink one glass at a time, as often as desired.
- Drink at least 4 or more glasses a day for 3-4 days or as needed.
- Tea is very effective.
- Double recipe if desired.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
3Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 43Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 28mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 0g
Ellen is a busy mom of a 24-year-old son and 29-year-old daughter. She owns six blogs and is addicted to social media. She believes that it doesn’t have to be difficult to lead a healthy life. She shares simple healthy living tips to show busy women how to lead fulfilling lives. If you’d like to work together, email info@confessionsofanover-workedmom.com to chat.
I do not know what could be better then tea during flu season. Thank you for instructions!
I totally agree, Amelia!
Thank you for this recipe … just in time with MY personal flu season. I’ve never seen red raspberry leaves. I hope they have them at my local herb store.
Hope you are feeling better soon!
That tea looks incredible and I love how natural it is! I think people have lost touch with the herbal and natural world and rely on western medicine way too much these days.
My mom and dad are both into emergency preparedness so I’ll be sure to pass along the information on this book! 🙂
I totally agree, Kayla. I always look for natural solutions rather than western medicine first.
This is fantastic! I will definitely give it a try!
Hope it works well for you!
I do loose leaf tea, ginger and pepper but this sounds like such a great mixture.
That sounds like a great combination!
Tea always makes me feel better when I am sick, and this will be a great help in cold season, thanks.
Me too, Susan! Thanks for stopping by.
love that this is a natural remedy. we have so far skipped out on being sick this year but i will keep this recipe handly in case something happens.
Always best to be prepared!
We could use this. We have a lot of sickness in our house right now.
Hope you are all well soon!
If I had most of them handy like you do, I’d probably do this regularly!
Time to stock up, Liz!
Love these ideas vs. taking other products filled with dyes and other harmful ingredients! Thank you for sharing!
Same here! It is so much healthier!
We always drink hot water with lemon and honey when we have sore throats. I think I will give this a try if we get ill this winter.
Lemon would certainly work well added to this too!
I’m not a tea drinker, even when sick but my mom is. She loves herbal teas too so thanks for sharing.
Glad to. Hope she enjoys it if she tries it.
Thanks for sharing.. I love home remedies… this is right up my ally.. SOO will pin it in case I need it (Would love to say that I don’t ever want to use it)…
I can totally relate! I don’t want to have to use it either!
This tea sounds amazing. I am short a few ingredients, but over the weekend I can restock and make sure to have this on hand. I am sure it will come in handy since its peak flu season.
Definitely! I need to dry more this summer!
My house has been infected with the flu for the past month. We will definitely have to try this. Thanks for sharing.
Seems so many people are sick now. Hope you feel better soon!
There’s nothing like loose leaf tea for a remedy. I will try this next time I’m sick. Bookmarking!
Thanks, Nancy! I agree completely!
Ellen, I think I need to try this; we all have the flu right now, and this sounds soothing just reading it.
Hope you all feel better soon!
This is great! I had the H1N1 flu last month and it was terrible!
Oh not that’s just awful!
I’ve tried some herbal teas for various ailments but not one for the flu. This looks like a great one to start with.
It’s very easy & tastes pretty good!
My mom would always make a tea from Red Raspberry leaves when we were sick as kids. And then we had to take a lot of herbal supplements like echinacia, zinc, and such. As much as I disliked it as a kid, I have to admit it really did help a lot. I think I would prefer this herbal tea concoction better than plain raspberry leaves though. And still you would be getting the benefit of so many herbs all at once.
We take supplements too but I agree, the peppermint, etc. help the taste of the raspberry leaves.
this is hands down the prettiest flu remedy EVER, ellen. and i will totally be using this recipe
Thanks, Brett! It really works well for us.
Thanks, this will come in handy! We’re just starting to get the sniffles over here!
Hope you are all better soon!
I would totally try this. Love natural remedies!
Me too, Jennifer! Always my first choice.
Hmmm what could it hurt to try? And perfect timing for us as the whole house is coming down with something now… it couldn’t possibly be a worse time, either.
Hope you all feel better soon!
I love tea when I am sick as it is so soothing. My boys love it also and drink it every night
I totally agree, Tara. It’s one of my favorite ways to feel better.
That is so cool you have all those herbs growing in your yard. Hot tea feels so good on my throat when I’m sick.
I really enjoy gardening. I hope to add even more this spring!
We love tea, but the sweeter the better! Looks like an interesting one to try.
You could always add a bit more honey!
I dink a lot of tea, especially during this time of year. It really does help me feel better when Im sick!
I agree, Diane. Tea is very soothing.
Oh wow thanks for much for this our whole family has been sick!
Hope you all feel better soon!