Natural Cold Remedies From The Kitchen: How We Ease The Sniffles

I love hot toddies, but sometimes you need something you can also drink at work.

Winter cold season is when people really start to bandy about the following phrase: "feed a cold, starve a fever." I don't know much about starving anything as a remedy, but I sure do know a thing or two about eating and drinking things. As a person prone to colds in the winter months, I've started to develop some tricks to make it just a little more bearable. We've talked before about what to eat when you have a cold, so today, let's talk about what to drink. Well, more specifically, what I drink.

Let's be clear: I am not a medical professional and have no idea how medicine works. With that being said, I've got a few cold remedies that come out of my kitchen which help make the sniffles just a little bit bearable. The one I want to talk to you about today sounds absolutely insane -- right up until the moment when you try it and it works. I get a very specific kind of cold. It comes with sinus pressure, head congestion and an eventual, punishing cough. Sound familiar? Great. Here's what I want you to do: boil some water, pour it over a ton of honey and lemon juice and then dash in enough Tabasco sauce to make it look scary.

I know -- yikes, right? Here is why this works: the hot water and honey soothe your ragged throat, the lemon gives you a shot of vitamin C and the Tabasco? Well, the Tabasco is just kind of magical. It gives you the sinus clearing, nose-running feeling of eating hot chiles when you're sick, and also serves to reinforce the honey's warming effect on your throat. Listen, guys, there is only so much tea you can drink when you're sick, and then you turn to stuff like this. I love hot toddies, but sometimes you need something you can also drink at work.

This concoction quiets my cough instantly, isn't too sweet to drink a lot of and isn't terrible for you. You trust me, right?

Rebecca's Tabasco Toddy
1 tablespoon honey
Juice of half a lemon
Boiling water
Tabasco to taste

Boil enough water to fill a big mug. Mix honey and lemon together in the bottom of the mug. When water is ready, pour over the honey mixture and stir until dissolved. Dash in Tabasco sauce to your liking (I usually use around three shakes), and give it a final stir. Drink while it's hot.

What's your weirdest homemade cold remedy? Let us know in the comments!

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