Warming up with a Hot Tonny — William Charleton

We tend to get sick in the winter because we spend less time outdoors, in the sun and grounded. I would say most people are also less active in the winter. I'm not excusing myself from any of that. So it's the middle of January, it's cold out and I've felt better. I've heard several people swear by the Hot Toddy this season so far, and tried on in Montana. Not bad! And I think there's something true about it helping with colds.

Today, feeling slightly under the weather, I went out to get some comfort food and decided to get hot toddy supplies. Traditional hot toddy I think is warm water, lemon and whiskey. Or something like that. I switched mine up. I made a clove, ginger and turmeric tea. Just sliced the roots up, brought the water to a boil and then down to just under a simmer for a while. Until the water was pretty yellow.

I wore a cape for the duration of this recipe

I like using distilled water because it really draws out the flavors/nutrients. The ginger is great for settling the stomach, and helps get blood flowing. Cloves also aid digestion, but have antiparasitic, antioxidant and anesthetic properties too. I added turmeric mostly because I love the flavor. I guess we'll focus on it's mood-lifting properties, because that's always nice, I don't think I need to go into the benefits of honey and lemon, as I think they're staples in most people's diets. Hope they are anyway. Combine all that with a little alcohol, which acts as a decongestant and delivery system and you've got a cold-fighter that will also help put you to sleep.

I poured a little bit of Four Roses into my biggest glass. Four Roses is Kentucky bourbon made with 100% non gmo corn. That's great! I don't know anything about liquors, but I know this is non gmo, not a bad flavor and cheap. Alcohol can be a great delivery system, in small quantities and can also help clear heat from the liver. I squeezed a quarter of a lemon into the glass and dropped it in. I poured the tea over, adding about a half a tablespoon of raw honey and a cinnamon stick. I don't think it's ceylon, but it's a nice effect. I don't usually like adding honey to hot things, but I do enjoy this hotter rather than colder. I want to break a sweat.

I had pulled out a few options to add, but only went through with the colloidal silver. The lemon essential oil can be strong, and the turmeric extract, while great, can be tough to work with. Colloidal silver is great for a number of reasons. It's antiviral and antibacterial. Why do you think people originally made silverware. If you're not eating off silver, I highly recommend it.

Sorry if this post is disorganized, I had a hot toddy while I wrote it.