My Wellness Tea (Soy, Milk, Egg, Wheat, Fish and Nut-Free)

I don't know about you, but this is the time of year that sickness, normally in the form of head colds, strep and/or sinus infections, run amuck in our house.  It seems one kid gets it, then it's passed around until eventually (no matter how hard I try to prevent it) I end up with the crud, too.  Joy.  Thankfully, this year I came up with a tea-based mixture that helped my symptoms a LOT, and helped speed up my recovery tremendously.  My kiddos aren't tea drinkers, so they couldn't benefit from this wonderful concoction, but I wanted to pass it on to you so that you can.

I've bought wellness teas before, and you know what most of them contain?  Artificial colors, artificial flavors, soy...How in the world can they market those teas as "wellness" if they contain stuff that can make you, well...not well!  Just doesn't make sense to me!  Anyway, I digress.  This is my healthier, all natural, allergy-friendly alternative to the wellness teas you find in the stores.  It's soy (if you use all soy-free ingredients), wheat, nut, egg, milk and fish-free.  For those of you who are refined sugar-free, it is that as well.  Happy, happy, joy, joy! :) 

My Wellness Tea

1 to 2 Cups hot water

1 soy-free Chai tea bag (I recommend Tazo's Organic Chai)

1 1/2 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice (fresh or bottled is your choice)

1 to 2 Tablespoons honey

(I use clover, but you can use whatever type you like including raw honey)

1. Combine the water and a tea bag in a large mug and let steep for 5 minutes; discard tea bag. (Note: Amount of water depends on the size of your mug.)
    
2. Add lemon juice and honey to the mug; stir well. (Note: The amount of lemon juice and honey you use is based on preference as much as it is on size of the mug.  Generally, if you use a smaller mug, you'll want to go with the smaller amounts of lemon juice and honey, and if you use a larger mug, you'll want to go with the greater, but do what tastes best to you.)
    
3. Enjoy.

 What I love about this tea is that it's got honey which soothes a sore throat and helps a cough, lemon juice which gives you some Vitamin C which helps with your immunity and Chai is loaded with wonderful spices that help settle the stomach, open the nasal passages and help speed recovery.  Really and truly, it shortened my misery by a few days (I'm sure all the vitamins I'm on helped, too), and it helped my throat when nothing else did.  Besides, a steamy, hot cup of tea is wonderful to hold and the steam doesn't hurt when you've got a plugged up nose!

I hope you enjoy this recipe and that it can be of help to you when you're not feeling your best!

What are your "go to" recipes when you're not feeling well?

(This recipe was originally posted on my original site, Natural and Free.)