Homemade Cough Syrup

Whenever possible, I like to have a home remedy when anyone in my family isn’t feeling well. I think when we fuel our body with what nature provided us, we can begin feeling relief when the remedy is made properly and used properly. Don’t get me wrong, when medicine is needed for infections, etc I am not against that. I will always choose to try to treat sicknesses in a holistic way to start.

This homemade cough syrup works really well. It uses filtered water, thyme, honey and lemon juice and zest. Thyme is a natural expectorant so it helps clear mucus build up and it also is an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral herb. The honey soothes and has antibacterial properties–which if you know me, I am a huge fan of honey.

Here’s what you need to make it:

• 5 cups filtered water
• handful of thyme
• juice of 2 lemons
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup honey

Here’s how you make it:

• Add water to a pot with thyme and zest of the lemon. Bring that to a boil for 25-30 minutes.
• Add the juice of 2 lemons and honey to a glass jar.
• Once the thyme water is done, let it cool for a few minutes before pouring over the honey and lemon juice. Honey has antibacterial properties so letting the water cool a little bit before adding it to the glass jar avoids hurting the honey’s benefits.

To use, I take 1 tbsp every couple of hours as needed. I store it in my favorite Weck jars and place it in the fridge. This lasts for a while so I make it when someone is getting a cough and usually just store it in the fridge and use it as needed.