It’s that time of year again, when one kid comes home with a sniffle that turns into an entire family affair. Get ahead of the annual cold and flu season by making your own immune-boosting elderberry syrup!
A lot of the elderberry syrup in stores contains alcohol, which I was uncomfortable giving to my toddler. So this is why I started making my own! This is safe for the whole family, and really reduces our sick days, which is a huge win!
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups water
2/3 cup dried elderberries (I get these on Amazon!)
1/2 tsp dried ginger (or 2 Tbsp. grated ginger)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 cup raw honey
Directions:
- Pour the water into a medium saucepan and add the elderberries, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.
- Bring to a boil and then uncover and reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to half.
- Remove from heat and let cool until lukewarm.
- Pour through a strainer or cheesecloth into a glass jar or bowl, and mash the elderberries to get all the liquid out.
- Discard the elderberries.
- When the liquid is cooled, add a cup of honey and stir well. (I put it all in a quart-size mason jar with a lid and shake well to mix!)
- Store in a sealed container in the fridge and take 1 tsp. daily for its immune-boosting properties.
We usually mix it into a glass of juice, a cup of yogurt, or oatmeal!
Best if used within 2 weeks.
Servings: Approx. 80 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
