Kids immune function is really being put to the test at the moment! I don’t know about you, but I have seen so many lingering coughs, colds and phlegmy infections not only in clinic, but also in daycare and on the playground. It took a while, but eventually it got to my little girl too. First it was just a cold, hard to avoid really – so I let her immune ride it out and gave her diet a little extra ‘oomph’ to encourage her immune system to fight it.. and it worked well.. for a while. Between daycare and fluctuating temperatures it came back TWICE. In the end it stayed and turned into a phlegmy cough.
So, I turned to herbal medicine. Immune boosting herbs work so well, and often clears any infection within a week – the earlier you catch the infection and start the herbs the easier it is, and can work in only a few days when addressed early. That catch is… some of you may already be familiar with this… Immune herbs are pretty potent, to put it mildly. However, those of you who have already tried to beat a cold or flu (-or worse) with herbal medicine know it’s well worth it, as you will be feeling much better in no time. But try telling that to your toddler!! …So, I did a little experiment, and it turned out so well that I had to share this with you.
I made ice-cube sized jellies, a handy way to hide herbs and several other goodies actually! The added benefit here is; when you use a good quality gelatin you actually make these yummy-herbal-medicine-jellies into a healthy little protein boost. Gelatin is nourishing for the digestive tract due to it’s soothing and healing effect on the gut wall – so for toddlers (and the rest of us) it’s pretty special stuff, they are still working on developing their gut wall and the closely linked immune system. Many parents often worry about their kids protein intake, as most toddlers go straight for the carbohydrates. Well, this is not a bad way to sneak in a little protein to help sustain their energy, mood and blood sugar levels.
I ONLY recommend using a really good quality gelatin-like Great Lakes (you can buy it here) sourced from grass fed cows. The other stuff just won’t cut it, and some even has added MSG, simply unacceptable to feed to anyone - let alone our little ones.
The whole experiment went wonderfully, she calls them her “yummy med’cinetreats”! She is much better and I love that she is getting a nourishing protein boost at the same time! I really suggest this for all you parents at home with lingering sniffily/coughing kiddies.
It’s super easy to make. From squeezing to freezing it only took 10minutes – you can then take them out of the freezer when they have set and keep them in the fridge.
So here’s what I did:
1. I squeezed 3 fresh oranges and heated the juice up till quite warm (not boil) then,
2. I added 1.5 tablespoons of Great Lakes gelatin powder and mixed well to dissolve the powder completely.
3. I let the liquid cool and added 5ml of the special herbal mixture (contact Anna-Maria to get your herbal mixture or you can use a children's immune boosting supplement like vitamin c and zinc powder from the pharmacy) and,
5. To make sure these jellies would go down (after all I’ve really made a good effort here, and really didn’t want to waste all this goodness) I added a frozen raspberry to the ice-cube tray. I got a little helping hand with this from my daughter which also got her excited to try them when once they were ready:
Here’s a few pictures of my girl and the Jellies - nothing fancy as you see, but it works:
You can get the great benefits of gelatin (both if you have a struggling immune system or IBS symptoms) by having chicken broths and bone broth on a regular basis. I highly recommend adding some of this gelatinous-goodness to your daily cooking!
If you have questions regarding your child’s immune system - or your own – and would like to find out what herbs will help you for this home recipe just get in touch.
