Cold/Flu

Celestial Seasonings Echinacea Complete Care tea has found its way into my teacup, so it's fair to say that cold and flu season is here. I generally work really hard to stay healthy through the winter, and I'm usually pretty successful. Though I often feel like I'm catching something, I rarely have a full-blown cold/flu (knock on wood). When I start to feel like I am coming down with something, I've found these precautions to be extremely helpful in fighting it off:

Echinacea: taken at the first twinge of a sore throat or body ache, I think this stuff really works. However, half of the secret is believing, like Santa. It loses its magic if you don't believe.

Emergen-C/Airborne: I think it really tastes gross (Aaron won't even drink it) but I notice improvement within a couple of hours, if I take it early enough.

Gargle: take warm salt water and gargle repeatedly. Swab the inside of your nose with it, too. It helps.

Hot beverages: I think it is related to the warm gargle thing. The steam helps you rid the germs.

Lots of fluids: flush those bad boys out of your system.

soup: At the first sign of feeling a little under the weather, I crack out the miso paste. Aaron knows that if I am in the kitchen standing over a broth he should look out because I don't feel good. I think that this is also related to the gargle, as it is basically hot salt water, when you break it down. I also think that putting as many vitamin-rich things in it as possible and some protein will help you boost your immune system. Adding some noodles for carbs doesn't hurt, either. I find that when I don't feel good, soup is all I want. I put onions, carrots, spinach, seaweed, rice noodles and lots of other stuff into my miso soup. It usually makes me feel better within a few hours. When I'm really sick, it's chicken soup all the way.

Hot shower: kick out those germs.

Washing hands: I try not to touch my face and I usually wash my hands before and after I use the restroom.

A good night's sleep: even if it means taking something to help you stay asleep, sometimes it is what your body needs.

Keeping distance: I feel like Kramer, but I catch myself literally wince and back away when someone coughs around me. I also notice that I'm really bad about giving people dirty looks when they are sick in public. I may have yelled at a lady on an airplane about not wearing a face mask because she was coughing all over the place. I may have made her change seats. *cringe* Whatever, I want to stay healthy. I think that once you have that first cold of the season, it is really hard to get your immune system back in 100% working order, so putting that off for as long as possible is key.

kitchen classification assignment

Just in case you were wondering, here are the contents of my spice cupboard, cataloged for a class.

Spices

Bulk

Cloves (whole, bulk)

Pepper, crushed red (bulk)

Small containers

Individual spices

Ajwain

Allspice (ground)

Anise

Anise (ground)

Anise (star)

Anise seed (x2)

Asafoetida powder

Bay leaves

Caraway

Cardamom

Celery seed

Cinnamon

Cinnamon (ground)

Cinnamon (stick)

Cloves

Cloves (ground)

Cloves (whole)

Coriander

Coriander (ground)

Coriander flakes

Coriander seeds

Cumin

Fenugreek

Garlic powder

Ginger (ground)

Kasoori methi

Lemon grass

Lemon grass (coarse)

Lemon grass (ground)

Mango powder

Mint

Mint (ground)

Mint (whole leaf)

Mustard seed

Nutmeg (ground)

Onion seeds

Oregano (x2)

Paprika (unlabeled)

Pepper

Pepper, black

Pepper, cayenne (x2)

Pepper, crushed red

Poppy seeds

Rosemary

Sage (unbottled)

Salt

Salt, sea

Salt, red (x2, unlabeled)

Salt, table

Sesame seeds, black

Thyme (x2)

Turmeric (ground)

Spice mixes

Bell’s seasoning

Bharat spice mix (labeled in Hebrew)

Cajun seasoning mix

Chili powder

Coffee Spices (x2)

Curry powder (x2, one unlabeled, one mislabeled)

Garam masala

Kansas City steak seasoning

Mulling spices

Mrs. Dash

Pilau masala mix

Salsa spice mix (hot)

Spaghetti sauce spice mix (unlabeled)

Tandoori spice mix

Za’atar (labeled in Hebrew)

Baking supplies

Cream of tartar

Extract

Almond extract

Anise extract

Cinnamon oil

Rose oil

Vanilla extract

Food coloring

Nonpareils, multicolored

Pumpkin pie spice mix

Sprinkles

Sprinkles, green (green apple flavor)

Sprinkles, green

Sprinkles, red

Vanilla bean

Other

Bulk

Honey (bulk)

11 empty jars

Grinding Instruments

Electric grinder

Mortar and pestle

Honey

Honey (cheap)

Honey (artisan: 4 instances)