In Part 4 of the KYN Kitchen Makeover, we get crafty in the kitchen creating home remedies for common ailments with simple ingredients. Many of the ingredients we use will already exist in your kitchen! If you like the idea of using food as medicine, you will love all of these recipes and tips for building a food pharmacy at home!

Cold Remedies

Cold Remedy Tea:

½ lemon juiced

1 Tbsp ginger juice

1 Tbsp raw honey

1 cup hot water

Boil water. In a mug add ginger, lemon, and honey and pour over hot water. Stir, sip, and enjoy.

Suggested Use: 1 - 2 teas/day.

Honey Infusion:

(12oz. Mason jar)

Raw honey

½ Red onion, sliced

4 - 5 cloves garlic, sliced

1 - 2 tsp turmeric powder or 3 - 4 fresh pieces, sliced

5 - 6 slices fresh ginger root

1 jalapeno or ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (OMIT if making for children)

In a glass jar, add your ingredients (whatever you have on hand or prefer to use), cover with raw honey and a tight fitting lid. Allow to sit on the counter for 1 - 2 days and a thinner liquid will form on the top of your mixture.

Suggested Use: 3 tsp/day to help support the immune system in fighting your cold/flu symptoms.

Anti-Everything Apple:

1 apple, sliced

1 - 2 cloves raw garlic, sliced

1 tbsp raw honey

Add raw garlic slice and a dab of honey to each apple slice and snack away!

Suggested Use: 1 apple snack/day

Digestive Remedies

Heartburn Soother:

1 liter filtered water

¼ cup flax seeds OR fresh aloe vera flesh from one leaf (about ¾ cup)

Add flaxseed or aloe to water and allow to sit overnight or for at least 4 hours.

Suggested Use: Sip throughout the day or when you experience heartburn/indigestion.

Ginger EASE Soda:

1 tbsp fresh ginger

1 tbsp raw honey with hot water

1 tsp acv

12 oz. sparkling water

Add 1 tbsp honey to ¼ cup of hot water to dissolve. In a glass, add ice, the dissolved honey water, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, and then add 1 Tbsp of ginger juice (grate fresh ginger and press juice out with fingers). Top your drink off with soda water, stir, and enjoy this refreshing beverage that also helps relieve stomach aches, and nausea.

Suggested Use: 1 glass/day or as needed with stomach pain/nausea

Headache Helpers

Lemon water - hydration and electrolytes

Camomile Tea - has a relaxing and calming effect on the whole body

Peppermint Tea/Peppermint or Eucalyptus Oil - These essential oils have a relaxing effect on the visceral muscles, so will reduce tension headaches, and the aromatics of these herbs open the sinuses which can help relieve pressure headaches.

Suggested Use: Drink water throughout the day and teas, 2 - 3 times per day as you wish.

Skin Remedies

Burn Relief and Healing:

Raw honey (as long as the skin has not opened) can be used on mild burns - raw honey is anti-inflammatory and naturally anti-bacterial.

Aloe vera applied to mild burns is anti-inflammatory, and anti-bacterial, and increases circulation which will promote healing in the affected area.

Suggested Use: apply burn aids 2 - 3x/day - be sure to clean the area properly between applications.

Aloe Lavender Mask:

1 leaf aloe vera, spine removed and skin removed

10 drops lavender essential oil

1 Tbsp jojoba oil

For the lavender aloe mask, we’re combining a carrier oil, Jojoba which is deeply nourishing for the skin and lavender essential oil which reduces inflammation and redness, calms, soothes and heals the skin - if you have sensitive skin, you may want to reduce the amount of essential oil in this recipe and even test this recipe on a small portion of your skin to make sure you don’t have any negative reactions. Next you will use a garlic press to create the aloe gel for this mask. Just whisk everything together well and you can use a soft makeup brush to apply the mask on any desired area. You can leave this mask on for 20 minutes OR longer as long as there is no irritation. Use a warm wet cloth to clean and pat your skin dry.

Suggested Use: 1 - 2x/day or when relief is needed

Oat mask:

¼ cup whole rolled oats, pulsed to a breadcrumb texture

¼ cup water

We combine ground oats with water to create a paste - add more or less water as needed. Apply paste to affected areas and allow to sit and dry 10 - 20 minutes. Clean with water and pat dry.

Suggested Use: 1 - 2x/day or when a skin reaction flares up

Remedies for Aches and Pains

Golden Tea Elixir:

1 cup hot water

1/2 tbsp fresh ginger juice

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp ghee

½ tsp turmeric powder

Crack of black pepper

In a blender, combine hot water, fresh ginger, honey, ghee, turmeric and black pepper. Blend to combine and emulsify and pour into a mug to sip and enjoy.

Suggested Use: 1 - 2 cups/day

Cooling Joint Rub:

1 Tbsp Ghee/Coconut Oil/Jojoba Oil

10 drops peppermint oil

Warming Joint Rub:

1 Tbsp Ghee/Coconut Oil/Jojoba Oil

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

OR 1 tsp crushed raw garlic or ginger

Combine ingredients in a small dish. Apply to sore areas (be sure no open wounds). Allow the rub to sit 5 - 10 minutes to stimulate circulation. Remove with coconut oil and a cloth or wipe.

Suggested Use: 1 - 2x/day or as needed for mild pain relief and healing support. We recommend using the cooling rub for joint pain and the warming rub for joint stiffness.

Stress-Relief Remedies

Wind Down Elixir:

1 cup chamomile or Kava tea (we prefer kava!)

1 tsp cocoa

1 - 2 drops vanilla essence

1 tbsp raw honey

1 Tbsp ghee or unrefined coconut oil

¼ tsp cinnamon

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until creamy and smooth. Pour into a mug, sip and relax.

Suggested Use: 1x/day in the evenings or when you feel stressed.

Food Pharmacy

Recipe