a simple DIY :: homemade elderberry syrup

Cold and flu season is upon us!

There are so many natural things you can do to boost your immune system and give it a fighting chance against the bugs that will inevitably come their way.

Preface! I am NOT a doctor! This is what I do for MY family to keep our immune systems in top form. Obviously see your doctor if you or your kiddos have something going on 🙂

Here is a list of things we use most of the year, but bulk up a bit in the fall and winter:

1. Homemade chicken stock and/or beef stock in soups or in a mug most days of the week
2. Cod liver oil daily (fermented CLO has vitamin D as well)
3. Multivitamin/multimineral daily
4. Elderberry syrup most days of the week in the fall/winter

When one of us is coming down with something, I’ll add in extra vitamin C, echinacea tea or drops, and increase the stock drinking and elderberry syrup.

I will be honest, we really rarely get sick – myself and my husband have been sick a couple times in the last few YEARS. My girls have been sick a handful of times ever, and have only needed to see the doctor for well baby check-ups. Did you know it is ok to clean yourself out with a cold every once and a while? It’s good housekeeping! Read THIS great article on why it is a good thing to get sick here and there.

But just because you get sick doesn’t mean you can’t give your immune system a fighting chance to kick out FAST. I haven’t had one of my kids sick for more than a few days. I’m not saying it won’t ever happen longer, but I am convinced that you can boost the immune system to work more efficiently with natural methods.

Elderberries have been known for years in being very effective at fighting the flu virus and boosting the immune system against colds and flu. I have tried a few different elderberry syrup recipes in the last couple years, and this is what I have come up with that is simple, easy, and effective for us.

You’ll need:

½ cup dried elderberries

3 cups filtered water

½ cup raw honey

1. Put the elderberries and water in a small pot and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce to a simmer for 45 minutes without a lid on.
3. Turn the heat off and mash up the berries with a potato masher.
4. Strain out the berries and add the raw honey to the liquid.
5. Store the syrup in a pint mason jar in the fridge for 3 months.

Tips:

1. I’m sure you can find dried elderberries in some health food stores. They carried them in the bigger city we used to live in but not in the smaller town we are living in now. I trust Mountain Rose Herbs for my elderberries – and they last forever!
2. Raw honey has MANY healing benefits. It is definitely used to help sweeten the sour berries, but raw honey also has beneficial enzymes and antibacterial properties that make it the perfect addition to this syrup. Read THIS and THIS on the healing benefits of raw honey.
3. I strain out the berries using a thin kitchen towel/tea towel. I like to squeeze every last bit I can out of them so the towel works great. The berries totally stain the towel but I just have one white stained tea towel that I use everytime for berry straining – no biggie!
4. Here is how we take our syrup: For the girls – When they are not sick we’ll do 1 tsp most days of the week. If they are coming down with something or are sick, we’ll do 1 tsp  most waking hours of the day. For adults the recommended dose is 1 TB in the same manner.
5. I did give this to my under 1 year old last year BUT I left out the raw honey. Honey is not recommended for babies under 1, so I just left it out. She was about 6 months and older last fall and winter and I occasionally stirred a tsp of elderberry syrup into some of her homemade baby food. It tastes like a sour berry without the honey but when you stir it into applesauce or bananas it’s yummy! She got her first cold around 9 months and she kicked in to 2 days 😉
6. My girls will take the syrup right off the spoon, but it is also delicious stirred into whole plain yogurt! If you are dairy free try coconut milk yogurt.
7. You can add the syrup to smoothies, ice pops, or applesauce too!
8. You can buy “elderberry syrup” in the health food store. I never have because it is ridiculously expensive. Making it takes less than 5 minutes of hands on time and is pennies on the dollar cheaper. I also question the concentration and/or quality of the berries and syrup in the store bought.  I have seen preservatives and other additives in them that I don’t care for as well.

YOUR TURN!

Do you already make elderberry syrup? How have you seen it help? Let me know if you make some up for the first time!

This post was shared at Too Many Jars In My Kitchen’s Fill Those Jars Friday, Butter Believer’s Sunday School, and Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesday, and Real Food Freaks Freaky Friday!