Best cough remedy EVER

                         I have been using this recipe for just about 4 years now without fail. Recently quite a few people asked me for a recipe, so I have decided to write a post about it.
            It's all started when my daughter was about 2.5 yo. Since she was just a few months old she was coughing, constantly. Chest infections every two to three weeks. Once, when she was only 4 months she spent a whole 8 days on oxygen at a local hospital and was discharged with bronchiolitis.
Two days after discharge the cough was back. She was prescribed antibiotics, she's good for a week and then the cough was back. This pattern was repeating itself until she was two, after we've changed another GP we were finally referred to a Paediatrics.  At that time, age two, she was wearing clothes for a 9 months old baby. 
             After a few months with paediatrition, prescribed inhalers which were getting stronger and stronger, all the tests not giving any answers, receiving new inhaler-the strongest one, I called home. Back in my country, home remedies are a big thing still. Got recipes, picked one, made few adjustments and started to use next day after our usual every two-week hospital appointment.
  In these two weeks my daughter gained 500 gr in weight(for a previous whole year her weight gain was just 200gr). Her lungs were absolutely clear first time since she was born.
  The doc was shocked! "Did the inhaler worked?" She asked in disbelief. And I told her: "I haven't even opened it". All I did was the home made recipe with onions and honey.
   Since then, her health improved dramatically. She hasn't had a chest infection in 3.5 years. Once she starts sniffling and coughing, the concoction is ready to be used. The whole family is using it. Even my mother in law who loves her pharmaceuticals, started to use it :)
Another good thing that came out of it, my kids LOVE onions now!
BTW, the cause of her chest infections was aspirational. Some of food and drink were getting into her lungs. Drinks still do get in her lungs occasionally, but with first signs of cough, the remedy is ready and cough is going away in a couple of days with out turning nasty.

   So here is the recipe all amounts are approximate.
You will need:
#Onions . I like to use organic, and mix red and brown.
#Honey . The only two honey that really worked in worst cases are:

Comvita Manuka honey 20+ or 

Lifeplan Rainforest Active 30+ Honey 227g Our favourite! 

For general prophylactic usage I use any raw honey, just pick your favourite.

Method:

Get your onions peeled and thinly sliced. I use 2 to 3 bulbs, depending on their size.
Once sliced there are two things to choose to do with them.
      1) If I use to treat already bad cold/cough, and use one of the expensive honeys, then I put sliced onions in a bowl and sprinkle some unrefined sugar all over it. Leave it for at least two hours, preferably overnight. In the morning squeeze the juice out, just use your hands or put in a sieve and press with a spoon or something. The juice you get mix with honey. My proportion is roughly 1:1. If I have two spoons of juice, then I'll add two spoons of honey. For a child starting at the age of two, I was giving 5ml on empty stomach first thing in the morning. Then another 5 ml every hour for the first 2-3 days. After that, 3-4 times a day. Maximum one week. I'll do a new batch every day or two. Depending on how juicy onions are.
   2) When I use for prophylactic, during autumn, winter and spring, to keep the bugs away I do it differently. I put sliced onions in a jar and pour any raw honey over the onions, in layers. I do not use sugar! If honey is to thick, I warm it up in a warm oven, or put a jar of honey in a bowl of hot water, and wait until it gets all runny. Then it's easy to pour. Leave it to stand. Once you have a juice, give straight from the jar. 5-10 ml 2-3 times a day. I give on quite random days.

Often I catch my kids trying to sneakily to drink all whats in the jar. Or they pretend to have a cough and ask me to make the juice :) 

Hopefully, if you decide to try it, it will work wanders for you, just like it does for us.
Love, Peace and stay healthy,
Jev

It is not recommended to give honey to children under the age of one, in some countries even two. So do be careful. Honey in younger infants can cause botulism. Also, it can cause allergy in any age.

Very tasty banana blueberry buckwheat bread/cake

Finally, I got together a recipe for a cake made with 100% buckwheat flour and no sugar. It is moist but soft and airy. Not a dense bric like most of its kind.
From my search on internet, all recipes I've found call for half amount (or less) of buckwheat flour and some sort of other gluten free variety. Or if it's all buckwheat, it is quite bitter, more savory or needs sugar added in quite a quantity.
This cake I fed to my fussy eaters as a main meal. You can easily pass it for one.
*EGGS.
Eggs are one of the most nutritious foods money can buy - they are a natural source of many nutrients including high quality protein, vitamins and mindeals.
Eggs are naturally rich in vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B12, vitamin D, selenium and iodine. They also contain vitamin A and a number of other B vitamins including folate, biotin, pantothenic acid and choline, and essential minerals and trace elements, including phosphorus.

*BLACK TREACLE
100gr of black treacle has 100% of your DVA of Iron. It is also high in calcium 50% of DVA, Magnesium and Potassium.

* BUCKWHEAT flour
1. Good source of high-quality, easily digestible proteins. This makes it an excellent meat substitute. High protein buckwheat flour is being studied for possible use in foods to reduce plasma cholesterol, body fat, and cholesterol gallstones.
2.  Fat alternative. Buckwheat starch can also act as a fat alternative in processed foods.
3. May help diabetes.
New evidence has found that buckwheat may be helpful in the management of diabetes according to Canadian researchers in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
With a glycemic index of 54, it lowers blood sugars more slowly than rice or wheat products.
4. Great for the digestion.
5.Buckwheat contains no gluten and is not a grain. It is therefore great for celiacs and those on grain free and gluten sensitive diets.
And many many more.
*FLAXSEED
Omega-3 essential fatty acids, "good" fats that have been shown to have heart-healthy effects. Each tablespoon of ground flaxseed contains about 1.8 grams of plant omega-3s.
Fiber. Flaxseed contains both the soluble and insoluble types.
*BANANA AND BLUEBERRY
If you don't know, just Google.
 
So here it comes:
5 over rippend bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup of Apple butter click for the recipe or use apple sauce.
1/2 cup of milk
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tbsp of Stevia
1 tbsp of Lyle's Black Treacle (or molasses)
Juice of one lime
2 cups of Buckwheat flour
2 tbsp of ground Flaxseed
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of baking soda
1to 2 cups of blueberries
1 tbsp of cinnamon IF using applesauce instead of Apple butter.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350c or gas mark 6 (just a guide).
Mash bananas with a juice of one lime. Add bitten eggs, vanilla, apple butter, milk, treacle, stevia and beat all together for a couple of minutes. Then slowly add flour, flaxseed, salt, baking soda and powder, and cinnamon if using.
Once all beaten together, fold in blueberries.
Cake or loaf tin, grease with butter or put in baking paper to prevent sticking. Pour the mixture in and put in an oven for 45-50 minutes, check with a toothpick or knife if it's ready. You know when you stab it, the cake, nothing should be stuck to the toothpick.
I did sprinkle it with icing sugar this time for kids :)
Enjoy! And please come back to tell me if you liked it :)

Unsweetened Apple Butter YUM!

First, a bit of a story :) Last summer, when I went to Las Vegas, a friend took me for a road trip with camping to El Dorado County Wine region. We camped with Adventure Connection in Coloma, California. They provided two great days of wine-tasting and rafting!On the first morning we got together, talked about our day and departed for the El Dorado County Wine region. We visited 2-3 wineries and then stopped to enjoy a gourmet picnic lunch. 

After lunch we visited another 2-3 wineries and Jack Russell Farm Brewery, where I have been taught a super funny game (especially after all the wine and beer tasting and with really great company;) called Cornhole. 

Playing cornhole game

Jack Russell Brewery  

At the end of the day we headed back to camp for a delicious Barbecue dinner. We have returned to camp with time to enjoy the peace of the river over dinner.

Not dinner but breakfast, still the same beautiful view :)

The next day, after a delicious breakfast, we shuttled to the top of the river for exciting rapids, which included Meatgrinder, Triple Threat and the infamous Troublemaker. I have even summoned the courage to get out of the boat and swim through one of the rapids! Our trip concluded with a big barbecue lunch back at camp.

So, during that first day, one of the wine tasting stops was at the little market like shop called Apple Barn located alongside Carson Road. There were two kinds of wine I have fallen in love with. They tasted so gorgeous! One was Kandi Apple and the other was Apple-Blackberry. I have also spotted an Apple butter amongst huge variety of jars. I have heard about apple butter form movies, internet and so on but have never tasted one. So out of curiosity I bought a jar of unsweetened apple butter and brought it home to London. We LOVED IT! My older daughter finished it in one day... and was asking for more and it is not widely available here in UK... And thats how I decided to attempt to make it myself. I have searched on line for recipes, bought apples, found the over ripened dessert variety on clearance so they cost me almost nothing. And voilà! My kid can't have enough, I make a few jars at a time but they don't last long. Eaten up very quickly :))

So here is what I do: 

I do not have exact measures, never do. Always to taste. Each time you make apple butter, it will taste a bit different depending on the apples you use. The sweeter apples are, sweeter your butter will be.  

 Best buy your apples on farmer markets, where you can taste the apples before you buy. If the apples are bland so will be your butter. 

25-30 apples (depends on how concentrated you want it to be and how long you cook, it makes up to 8 pints of butter).

I start with 1tsp of:

Cinnamon(can use sticks), Ground ginger, Ground Cloves, Ground Cardamom, All spice, Vanilla (in any form you like).

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar as a preservative.
Core and slice apples and put them in the pan as you go. I love using my Ikea apple slicer . It cuts the prep time in more then half.
When it's full put on  low for about 2 hours (as they cook down add the rest of the apples if all didn't fit in in the beginning), stirring occasionally. After 2-3 hours, when apples are soft, I add spices and vinegar. As you see from the pic, I add at least 1 tbsp. of cinnamon, it's great metabolism booster(if you're dieting ;).

OMG The smell in the house is amazing! Who needs air fresheners? After I add spices and vinegar, I cook for another 2-3 hours, until the apple's skins are absolutely soft, and juice is reduced. Again, the time depends on apples, how juicy are they. Just stir and use your judgement. (some recipes call for 10 to 24 hours for cooking!) When you think they are about ready, I use hand blender to blend. I put the arm of the blender straight into the pan and blitz until smooth, just don't forget to take vanilla and cinnamon sticks OUT! Taste and add more spices I think it needs, maybe more cinnamon and cloves. If apples were too sour, and the butter tastes too zingy, I sweeten it with apple and pear spread(highly concentrated no sugar added). That's the one I use. 

But once it is blended, be very careful, it gets stuck to the bottom very very easy. So finish cooking to the consistency you like and don't forget to stir. Once it cools down, it gets thicker. Put in jars. For long shelf period use waterbath canning or similar.
We eat it with bread, crackers, smother cakes with it, use it instead of Apple sauce in baking recipes... By dressing up a jar, it can serve as a very yummy and pretty present.
Enjoy and tell me how it went :) If you liked it or not, if you tweaked the recipe to improve :)