Immune System, Boost!

After a year getting ready for Academy 2015 New Orleans, a week living and loving it, I'm now prime for some major immune boosters.

My mother was considering buying something called Supertonic, which I looked up by its ingredients and discovered that the Master Tonic is similar. It includes turmeric... It's hypothetically best to brew it on the new moon, so I wrote it in my calendar for today. It will take two weeks to infuse. I found a simple recipe here. On the full moon, I will strain it.

This is where the Master Tonic is infusing.

During these two weeks, I hope to stay healthy by sleeping well, drinking lots of water and good teas, and moving! ;)

The energy of the meeting is still with me. Although I slept until 10:30 this morning, awoken by a small dog wanting to play tug-of-war, I had enough energy to wash kitty litter pans, shop for my immune-boosting ingredients, and get three projects completed!

I bought some beef soup bones to make bone broth. I keep hoping to get some deer backbones from Betty T's husband, but it hasn't happened yet. One of my favorite purchases from the Takoma Park Farmers' Market is the mushroom broth, but I am sure that I need the protein from some quality beef bones after all of the carbs we ate last week in New Orleans.

I had expected to lose a little weight during the week, since I surpassed 15,000 steps each day, but I think my new favorite drink, Sazerac, and some New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp might have counteracted the steps!

I learned how to make stock or bone broth from the lovely nutritional evangelist, Monica Corrado, but I listened to a Splendid Table podcast on the way back from New Orleans and was inspired to get one rolling today. It's quite simple, but the benefits are simply outstanding!

I don't know which episode it was, but I love the Splendid Table podcast!

After adding the Holy Trinity of onions, carrots and celery!

It should be ready to store by tomorrow morning. Luckily, I have a reprieve from carpool tomorrow morning; I'm just not ready to get up early yet!

I was also inspired to make a ginger-infused simple syrup to add to bubbly water and cocktails. Despite its uses in flavoring drinks, it's also a digestive aid. After last week's excesses, its anti-inflammatory properties will be very helpful. Even Dr. Mercola touts ginger's benefits! ;)

Simmering ginger

I found a recipe to make ginger simple syrup, chopped it up, and it's cooking away downstairs. The house smells pretty good right now.

Thank the heavens I have a massage this evening! After that week of walking the floors of the New Orleans Convention Center, my feet and calves definitely need some TLC.

This time of year so many people come down with colds. I'm hoping to combat those bacteria, viruses, and other yucky things with Master Tonic, beef broth, and ginger syrup!

Immune system, boost NOW!