Have you avoided the lurgy yet this winter? Or have you gone through a few different strains of the common cold since the calendar turned over to September? It’s something to do with children going back to school and spreading their germs, coupled with the central heating being switched on and a human instinct to hunker indoors. Bugs are bouncing around like little frogs, leaving us feeling below par and run down. So, we’ve put together some zingy infusions designed to help your recover the spring in your winter step and get back to full fighting fitness in no time.
- The Restorer
INGREDIENTS: ½ pear, chopped. 8 blueberries. 1 sprig of rosemary.
BOTTLES: 1-2
METHOD: Just mix together all of the fruit, tip into your chamber, and poke the rosemary into the centre. Top with water and leave to rest in the fridge for half an hour, to let the herb permeate the fruit.
This medicine in a bottle will help to regulate blood pressure, while increasing blood flow to the brain so that you can stay alert and chipper. Berries are high in antioxidants, which support the immune system and fight nasty free radicals.
- Sweet as Honey
INGREDIENTS: 1 small orange, chopped. 1 vanilla pod. 1 cinnamon stick. Drizzle of honey.
BOTTLES: 2-3
METHOD: Tip the orange into your chamber and add the vanilla and cinnamon. Drizzle the honey on top, and fill your bottle with water. Shake gently to release the sweetness into your drink.
This one is like a lovely cuddle in a bottle. Delicately sweet from the vanilla and honey, it will soothe sore throats as you drink and deliver a much needed boost of vitamin C from the orange. The cinnamon with both calm the nervous system, and regulate blood sugar levels to combat any jitters.
- The C in Citrus
INGREDIENTS: 2 tbsp of pomegranate seeds, ½ red apple, ½ lemon, 1 satsuma, broken into segements.
BOTTLES: 1-2
METHOD: Mix the pomegranate, apple and satsuma segments together, and squeeze over the lemon. You can still add the pulpy skin to your infruition, it won’t look as pretty but it’ll continue to release vitamin C into the water.
Pomegranates contain three times as many antioxidants as green tea, as well as boasting antiviral properties and high levels of folate. The citrus packs a heavy vitamin C punch to help to detoxify the system and top up energy levels.
- Berries, Spice & All Things Nice
INGREDIENTS: 1 inch piece of ginger, sliced. 6 raspberries, crushed. 5 blackberries, crushed. 250ml cranberry juice.
BOTTLES: 2-3
METHOD: Layer the crushed berries, with slices of ginger in between. Screw the chamber to the lid of your bottle and fill with the cranberry juice, topping to the brim with water.
Raspberries contain strong antioxidants such as vitamin C, quercetin and gallic acid that fight against cancer, heart and circulatory disease and age-related decline. Cranberries and blackberries are good sources of manganese, which help brain and nerve function, eliminating that fuggy haze we can come sometimes feel when we’re ill. Ginger will soothe sore throats and clear the sinuses to show that pesky cold the door.
- Sleep Baby Sleep
INGREDIENTS: 2 sprigs of lavender. 8cm piece of cucumber, chopped. 10 blueberries.
BOTTLES: 2-3
METHOD: Mix together blueberries and cucumber and add to your bottle chamber. Poke the lavender sprigs into the fruit and fill your bottle with water.
This one is designed to help you sleep a little easier – which is so important when illnesses tend to lead to broken and disturbed slumber. Sore throats, sneezes and blocked noses can keep us tossing and turning, but the lavender and cucumber in this fusion will calm the senses and reduce anxiety, as well as helping to alleviate headaches and sinus congestion. Blueberries are a rich source of copper, which promotes cell formation and regeneration.
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