No matter our age or the weather, sadly nobody is immune to the common cold. From runny noses, sore throats, tickly coughs and sneezing, it really makes you feel awful and so natural remedies, organic ingredients and plenty of rest and TLC are the frontline of fighting off the nasties. Not only is honey delicious, but it also surprisingly possesses unique life-supporting qualities missing from other sugars.
Natural Honey Pops
The powerful attributes of honey have been used for thousands of years to assist healing for cuts, cure ailments and diseases, and correct health disorders. Manuka honey is possibly the tastiest natural medicine, commonly cited for fighting off infection, aiding in tissue healing and reducing inflammation and scarring. It is also used for treating digestive problems such as diarrhea, indigestion, stomach ulcers and gastroenteritis.
As a single parent to my two children, Millisent 6yrs and Gabriele 2yrs, I am well aquatinted with the common cold. Where I enjoy a hot mug of lemonade, natural honey and fresh lemon to soothe a raw throat and stuffy head, the children prefer a simple spoon of honey, which goes down very well, and fast, and their little smiles after beg sweetly for another, and another and another! Hence why we started making honey pops.
Honey pops are incredibly easy to make and keep the children content and soothed for far longer than eating a teaspoon of honey when feeling unwell. Much like making ice cubes, there are very few tools required. There are many kinds of honey, with the thicker ones working best for freezing, but you can really experiment with what works best for your taste. You’ll also need some lolly sticks and a freezable tray or plate. As we have various silicone moulds in the shape of stars, hearts and flowers, we like to make shaped lollies which we spoon our honey into, stick in a lolly stick and place in the freezer for a couple of hours until frozen. If you don’t have moulds, or prefer the traditional coin-shaped lollies, you can always blob the honey onto a plate and lay a stick through the centre before popping in the freezer, or simply freeze them as a blob without the stick.
The children love making the fun shapes, and as the honey pops are cold they not only help to soothe a sore throat, but also last far longer than an ice cream or sweet as they take a while to melt and can withstand a fair amount of licking, ensuring the honey is consumed over a period of time and not just gulped down at once.
