Elderberries are a healthy, delicious way to keep your family healthy during the cold winter days. Your kids might love elderberry syrup and elderberry gummies, but there’s another thing you can give them to boost their immune system and provide extra soothing effects for their sore throat.
We talk about tasty, immune-boosting elderberry popsicles which will become one of their favorite treats.
Flu-Fighting Benefits of Elderberry
Elderberry Boost conducted on flu patients proved that elderberries provide strong antiviral effects which protect from flu better than a flu shot. This popular flu remedy recovered the participants twice as fast as those from the placebo group.
In just 2 to 3 days, almost 90 percent of the group treated with elderberry have recovered completely, as opposed to the placebo group which took a minimum of 6 days for a complete recovery. It has been shown that a dose of Tamiflu can only alleviate your symptoms for one day. But, what’s worse is that children are more prone to its side effects than adults.
Some Tamiflu users have reported side effects like delirium, sudden confusion, unusual behavior, hallucinations, or self-injury, most of which have occurred in children. On the other hand, elderberries are a natural remedy with no side effects and a sweet taste. You can see why they are the clear winner here.
Other Soothing Ingredients
Besides elderberries, these throat-soothing popsicles contain blueberries. These antioxidant-rich berries are rich in vitamin C which helps fight cold and flu symptoms and protect the lungs during the flu. Besides vitamin C, blueberries also contain vitamin K and manganese, all of which provide antioxidant properties that improve cough symptoms and prevent advancing to pneumonia.
You can add a natural sweetener such as raw honey as it provides antibacterial effects and many other benefits. That’s why it’s often used as a sore throat remedy. But, if your kids are younger than 1, substitute the honey with maple syrup, or avoid it completely. It’s also recommended to supervise them while eating the popsicles.
As these popsicles don’t contain much fat and sugar, another ingredient you can use is grass-fed gelatin to prevent them from becoming rock-hard ice bricks. What’s more, gelatin is excellent for your joints, skin, hair, and nails.
Electrolytes + Vitamin C
You can also include coconut water instead of just using elderberry-infused water. Your kids will love the sweet taste it gives while getting enough electrolytes at the same time. Getting electrolytes is especially important during sickness and vomiting, as your body loses a great number of electrolytes in these conditions. Choose a brand that doesn’t contain added sugar and is minimally processed.
Last but not least, use some lemon juice whose acidity will balance out the sweet flavor of the other ingredients. What’s more, it’s a great source of vitamin C – a vitamin that isn’t produced naturally in our body, which is especially important during illness.
Throat Soothing & Immune Boosting Elderberry Popsicles Recipe
Here’s how to prepare this healthy treat, or cold and flu remedy.
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp. elderberries;
- Half a cup of fresh or frozen blueberries;
- 1 cup of coconut water or coconut juice;
- ¾ cup of filtered water;
- 1 tbsp. grass-fed gelatin;
- 2 tbsp. raw honey;
- Lemon juice to taste (or the juice of one lemon).
Preparation:
Prep. Time: 10 minutes
Mix the water and elderberries in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes on low heat. Strain well using a cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer to get all the juice out. Pour the strained juice into a clean saucepan. Add the grass-fed gelatin and leave it for several minutes to absorb. If you plan to use thick honey, add it right after the gelatin gets gelled a bit.
Then, bring the saucepan with this mixture over low heat, and stir slowly until it’s melty and well combined. Be careful not to overheat, as the honey will no longer be raw. Blend the blueberries and the coconut water in a blender until smooth. If you don’t have coconut water or coconut juice, you can substitute it with any herbal tea, juice, or even plain water. Add the blended mixture and the rest of the ingredients to the mixture with elderberries, and stir well.
Once it’s well combined, pour the mixture into some popsicle molds, and put them in the refrigerator. Let them firm up, and then enjoy! You can always double the ingredients to get more popsicles.
Note: If you blend all ingredients, you’ll get a foam that doesn’t freeze into popsicles well.
Via Elderberry Boost