The flu; my recipe for triumph!

I’ve been fighting off the flu for the past couple of days and my appetite is really non-existent. I feel low on energy, tired, I have a headache and frankly, even my nose hurts from all the nose blowing that has been going on.This is why I am dedicating this post to emergency food and general sickness aid.

I have to admit that my immune system isn’t the strongest attributes I have. This has lead me to develop an almost system of relief for such days and here it is:Lara Bar, Badger’s Healing Balm and Healing Birch Massage Oil coupled with cold medicine, vitamin C and tea.

Lara Bar:I study long hours, I drive quite a lot and when I get sick I feel like eating nothing so I have low energy and a low low mood. When I went looking for some snack that would keep my energy up I was looking for something small, filling and as natural as natural can be. I already ate too much junk when I didn’t have time and even skip food for hours… so I was looking for something good and healthy. The search was not so long because a sales person actually recommended it, but if you do a quick search you would see that most energy bars are far from healthy and chemical free. Lara bar is the best answer I found and frankly, it’s just yummy.

As the bar and website state it’s:

1 SERVING OF FRUIT  *  NO ADDED SUGAR  *  UNPROCESSEDRAW  *  NON- GMO  *  GLUTEN FREE  *  DAIRY FREE  *  SOY FREE * VEGAN  * KOSHER    

. It’s usually made from literally six ingredients and it’s without any preservatives. I looked into that because it sounds weird, after all, it’s… raw. So, I checked out their FAQ and it clearly states that:

How can a raw product have such a long shelf life?We use a multi-layer package that keeps out UV light and oxygen, which, in turn, maintains freshness without the use of preservatives.   

I would like to believe that it’s true. I also appreciated the fact that they don’t add any sweeteners, because frankly, I hate anything too sweet (except cats, because a cat could never be too tiny, cute and sweet!). It’s not an all too big bar, but it will most likely make you feel full if you eat all of it at once. I like to cut it in half and eat it throughout the day. Despite what most students think, when you go to a test or do anything that requires a lot of energy and attention, you do not want to eat processed sweets. That sugar will raise your energy levels for a very short period leaving you even less energized (it dissolves quicker into the blood stream, thus, making the level of sugar in your body rise fast and drop fast). The kind of sugar that is found in fruits is a much better choice and the level of sugar in your blood will remain pretty steady making you energized longer and with a less sudden drop of energy. Lara Bar is made just for that.As for flavors, I find that my top favorites are Banana and Cherry. I love the Banana one and when I am sick with the flu, it’s really all I am willing to eat. It tastes like a real banana, though it may not look too appealing. The price is the only set back I can think of. In here, just one bar costs like a box of 12 processed bars. As a student, I find it way too expensive and although it is valuable, healthy and otherwise great, you have to consider how much you are really willing to pay for that. I would really not recommend the chocolate chili bar, I really found it… unbearable. It’s real chili! It’s spicy! I might have liked it if I was pregnant and craving blends of tastes. The Lemon bar is… really lemon like, which again, doesn’t strike my fancy. The Chocolate bar is made with coconut, which I strongly dislike so I can’t recommend it either.The bottom line is that the price sucks greatly, but the tastes and benefits are fantastic. Nine out of ten stars in my book.Next is Badger; though I have found their lipbalm less than perfect, their Healing Balm and Healing Birch Massage Oil get me through the flu looking like a normal person and feeling slightly better.

The ingredients are simple and natural: Certified Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Natural Beeswax, Castor Oil, Organic Aloe Vera Extract, and Essential Oil of Sweet Birch. It smells… stinky. Everyone that I know hated it and thought it smells like medicine. I have to agree. It’s not user friendly, as far as strong smells are concerned. It is supposed to help chapped skin, which is quite ambitious of this tiny not so smearable balm. It doesn’t help my cold weather struck bleeding hands that much, but it sure does wonders for my tissue stricken nose. No more red, chapped, flu stricken nose! I put it on every few hours and it makes me feel less like I have been punched in the face. I say less because the flu makes my face hurt; my eyes and forehead hurts, coupled with a really throbbing headache. I like to rub it all over my face before I go to bed when I have a cold because it really makes me feel like it’s helping my healing process.The bottom line is that it’s good for point specific locations and it helps the most annoying part of having nose congestion. The price is good, but it doesn’t rub on too easily. I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
I add to that the Healing Birch Massage Oil.

The ingredients are: Cold-pressed Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Ecologically Grown and Processed Castor & Jojoba Oils, Ruby Red Extracts of Seabuckthorn Berry, Calendula & Rose Hip, and Pure, Steam Distilled Essential Oils of Sweet Birch & Lavender. Badger is really good that way; very very natural. Now, unfortunately I cannot really rate this product because I only use it when I have a cold or when my tummy hurts. I rub it on my chest and neck to help me breath, and on my tummy to help the pain go away. But I cannot say that it really works or that it has scientific backing, so I am not really recommend it. That said, I like it but I haven’t tried to use it for dry skin like it’s supposed to be used, as I gather from the Badger website.Finally, I take vitamin C (with Iron…) and drink lots of tea.

The tea recipe that I recommend is: take fresh ginger, fresh mint and honey/molasses and fresh lemon juice. If you can’t find fresh ingredients, don’t worry. I find that it helps with sore throat and the general cold that I get. I recommend trying it even if you don’t have a cold, because it’s really good.

So, that’s all the energy I have today, I hope you are all healthy or will be soon!