Two recipes

[cassius987]

I developed these while I was sick, thought I'd share:

Throat therapy tea
*1 bag, your favorite Indian spice chai
*3-4 tsp. local honey (wildflower is my suggestion)
*one thin slice of fresh cut lemon (save the rest of the lemon in the fridge or eat it)
=Stir well! Drink while fresh and hot.

That stuff pretty much saved my life over the week I was sick. I couldn't talk and couldn't talk and couldn't talk and then finally, desperately, I made that on a whim and my throat instantly cleared. I was so happy. I had 2-3 cups a day and it kept me quite vocal. May be good for singers?

Thai-style rice
*2 cups white rice
*3 cups water
*2 TBS. crunchy peanut butter
*2 tsp. olive oil
*soy sauce as desired
=Cook the rice and water in a rice cooker for sticky consistency. Immediately after serving into dish, add peanut butter, and add olive oil over the peanut butter. Use your chop sticks to stir this into an even consistency throughout the dish. Add soy sauce to taste. Add chili sauce to taste if you are sick.

Extremely hearty and tasty on a budget. Another one I came up with was just a bowl of hot ramen noodles with soy sauce and chili sauce--that stuff also kept my throat clear.

Enjoy.

[kiramdear]

Throat therapy tea
*1 bag, your favorite Indian spice chai
*3-4 tsp. local honey (wildflower is my suggestion)
*one thin slice of fresh cut lemon (save the rest of the lemon in the fridge or eat it)
=Stir well! Drink while fresh and hot.

That stuff pretty much saved my life over the week I was sick. I couldn't talk and couldn't talk and couldn't talk and then finally, desperately, I made that on a whim and my throat instantly cleared. I was so happy. I had 2-3 cups a day and it kept me quite vocal. May be good for singers?

What a small world. I'm sitting drinking your recipe as I read your post. A little milk in it probably doesn't help the singing, but I can't resist ... Mmmmmmm

[cassius987]

Hmm, I may have to try the milk thing (more likely a drop or two of half and half for me). Don't you find it really clears your vocal cords, though, that particular tea?? I have not had the same luck with other varieties. The fresh lemon slice also helps a ton.

[kiramdear]

I have a spicy red chai that's real yummy. I find a lot of herbal teas are soothing to my throat, but the milk tends to clog up my pipes. Sugar is really bad for the voice, honey less so. The lemon does the trick every time.

[cassius987]

I think honey is good for a sore throat if not for singing. It has antimicrobial properties "to da max" because bees don't like unfriendly microbes. Sadly that may be what's working on them right now The bees on my dad's farm all went kaput this winter.

[jimk]

All milk products, so I've been told, tend to gum up a singer's pipes, as does (alas) chocolate.

JimK

[captsandwich]

To quote mr Gallagher, all I need are cigarettes and alcohol!

[brammy]

yup.... dairy products bad for singing

[johnallg]

Another recipe for the throat when ill is black raspberry jam in hot water. Soothing when you have a dry cough.

[longhouse]

I'm happy to read this as I am almost a week into a TERRIBLE throat / upper respiratory infection.
I'll try your recipe after lunch.

If you're interested, here's my cure:

2 oz. Kentucky Rye Whiskey (a good Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, or bourbon will suffice ...but, come on, Rye is so good)
6 to 8 oz. spring water
4 cloves
pinch of cinnamon
wee pinch of cayenne pepper
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
1 TBSP turbinado sugar

Pour the whiskey in a toddy glass with the lemon juice.
Bring the water, cloves, cinnamon, sugar, and cayenne pepper to boil. Boil for a minute (to bring out the clove and cinnamon notes).
Pour into toddy glass.
Stir with cinnamon stick.

I find this works best when taken in conjunction with an old film, warm blankets, and a comfortable sofa.

[cassius987]

That's a great recipe--better not tell my wife about it.