Good morning. My normal Friday morning routine is to train a client, workout, train another client and then teach hot yoga but…I hit the wall yesterday so I’m sitting at home drinking coffee instead. I was really exhausted coming off of last weekend’s teacher training/workshop/teaching trifecta and I even told Tanner on Monday that if I didn’t slow down I knew I would get sick…and I did. There is so much crap going around in Charlotte right now (and everywhere it seems…both of my parents are getting over terrible sinus/respiratory infections).
The first sign that things were going down the sick road was when I went for a run on Wednesday and struggled something serious. It was gorgeous outside, 70 with no humidity, I had not run since Saturday and had only done yoga and rest days leading up to the run. My body felt so lethargic that I literally had to stop running and just stand on the side of the road like five times. I was standing there thinking, “what gives!?” When I woke up the next morning with a sore throat, I knew.
I started taking Black Elderberry Syrup yesterday (which effectively took me off the Whole30 on day 25 because the first ingredient is glucose syrup but I say oh well to that). This is my first time using Black Elderberry Syrup but after hearing so many of my friends talk up its immunity boosting abilities, I decided to give it a go. I’m also drinking a ton of hot tea (with honey to coat my throat) and gargling salt water, which has helped with throat pain more than anything else.
I woke up this morning feeling considerably better but still decided to forego training and teaching in hopes that I can stop this from turning into something full-force terrible. I think I’m going to go make a big cold-pressed green juice with lots of kale, citrus and ginger after I finish this post.
Oh, and thank you for all of your comments and support RE: my car issues last week. I wish I could say that I had an update for you but I haven’t heard from the dealership since Monday. They told me the car was “running fine” and that they wanted to keep holding onto it until they could replicate the issue. So frustrating because I didn’t got a single day without having it not start or shut off for a week. At least they’re committed to figuring it out and they gave me a car to drive in the meantime.
Let’s talk about something a little more fun than sore throats and car troubles.
Food! You’ll notice this week’s eats were heavy on slow cooker and one-dish/bowl kind of meals. I made a batch of slow cooker sweet potato chili that we ate off of for several meals.
I ate this delicious salad earlier in the week before I started feeling bad. Our kitchen staff at Namastay is so accommodating of all of my special requests and substitutions and this pretty salad they sent out to me made me smile. I’ve been doing a simple olive oil and balsamic on the side for dressing when I’m out.
Slow cooker Indian Butter Chicken over cauli rice. This dinner was amazing and I’m posting the recipe for you tomorrow so you can prep it for next week!
You knew I had to squeeze this in, right? 😉 Sweet potato breakfast bowls with scrambled eggs. We’ve been mixing full fat coconut milk into our sweet potatoes and it’s so so yum.
Salad with arugula, lemon pepper seasoned chicken tenders, apples, avocado, dried unsweetened cherries and toasted pecans.
A very random but very tasty dinner bowl whipped up at 9:30 one night. Sauteed butternut squash, chicken tenders, baby kale and avocado.
The highlight of my culinary week was making homemade mayo successfully for the first time. It’s AMAZING! I used it to make a wasabi aioli for seared sesame tuna. I served it over mixed sauteed veggies from Trader Joe’s. I had a few requests for this recipe over on Instagram so I’ll add it to the running list!
Leftover tuna over sauteed spinach with avocado and wasabi aioli.
Off to make a gigantic green juice.
Any favorite natural remedies to fight off sickness?
Have you ever made homemade mayo?
Most random thing you ate this week?
Hi Jen! I swear by Garlic, ACV, honey, and lemon! Here’s what I do: Mince (or press) a clove of garlic. You want to leave it sitting on your cutting board in the open air for about 10 mins. While the garlic is sitting out, mix 1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar, 1 Tbsp of honey, and the juice of 1/2 a lemon in a big glass of water. Microwave it so it’s warm. Then you want to swallow the raw garlic. I find it’s best to put the garlic on a spoon and wash it down with a big swig of cold water, like a pill! Then drink the acv drink. Do this 3-5x a day until you’re feeling better!
You need a hot toddy! Honey and lemon for your throat and whisky to help you sleep 😉 Get better soon!
Tumeric tea w lemon and ginger
As soon as I get the slightest feeling of a cold, I start taking Elderberry Syrup twice a day and I swear it keeps so many sicknesses at bay.
Sorry to hear your car is still in the shop! So glad they are helping you out by providing a loaner.
I swear by elderberry when I feel like I’m getting sick, but instead of a syrup, I buy a tincture (no sugar). You mix with water. Hope you feel better!
I’m in the same boat!! I usually train clients on Friday, but yesterday I was going alll day and got sick myself too. It was time for a break!
Hope you feel better!
Hi, Jen. I work for an herbs company, and there are some sugar-free Black Elderberry options out there. Look for Gaia’s Black Elderberry caps.
I take Astragalus Supreme all winter to keep my immune system healthy.
You may also be interested in looking into Echinacea. Email me if you have any questions about herbs!
For sore throat I make a tea with 4-6 oz of hot water, 2TBS each Braggs apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, organic honey, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. It always makes my throat better within the hour. I also try and take a 1-2 TBS of the Braggs vinegar to help with seasonal allergies. Hope you feel better soon!
Oooh is the butter chicken Whole30 friendly? I’ve been craving Indian Food like mad for the last week, I really could have used that recipe like 3 days ago 😉 😉 Can’t wait for you to share anyways. And, hope you feel better!
I love elderberry syrup, Jen! I make my own with black elderberries and raw honey. So good. And totally love all the acv rec’s above, too! Take care of yourself 🙂
never made homemade mayo. i dont know what i ate that was random ? for me…it was probably a GF bagel with cream cheese. i have not had a bagel in 5ish years and had leftover cream cheese and have been craving one. i found some GF at a specialty store and bought them. holy cow $$$$$ pricey. obviously not exactly like bagels i remember pre GF but i gotta tell you it was soooo good ! i had a bad upper respiratory thing in January for 3 weeks. mucinex d was the only thing that even came close to working
I haven’t made homemade mayo before but I have thought about it. Maybe you can share your recipe and tips with us sometime. I would like to know how long you can store it for.