Well, cold and flu season is starting up! McKenna has been complaining of a sore throat last night and this morning so I decided it was time to make up my herbal sore throat pastilles. We made it a cooperative project and McKenna actually really likes helping me make my medicines which is really neat.

So, I brought out my mortar and pestle and we got started. The herbs I use are all from Mountain Rose Herbs and are exceptional. These people put great care into what they produce and where they obtain their herbs from.

So my recipe is not really mine. I decided to use the one on the Learning Herbs website and it is as follows:

1 T rose petal powder
1/2 T powdered sage
2 T marshmallow powder
1-1/2 T warmed honey

The rose powder acts on inflammation and pain. It's an astringent and is cooling to the throat.
The sage is antimicrobial and an astringent and works to kill pathogens and also to tone tissue. The marshmallow is a demulcent and can help relieve a dry cough as well as boost the immune system.
The honey is antimicrobial and is great for soothing a sore throat. We use local raw honey that we get from Middleton, a town over. It's made from millet instead of clover but we really enjoy it. Noel likes it better than clover honey.

So I had McKenna powder the sage in the mortar and pestle and the other ingredients were ready to go. We mixed them up with the honey and then instead of rolling them into balls I thought we would try pressing them into my candy molds - flowers! After they came out of the freezer we popped them out and dusted them with some cinnamon and rose powder. They will last about 2 weeks in our fridge. We had a little sample before shaping them and they taste pretty good. I'm sure the honey helps! :) We'll have to keep you posted on how they work on her sore throat.