I love Fall. Although New Orleans doesn’t really have the leaf-changing, hay-riding, cool, jacket, bonfire weather that I grew up with for Fall, October is still a nice month here. The weather starts to cool a little (70s & 80s) and sometimes it dips into the 60s in the evenings, but there is usually a nice breeze, the humidity isn’t too high, and it is really nice to be outside. October is also Drew and I’s anniversary month, so fall time always particularly brings back memories of  the beginning of our relationship.

What I don’t like about October is that it is always midterms time for school and with the weather changing so much, I get more headaches than usual. I also currently have a cold. Yuck. This week has been stopped up head, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, losing my voice, headaches, fever, etc… With it being midterms however, I can’t afford to be sick. Colds have that tendency to drag on for weeks, so I’ve been doing my best to try to get over it as quickly as possible.

It seems like every time I get a cold, I fall into the same routine to get my wellness back on track.

I drink warm green tea with lots and lots of honey. I always buy local honey. I’ve always heard local honey is better for health/allergies, etc..

There are lots of great green teas out there, but this is the one I’ve always stuck to.

I’ve always loved Halls Vitamin C citrus drops and I also like Halls Naturals Honey Lemon Chamomile sore throat drops.

I always take my multi-vitamins daily, but when I’m sick or feel like I might get sick, I always take Echinacea. It is natural, comes from coneflowers and is really good for immune system health. There are other vitamins that are particularly good for your immune system, but my daily multi-vitamin already contains several of those as well.

As always, I also try to eat as healthy as possible, particularly lots of fruits and vegetables to make sure my body is getting lots of added vitamins and minerals so that it can work more easily to fight off my cold.

My favorite soup is also a go-to meal when I’m feeling under the weather.

Chicken/Potato/Vegetable with Rice and Barley. Super simple to make as well. Just chicken stock/broth, salt/pepper/seasonings, chicken, potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, green beans, corn, rice, barley and any other vegetables that I have around. So delicious and full of tasty things! I usually make quite a bit of this and freeze it in small containers so that I can easily take one out and warm it up if I’m not feeling well. (or if I’m just in a soup mood. I could seriously eat this everyday!)

When I have a cold, I try to make sure to open the windows in the house every so often to get the air circulating with fresh air and let the stale air and germs out of the house. I also make sure to frequently wash my clothes, towels, cloth napkins, sheets and anything else that I have my mouth or hands on that could have picked up my coughing germs. The same goes for cleaning and disinfecting any other surfaces around the house. This not only keeps germs from spreading to Drew or whoever else is in the house, but I always feel like getting my own cold germs out of the house helps my own body heal itself better as well. The fresher and cleaner things are the better.

I also try to get a little extra sleep every night. I definitely think that sleep helps almost anything feel better, but is especially needed when your body is working twice as hard as usual to fight off infection.

Do you have a certain recipe for wellness when you are under the weather? Does anybody else drink tea and take lots of vitamins? I feel like a lot of people’s first reaction to not feeling well is to try to take some kind of medication. I rarely do. Is anyone else with me? I’d love to hear your wellness secrets! 🙂