HOLY BASIL ICE LOLLY
Full disclosure here- in general, something freezing cold like an ice lolly is not exactly following the principles of Ayurveda to a T. However- and this is a big however- when your body needs fluids but you don’t feel like drinking, then anything is better than nothing!
I made these tulsi (holy basil), raspberry and orange ice lollies before Christmas as my daughter had a dry, persistent cough (nope, not that one, but it was still very upsetting!). She’s just had almost four glorious weeks of being cough-and-cold-free, but returned to pre-school on Monday after the Christmas break. Guess what? Yes, she has another cold.- you could set a timer by these tots and their germs, I’m sure!
So, out came the lollies again today when she didn’t feel like eating and her throat was hurting every time she coughed. Raspberries and oranges are both high in vitamin C and rich in antioxidants, making them good little helpers whilst ill. However, the real star of the show here is tulsi. As it’s other name (holy basil) implies, it’s a truly sacred herb in Ayurveda, and is seen as one of the most important plants in a practitioner’s collection. With a pungent, bitter taste which is a bit grassy (hence the need for fruit to sweeten these lollies up!), tulsi is high in sattva, essentially meaning that it can impart mental and physical lightness and spiritual clarity.
It helps to alleviate fevers, clears Kapha and mucous from the lungs and upper respiratory tract, benefits breathing and increases the flow of prana (vital life force) throughout the body. It also kindles the digestive fire or agni. Those with excess weight to lose find that tulsi aids digestion and boosts metabolism, and those with high cholesterol and high blood sugar also find that these come down with the correct use of tulsi. Holy basil can also reduce Vata-induced tension migraines as well as Kapha-type congestion headaches. On top of this, it is known to bring mental clarity and heightened awareness when used more ceremoniously. As you can see, it really is a bit of a wonder-herb!
In this instance (a snotty, coughy nearly-three-year-old with a smattering of eczema and the biggest heart around), I have found that tulsi helps when nothing else seems to. Therefore, any way I can get it into her body is good enough for me, so if it’s in the form of a lollipop, then so be it! I used the ground, dried leaves of tulsi here, and whizzed them up in the blender with the fruit. However, if you’re interested in tulsi, then a good place to start would be tulsi tea which you can find in most Indian-owned supermarkets, world food shops or health food shops.