Powerful Paleo Popsicles

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Leave it to me to somehow pick up the Norovirus on Christmas Eve. If you’re not familiar with this particularly nasty and highly contagious virus, consider yourself lucky.

I had the questionable pleasure of getting to know this bug a few years ago, so when it reared up its ugly head post our Christmas Eve feast, I knew what I was in for. And it wasn’t going to be pretty. In a recent article about the outbreak in the UK, Carl Zimmer, awarding winning science writer for the New York Times and National Geographic stated:

“Noroviruses come roaring out of the infected cells in vast numbers. And then they come roaring out of the body. Within a day of infection, noroviruses have rewired our digestive system so that stuff comes flying out from both ends.

To trigger diarrhea, the viruses alter the intestinal lining, causing cells to dump out their fluids, which then gets washed out of the body–along with many, many, many noroviruses. Each gram of feces contains around five billion noroviruses. (Yes, billion.)”

Lovely, right?

A few hours after my first express trip to the bathroom, our seven-year-old daughter, Maddy, started complaining about stomach cramps and shortly thereafter, she had come down with the virus herself. And while I had a few remedies for adults in the medicine cabinet, there was nothing that would have been okay to give to her to help stop the constant and violent vomiting attacks and re-hydrate her little body.

 

Paleo to the rescue

In my hazy state of Noro existence, I contacted Lisa and asked for advice for Maddy. Not only is Lisa a Paleocyclopedia, she is also a trained nurse and nutritionist and somehow seems to always have that perfect piece of information at hand. She suggested making popsicles using ginger and peppermint, which would help sooth the stomach and re-hydrate the body little by little.

Luckily we had both fresh ginger and peppermint tea at home and my husband, who somehow miraculously did not get the virus, set to making the popsicles immediately. They took some time to freeze while Maddy and I took a powernap with adjoining buckets on the sofa.

In the evening, when the popsicles were ready, she sucked a whole one down while watching Kung Fu Panda. And then she slept through the night, without any further ensuing vomiting! Horray for Paleo Popsicles! As an added bonus, she declared that the popsicles were really yummy and could she have them as a treat once in a while? So not only do we have a super home-made tummy remedy, but a new healthy treat at the ready for her to enjoy in the future.

Paleo, FTW.

 

Ingredients

• Water
• Fresh ginger root
• Peppermint (tea or fresh leaves)
• Popsicle containers
• Maple syrup to sweeten (optional)

What to do

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil
2. Pour into a tea jar and add peppermint tea or leaves
3. Grate in fresh ginger
4. Let sit for 15-20 minutes
5. Strain through a sieve to remove ginger bits (optional)
6. Add a few drops of maple syrup to sweeten if you want
7. Pour into popsicle forms and freeze for 4-6 hours

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