What are some good proven home remedies for strep/sore throat?

I am sorry to say that there are home remedies for a sore throat but not for strep. You need an antibiotic to take care of it.

I learned that the hard way. For garden-variety sore throat:

Honey, lemon and hot tea.
Mild warm salt water gargle.
Throat lozenges or hard candy.

Exactly what @gailcalled said. I also learned the hard way- took 2 bouts of antibiotics for me.

Untreated strep = potential of damage to heart valves

If your throat stay sore more than 72 hours and you have a fever, it is likely to be strep, and you must go to the doctor for a culture. The other possibility is mono. Strep does not have congestion like a cold.

Typically a cold starts with a sore throat, it lasts for 24–48 hours, then you get a brief lull in symptoms, the throat pain pretty much disappears, and then the congestion starts, runny/stuffy nose, etc.

For your sore throat drink cold to cool drinks (hot inflames the throat more, hot liquids are for colds with stuffy noses). Use chloresptic spray, you can spray it often, and tylenol can help.

If it is strep, which can be very painful, you can ask your doctor for xylocaine along with your antibiotic presciption. the Xylocaine you gargle and swallow, and it will numb your throat completely for a few hours, but you cannot use it before you go to sleep. Most doctor do not prescribe it, which I find very dissappointing, because strep is so painful it is hard to even stay hydrated, because swallowig is so painful. Oh, that is another thing, sore throats due to a cold usually is not very painful to swallow, strep is typically agony.

see a doctor for strep, for all other ailments use Echinacea a herbal remedy used in china for thousands of years which simply boosts the immune system temporarily and works for colds and flu too.