Make It At Home Monday - Healthy Beverages, Part 2
Sweetened Vinegar "Tea"
This drink started out a few years ago as "apple tea," since I made it with apple cider vinegar. Lately, though, I've been making it with kombucha vinegar, since that's what I have around my house. (If you aren't familiar with kombucha, check out my post here.)
This is a simple drink that is very refreshing in the morning, and it's easy to make. Pour about 1/4 cup of vinegar into a glass, then add a tablespoon of honey and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon. Fill it with warm water and stir well with a wooden or ceramic spoon. This is good year round, but especially good during the cold season, since all the ingredients help with colds.
Lemon water
Before I got pregnant with E, I suffered from heartburn frequently, but I always hated taking medication for it. One day, I ran across a blog that suggested hot lemon water to help with heartburn. It seems like it should be more harmful than helpful, seeing as lemon juice is an acid, but it really worked for me. I squeeze half a lemon into a mug of hot water. I haven't had much heartburn in the past few years (diet change?), but I keep this one in the back of my mind in case.
This drink started out a few years ago as "apple tea," since I made it with apple cider vinegar. Lately, though, I've been making it with kombucha vinegar, since that's what I have around my house. (If you aren't familiar with kombucha, check out my post here.)
This is a simple drink that is very refreshing in the morning, and it's easy to make. Pour about 1/4 cup of vinegar into a glass, then add a tablespoon of honey and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon. Fill it with warm water and stir well with a wooden or ceramic spoon. This is good year round, but especially good during the cold season, since all the ingredients help with colds.
Women's Toning Herbal Tea
I started drinking this toning tea when I was pregnant with E, and I really developed a taste for it. It's a very healthy drink for women, and the ingredient amounts can be adjusted to address specific concerns. The basic recipe is one part each of alfalfa, oat straw, nettles, and red raspberry leaf. Alfalfa is high in Vitamin K, and is therefore a really great addition to the diet just before and after birth for families who are refusing vitamin K injection. Oat straw is rich in calcium and other minerals. Nettles and red raspberry leaf are excellent hormone balancing herbs, though caution should be exercised not to over do it on the RRL early in pregnancy, since it can cause or enhance uterine contractions. A cup of this tea twice a day is a lovely way to start and end the day. The herbs can usually be purchased at a co-op or natural food store. This tea is also really refreshing in the summer mixed with lemon water and poured over ice.
I started drinking this toning tea when I was pregnant with E, and I really developed a taste for it. It's a very healthy drink for women, and the ingredient amounts can be adjusted to address specific concerns. The basic recipe is one part each of alfalfa, oat straw, nettles, and red raspberry leaf. Alfalfa is high in Vitamin K, and is therefore a really great addition to the diet just before and after birth for families who are refusing vitamin K injection. Oat straw is rich in calcium and other minerals. Nettles and red raspberry leaf are excellent hormone balancing herbs, though caution should be exercised not to over do it on the RRL early in pregnancy, since it can cause or enhance uterine contractions. A cup of this tea twice a day is a lovely way to start and end the day. The herbs can usually be purchased at a co-op or natural food store. This tea is also really refreshing in the summer mixed with lemon water and poured over ice.
Warmed Salt Water
I just started using Himalayan pink salt, and I'm excited to see how it helps my body. Lately I've been feeling run down and just out of sorts, so I decided I'd try some new things to help detox my body, and Himalayan salt is supposed to be an excellent detoxifier.
The usual recommendation for salt water is to make a big batch of "sole" and then add a small amount to a glass of water each day. I haven't done that yet, since I don't have any plastic lids for my mason jars, and we shouldn't use metal around salt (remember those cool glass stir sticks from chemistry class?). This morning, I simply sprinkled a small amount of pink salt into the bottom of my cup and filled it with warm water, then tasted it. I only had to add a little bit more salt to get the taste - apparently your body is wise (of course) and your kidneys will tell your tongue how much salt is needed.
Unrefined, natural salt is full of minerals. There's a good amount of information about sole here, but if your taste buds are like mine, you don't need much convincing to chug a glass of salt water each day.
I just started using Himalayan pink salt, and I'm excited to see how it helps my body. Lately I've been feeling run down and just out of sorts, so I decided I'd try some new things to help detox my body, and Himalayan salt is supposed to be an excellent detoxifier.
The usual recommendation for salt water is to make a big batch of "sole" and then add a small amount to a glass of water each day. I haven't done that yet, since I don't have any plastic lids for my mason jars, and we shouldn't use metal around salt (remember those cool glass stir sticks from chemistry class?). This morning, I simply sprinkled a small amount of pink salt into the bottom of my cup and filled it with warm water, then tasted it. I only had to add a little bit more salt to get the taste - apparently your body is wise (of course) and your kidneys will tell your tongue how much salt is needed.
Unrefined, natural salt is full of minerals. There's a good amount of information about sole here, but if your taste buds are like mine, you don't need much convincing to chug a glass of salt water each day.
Before I got pregnant with E, I suffered from heartburn frequently, but I always hated taking medication for it. One day, I ran across a blog that suggested hot lemon water to help with heartburn. It seems like it should be more harmful than helpful, seeing as lemon juice is an acid, but it really worked for me. I squeeze half a lemon into a mug of hot water. I haven't had much heartburn in the past few years (diet change?), but I keep this one in the back of my mind in case.
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