Chapter 12: Healthy Beverages
Staying hydrated is crucial to staying healthy. Liquids help with stagnation and other digestive issues, keeping the mind sharp, and controlling appetite. Often when you’re hungry, you really just need a glass of water or two. In this chapter, you’ll find beverages that will hydrate your system, rev up your metabolism, and boost your immunity. Next time you’re hungry, try one of the drinks from this chapter first.
Iced Mint Tea with Lemon and Honey
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
Serves 2
3 cups strong brewed mint tea
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp honey (optional)
Method
- Dissolve honey in warm mint tea and add lemon juice.
- Pour into pitcher filled with ice and serve.
Iced Kukicha with Apple and Lemon
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
Serves 2
3 cups strong brewed kukicha tea (found at health food stores, often called bancha or twig tea)
½ cup fresh apple juice
Juice of 1 lemon
Method
- Wash apple and lemon and peel if not organic.
- Core apple, chop lemon in half, and pass both through juicer.
- Combine with brewed kukicha, pour over ice, and serve.
Basic Fruit Water
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Ingredients
Serves 2
2 quarts water
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries
1 green apple
2 limes
Method
- Wash all fruit.
- Peel apple if not organic, core, and chop.
- Chop lime.
- Add all fruit to pitcher with ice and fill with filtered water.
Cold Brew Coffee
Prep time: 8 hours
Cook time: 0 minutes
Ingredients
Serves 3–4
⅓ cup freshly ground, organic, medium roast coffee
1 cup filtered, room temperature water
Options
Sweetener of choice
Milk of choice
Mint leaves
Coconut oil
Vanilla bean or extract
Cinnamon
Cardamom
Method
Concentrate:
- Combine freshly ground coffee and water in glass mason jar with lid.
- Stir well with a wooden spoon or chopstick. Avoid metal utensils since it changes the flavor. The grinds will float to the top.
- Seal jar and let sit overnight (at least eight hours) on countertop or in fridge, depending on your temperature preference.
- Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into another jar to remove grinds. Your concentrate will stay fresh for up to one week.
- Dilute ¼ cup concentrate with ¾ cup water and add your favorite milk and/or sweetener.
- You may also warm the coffee on a stovetop for hot coffee, which will still be far less acidic than traditionally brewed coffee.
Options
- For stronger coffee, add more grounds at the beginning.
- Add two sprigs of fresh mint to your soaking jar for a great herbal flavor.
- Blend brewed coffee with one teaspoon coconut oil, ¼ cup coconut milk, and ½ vanilla bean or one teaspoon vanilla extract for a delicious frothy beverage.
- Add cinnamon or cardamom.
Classic Sangria
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Ingredients
Serves 4
2 bottles favorite red wine
¾ cup orange juice
½ cup brandy
¼ cup triple sec
¾ cup blueberry or pomegranate juice
½ cup honey simple syrup
1 green apple
1 orange
Method
- Combine red wine, orange juice, brandy, triple sec, and blueberry or pomegranate juice in large pitcher and stir well.
- Dissolve ¼ cup honey in warm water and stir into pitcher.
- Wash apple and orange, core apple, cut all into thin slices and add to pitcher.
- Serve.
- Option: Omit the alcohol (red wine, brandy, and triple sec) and use kombucha for a fun, sparkling, non-alcoholic, gut-friendly alternative. You may also want to omit the honey simple syrup since kombucha is sweet.
Warming Ginger-Turmeric Tea
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
Serves 2
3 cups brewed fresh or bagged ginger tea
1 tsp turmeric
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp honey (optional)
Method
- Brew tea and mix in turmeric, lemon juice, and honey.
- Stir well and serve.