Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.
—Mark Twain
Honey Limeade with Raspberry Ice Cubes
Warming Raspberry Leaf Almond Drink
Having a few beverage recipes on hand can be a delicious way to add extra nutrients and phytochemicals to your diet. For example, beverages with lemons and limes contain numerous anticancer compounds, flavonoids, and a healthy dose of vitamin C. The herbal tea recipes in this chapter are cleansing and stimulating to the digestive system, and they provide a rich source of minerals.
Making your own nut milk is actually very easy and the milk recipes provided in this chapter can be used in other recipes as well. Nut milks are so versatile and tasty you’ll find that preparing them becomes part of your weekly routine.
Our children love to drink raw almond milk as a snack! I like to pour it over fresh fruit and chopped nuts in lieu of breakfast cereal. You can also make smoothies with almond milk—try blending frozen peaches, raspberries, kale, and almond milk for a refreshing and nutritious smoothie.
½ cup raw almonds (soaked overnight)
3 cups water
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
pinch sea salt
Place the almonds into a small bowl and cover with filtered water. Soak at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours, or overnight.
After the almonds have soaked, rinse them well under warm running water. Place them in a blender with the water, maple syrup, and sea salt and blend on high for 2 to 3 minutes, or until you have a very smooth milk.
Pour the milk through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a cheesecloth, or through a nut milk bag, into a container and squeeze out as much milk from the pulp as possible.
Store in a covered glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Yield: about 3 cups
Did you know that by eating two to three Brazil nuts a day you can get your daily requirement for selenium? Many of our soils are now deplete in this vital mineral so we need to take extra care in getting enough. Selenium helps with immune system function and detoxification. Use Brazil nut milk to make creamy fruit and green smoothies, or pour over your favorite warm, whole-grain cereal for breakfast.
½ cup raw Brazil nuts (soaked overnight)
3 cups water
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
pinch sea salt
Place the Brazil nuts into a small bowl, cover with filtered water, and let them soak on your kitchen countertop for 8 to 12 hours. Drain off the water and rinse the nuts.
Place the soaked nuts into a blender along with remaining ingredients. Blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth. Pour the milk through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a cheesecloth, or through a nut milk bag, into a container and squeeze out as much milk from the pulp as possible.
Store in a covered glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Yield: about 3 cups
Cashews are a softer nut, and therefore do not need to be soaked overnight to blend well as almonds or hazelnuts do. Use fresh cashew milk to pour over a cooked whole-grain cereal for breakfast such as the Warming Three-Grain Morning Cereal (here) or use it to make fruit smoothies.
½ cup raw cashews
2 cups water
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
pinch sea salt
Place all the ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until very smooth. Taste and adjust the sweetness if necessary.
Store in a covered glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Yield: about 2½ cups
I love the distinctive nutty flavor of hazelnut milk. Try making smoothies with hazelnut milk. I like to blend frozen wild blueberries or huckleberries with about 1 cup of hazelnut milk for a healthy, refreshing treat.
½ cup raw hazelnuts (soaked overnight)
3 cups water
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
pinch sea salt
Place the raw hazelnuts into a small bowl and cover with filtered water. Soak at room temperature for about 6 hours or overnight.
After the hazelnuts have soaked, rinse them well under warm running water. Place them in a blender with the water, maple syrup, and sea salt and blend on high for 2 to 3 minutes, or until you have a very smooth milk.
Pour the milk through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a cheesecloth, or through a nut milk bag, into a container and squeeze out as much milk from the pulp as possible.
Store in a covered glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Yield: about 3 cups
This delicious and colorful drink is wonderful for a summer picnic. Children will love to drink the limeade and eat the raspberries from the melted ice cubes. Limes contain flavonoids called flavonol glycosides, which have been shown to stop cancer cells from dividing. Limes are also an excellent source of vitamin C.
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
¼ cup honey
4 cups water
1 ice cube tray
fresh raspberries
water
To make the limeade, place lime juice, honey, and water into a large glass pitcher and stir well. Taste and adjust the sweetness if desired.
To make the ice cubes, place 1 raspberry into each ice cube mold, pour water into the molds to cover, and place in the freezer. Freeze for 6 hours or overnight.
To serve, place the raspberry ice cubes into the pitcher with the limeade. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4¾ cups
I like to have a pitcher of this on hand to drink throughout the day. Our children love this drink also. Both lemons and limes contain potent anticancer compounds called limonoids, which stop cancer cells from proliferating. Lemons are also an excellent source of vitamin C.
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 cups water
½ teaspoon liquid stevia
Place all the ingredients into a large glass pitcher and mix well.
Taste and adjust the sweetness if necessary. Stevia is very concentrated so just add a few drops at a time, taste, then add more as needed.
Yield: 4½ cups
We make this in the fall and winter when the chilly weather has set in. Our children love to drink it. Try to find a local organic apple orchard that sells cider and stock up in the fall when the cider has just been pressed. You can freeze it and use it throughout the season.
6 cups organic apple cider
2 large organic orange slices
4 to 5 slices fresh ginger
5 cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons whole cloves
Place all ingredients into a large pot. Simmer, covered, over low to medium-low heat for about 1 hour.
Strain out the spices by pouring contents through a fine-mesh strainer into another pot.
Keep the pot on warm if you would like to serve it over an extended period of time.
Yield: about 6 cups
This tea is actually called a “decoction” because the roots are simmered in water rather than steeped. Licorice root is an adrenal balancer, which is very helpful in times of stress; burdock root helps to purify the blood and stimulate the liver; dandelion root also works to stimulate the liver and purify the blood; and ginger acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory. I like to drink this tea before bed because your body’s mechanisms of detoxification are most active during sleep. Sometimes we like to add a little dried nettles and oat straw after the roots have been simmered.
1 tablespoon dried licorice root
2 tablespoons dried burdock root
2 tablespoons dried dandelion root
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
3 to 4 cups water
leafy herbs, such as nettles, oat straw, or red clover (optional)
raw honey (optional)
Place the licorice root, burdock root, dandelion root, ginger, and water into a medium, stainless steel or glass pot, cover, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and add leafy herbs such as nettles, oat straw, or red clover, if desired, and steep for 10 to 20 minutes more with the lid on. Strain tea through a fine-mesh strainer into a widemouthed mason jar. To sweeten, add raw honey. Store any unused tea in the refrigerator in a covered jar.
Yield: about 3 cups
Nettles are an amazing source of many different minerals. You can harvest nettles in the springtime when the shoots are small and the leaves are tender. Dry nettle leaves in a food dehydrator and store in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. We like to make this delicious and nourishing tea often—our whole family loves it!
1 tablespoon dried licorice root
5 slices fresh ginger
4 cups water
¼ cup dried nettles
Place licorice root, ginger, and water in a medium stainless steel or glass pot, cover, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add the dried nettles and steep for 10 to 20 minutes, or longer, with the lid on.
Strain tea through a fine-mesh strainer into a widemouthed mason jar. Store any unused tea in the refrigerator in a covered jar.
Yield: about 6 cups
Dandelion root tea is earthy and slightly bitter. It’s excellent for assisting the liver with detoxification as well as stimulating the digestive system. Chai spices are warming and also stimulate digestion. You can find dried dandelion root and the chai spices in the bulk herb section of your local health food store or herb store. Once the herbs have simmered you can add any thick, rich milk of your choice such as homemade raw almond milk, hemp milk, cashew milk, or fresh raw cream (from pastured cows). I usually fill three-quarters of my mug with tea and one-quarter with milk. I then stir in a small spoonful of raw honey to sweeten it.
1 tablespoon dried dandelion root
2 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
5 to 6 cardamom pods, crushed
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
one 1-inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
4 cups water
milk of your choice
raw honey
Place the dandelion root and spices into a 2-quart pot and cover with the water; place a lid on the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Strain the tea through a fine-mesh strainer into a quart jar. Pour into mugs, top off with the milk of your choice, and sweeten to taste with raw honey.
Yield: 1 quart
This drink is intended to nourish breastfeeding mothers, especially immediately following birth and in the early postpartum stage. The fennel seeds and raspberry leaves help to contract the uterus after childbirth and also promote the flow of breast milk. The almonds are very rich and nourishing, providing healthy protein and fats to the new mother. The ginger, cinnamon, and cloves are warming spices that help the digestive systems of both mother and baby.
6 cups water
1 cup raw almonds, ground to a fine powder
one 2-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
3 cinnamon sticks
4 whole cloves
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
3 tablespoons dried raspberry leaves
⅓ cup raw honey or to taste
Place 4 cups of the water in a pot with the ground almonds and simmer on low for 30 minutes, partially covered. Be very careful not to let the heat get too high, or the ground almonds and water will boil over, which can make quite a mess!
Place the remaining 2 cups of water in a smaller pot with the ginger, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and fennel seeds and simmer for 30 minutes, covered. Remove the pot from the heat and add the raspberry leaves; let steep for 10 to 20 minutes with the lid on.
Strain the herb mixture into a blender and discard the herbs, then add the almond milk mixture and blend on high for a couple of minutes. Add the honey and blend for 1 more minute. Taste and adjust the sweetness if necessary.
Strain the drink through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a cheesecloth.
Yield: about 6 cups