Serves 1 or 2
THIS DRINK SAVED MY LIFE! Okay, I may be exaggerating slightly, but it sure felt like it at the time. I was having extreme inflammation in my gut that caused painful pressure all the way up through my chest. When I went to see a wonderful acupuncturist, he introduced me to a tea, which I then tweaked and came up with this soothing, warm drink. I drank it every single day for a month. The pressure in my chest subsided almost immediately. What caused it? Who knows: When you have an autoimmune disease, you don’t always know why your body reacts the way it does. All I know is that my morning tonic was like turning a fire extinguisher on a kitchen fire. Sometimes I also have it after a big meal, to improve digestion, but I especially recommend it as the first thing you put into your body in the morning.
The tea can be made and then put in the refrigerator if you like it cold, or enjoyed warm or at room temperature.
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 cups filtered water
Fresh lemon juice and raw honey, to taste (optional)
Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring just to a boil. Strain into a mug and drink as is, or add some fresh-squeezed lemon and raw honey. (I like Manuka honey.)
Note that the tonic includes fennel seeds, but because they are strained and you aren’t eating the actual seed, they will not be irritating.