Sometimes, I just can’t get warm on the inside. Can any of you relate?
When this happens, I’m usually sitting at my computer, and except for the neurons in my brain firing away, I’m motionless…for hours. My toes are frozen, and even the tip of my nose is chilly. My Welsh mother-in-law always says “If your feet are cold, put a hat on!” And, so, I do that, too. I drink endless amounts of hot tea— all types— detox tea, herbal teas for adrenal health, herbs for brain clarity, and sometimes, just plain warm water and lemon.
A winter smoothie? Hmm, not the first thing I am thinking these days. Sounds, well, cold, although I do still force myself to make one almost everyday to get my veggie quota in for the day.
Recently, I invented something to keep my taste buds interested and my body warm.
I decided to put a dash of cayenne pepper in my tea to stoke that internal fire a bit. But that was too dang hot!
Then, I added lemon juice just because I love it, but that was too bitter.
So, I juiced quite a lot of ginger and added honey and it was just right. I make a large amount of this one time per week and use it all day long, everyday throughout the week.
Here’s the recipe:
Winter Ginger Tonic:
Juice of 10 lemons
Fresh ginger, a piece about the size of your hand
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or more to suit your taste
5 -7 TBS honey (adjust for your taste buds)
• Peel the skin off of the ginger and cut into smaller 1” pieces.
• Add juice of lemons, honey, pepper, and ginger pieces to blender.
• Blend until uniform. It may take a little while.
• Strain through fine strainer into jar. Push down on the ginger pulp to extract as much as possible into the jar.
• Store in the refrigerator.
Use 2 TBS per mug of hot water or more according to taste. On your next batch you can increase or decrease quantities of the ingredients according to your taste buds.
Enjoy and stay warm!
If you would like to learn a little more about ginger, here is a ticker:
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