June 10, 2015

Love-Your-Belly Lemon & Ginger Tea. {Recipe}

0 Boost Score Carlene Kurdziel (1,215)

4.8k

Lemon Ginger Tea

Until recently, my stomach and I had not been the best of friends.

Much of what I ingested seemed to find a way to disturb my digestive system’s fine balance and my care-free (but healthy) diet and lifesyle.

Now, a gut that’s not working 100% isn’t the biggest health problem a person can face. Overall, I pride myself on being a healthy person—physically, mentally, and spiritually.

I tried countless diet changes, including going dairy-free (which has proved to be a good option, intolerant or not), drinking smoothies filled with good-for-you enzymes and increasing my fiber intake to flush out my gut. All the above are great healthy options which I continue to this day, but the gut problem persisted.

It wasn’t until I discovered the benefits of lemon water and ginger, separately at first, that my belly and I started to make up and make friends once again.

I started drinking warm lemon water first thing in the morning for its wide array of benefits. It provided a mental boost on my groggy days along with a much needed burst of energy in the mornings. I saw my skin become more healthy and happy. It was almost as if I could feel the effects of the lemon juice working through my gut, like a million little sponges travelling through and scrubbing it down until it was squeaky clean once again.

Then, ginger came along. This root vegetable is known for it’s spicy taste and anti-inflammatory properties. My love affair with this little yellow super-food began when I was living abroad and came in contact with a flu that felt like it was taking all of my insides out. My host family offered me some ginger tea, and it was the only thing I could keep down. After a couple minutes of sipping my steaming savior, the tenseness in my belly resided, and within a couple days my sickness was gone (hooray for strong immune systems!).

After a couple months of struggling with my belly issues, I decided to combine my two favorite tummy-loving beverages into a beautiful healing concoction that is perfect served either warm or cold.

The flavors pair wonderfully together as a tea with a refreshing citrus taste and a kick of spice.

Digestive Loving Lemon-Ginger Tea:

6 cups of water, brought to a boil

2 lemons, thinly sliced

~2 inches ginger root, thinly sliced

2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

Bring water to a boil in a large pot.

Once boiling, add lemon slices and ginger root.

Steep, covered, for 20-25 minutes.

Strain tea into jug or separate containers. I like to use jars because they’re easy to store in the fridge for individual use later (and look cute doing their job).

If drinking hot from the pot, sprinkle some cinnamon in and garnish with a lemon wedge for a fancy feel to your gut-cleaning goodness.