So, it's really cold here today. I mean REALLY cold. It's like living in a freezer.
We woke up early this morning for my husband's work and boy did we feel it! A friend from work sent him a text with some colorful words, describing said weather, and I looked out our little bedroom window and saw a thick layer of snow on the fence outside. Even my husband had to put on 2 sweaters this morning. I bundled up with 2 shirts, 2 sweaters, sweat pants and 2 pairs of really thick socks. When we opened the ice and snow covered door as he left I saw a cold, snowy world; gray and white and miserable looking. Makes you want to curl up on the couch in all your layers, with 2 blankets, a warm laptop and a hot mug of tea. Which I am. I am currently drinking Licorice Spice by Stash. It's lovely.
(I love Crate and Barrel http://www.crateandbarrel.ca)
Speaking of tea. I love it! Herbal tea to be specific. My religion has a kind of health code called the Word of Wisdom, which I choose to follow, that talks about not drinking coffee and tea; so for that reason and other health reasons I don't drink anything but herbal tea. Within that though there are so many possibilities! I've been drinking herbal tea for a long time but whilst I was living at my parents for a month in February I rediscovered it, if you will.
My mother-in-law has been following this health program that requires her to drink a lot of water. She has basically been carrying around a litre mason jar and constantly re-filling it with lemon water. She was drinking x amount of litres, according to her body weight. Well, I decided to copy her. I know all about the health benefits of drinking lots of water. In fact, in school it was the very first thing we learned about. We had an entire unit on it. It's good for circulation, digestion, your immune system, your skin etc... I figured since I would be home a lot and had easy access to a bathroom for a whole month I would try it. I did my own variation of course. I drank 3 litres of water a day (most days) but I mostly just had 1 lemon drink with a tbsp of maple syrup a day and the rest was a litre mason jar with 2 bags of herbal tea and a little liquid Stevia. Cold. Well, more like cool. It was amazing! I also know that there are an exorbitant amount of wonderfully beneficial herbs out there and have often wished I could find a simple way to incorporate them more into my diet. Duh! Herbal tea. It's perfect! I can get my herbs AND my H2O, all in one! So efficient. I feel like a genius. Haha. Although, I'm pretty sure I'm a little slow on the uptake with this one. When I needed warmth I would drink it warm in a mug and then the rest of the time I had it cold. It was just like having flavored water all the time, or juice when I used fruity tea's. Only the flavoring wasn't a little packet of refined sugar that rots your teeth and weakens your immune system (just to name a few). It was all natural and extremely good for my health.
So what did I notice? I noticed that my moods were more balanced and brighter, my mind and my skin were clearer, my energy levels were higher, my bowel movements were better (don't laugh it's important!), and as long as I stopped drinking an hour or more before bedtime; my sleep was good too. So many benefits! You should try it. I am going to make it a life style. Adjusting the amount as needed. I just moved across the country so I still need to find myself a litre mason jar as I couldn't take the one I had with me, but I can't wait to start again and feel the change. This experiment has been one of the most immediate, obvious and substantial in it's results. I like that. So go home and try it! You can just buy bagged tea or get mixes for your tea strainer. Whatever you like :) Choose organic and natural as much as possible and if you want more of those beneficial herbs; look for ones whose main ingredients are herbs. Like my licorice spice!
Here's a tea recipe I was thinking of today; because it is so cold and I am planning on bringing it back into my morning routine purely for it's circulatory effects, never mind it's digestive effects etc...
It uses ginger! You can buy pre-made ginger tea in a tea bag or buy a ginger root and make it homemade; I prefer this. I peel it as I go and store it in a bag in the freezer so it lasts longer and grates better.
Homemade Ginger Tea
1 tsp - 1 tbsp peeled and finely grated ginger root.
Half a juiced lemon
1 -2 tbsp cold water
Boiled water (amount is up to you and the size of your mug)
1 tsp - 1 tbsp of honey or maple syrup
* Adjust the amounts according to taste. Some people like it more sweet and some people don't. This is great as a pre-meal digestive prep and as a warming tea. Seriously, your temperature will go up multiple degrees.
DISCLAIMER: The person writing this blog is neither old, nor a granny. She also does not play any kind of table games with large groups. Although she does occasionally drink herbal tea in groups. But there are no doilies and bland food present. She also does not have dreads, do yoga or mediate (at least not the kind you're thinking) or do special chants before drinking her tea. In other words, anyone can drink herbal tea and be cool. Do it! It's the new thang!
Here's to being warm! Which I am now. Toasty, in fact.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs E.
P.S. None of these pictures are mine. I got them off the internet. I need my own camera again!
Here are the links to them. I got them off of google images.
http://eatingrichly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/IMG_0089.jpg
http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/55/5546/3C4LG00Z/posters/denis-corriveau-snow-covered-door-after-snow-storm.jpg
http://www.wtip.org/drupal/sites/default/files/images/icy%20door.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YsU8d8hoQMg/UD_GQc_y_WI/AAAAAAAAAN8/1RV9jEPUXMI/s1600/Alive+in+the+Fire_Tea.jpg
http://chrisbeatcancer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/chinese-herbal-tea.jpg
http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/siamphotos/siamphotos1209/siamphotos120900086/15539009-dried-herbal-tea--mulberry-kaffir-lime-peel-chrysanthemum-lemongrass-chinese-jasmine-stevia-tea.jpg
http://img4-1.realsimple.timeinc.net/images/0911/decoder-herbal-tea_300.jpg
No comments:
Post a Comment