Wintertime here in Canada gets pretty cold. Although I have to admit, Toronto is in its own weather bubble and always has way different temperatures from cities even just 30 minutes away. The downtown core gets more brown slush than it does snow and warmer temperatures than its surrounding neighborhoods. I don’t complain; I live in the bubble, I love the bubble. Every time I visit my mom who lives in a town 40 minutes from Toronto, I’m always amazed at the amount of snow and chilliness.
This tonic is inspired by those cold, harsh winter mornings or evenings. This drink warms up not only your cold hands, but also the insides of your body. Each ingredient was carefully selected to collectively make this a powerful, medicinal beverage to give a feeling of well-being.
It’s also super simple to make, I sometimes make this when I first wake up, then I drink it as I get ready for the day and make breakfast afterwards. The drink sits nice on an empty stomach as it wakes up your organs so you can begin your day with an extra pep in your step. I also sometimes drink it at night or in between meals and it helps keep me full for longer while delivering my body with a bountiful supply of nutrients.
The best part about this tonic is that you can control exactly how it tastes. Use the recipe below as a guideline and adjust it to your own liking. If you would like it more sweet add more maple syrup, if you’d like it less spicy add less ginger and cayenne. If it’s too sweet or too sour then add more or less lemon. And that’s it! But just to warn you, this drink may take some getting used to….Eventually you will crave the sourness on your tongue from licking your lips after you drink this. You will crave some spice in your life. Just give it some time to adjust.
Hot and Spicy Lemon-aid Tonic
Ingredients
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1 tsp-tbsp maple syrup depending how sweet you want it
- 1/2 inch piece of ginger whole, sliced, or grated*
- pinch cayenne pepper
Instructions
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Boil some water (you can also let the tap run on the hottest setting if you drink tap water)
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Put all the ingredients in a cup and adjust to your liking; add more maple syrup to make it sweeter, more cayenne or ginger to make it spicier
Recipe Notes
*You can leave the ginger whole, or slice or grate it. If you leave it whole let it steep a bit longer so the ginger can release all its good stuff.
What’s so great about all these ingredients?
Lemon: some of the health benefits of drinking lemon are that lemons are high in Vitamin C to protect your immune system. Lemons also make your body pH levels alkaline and aids digestion that can assist with some acne and digestive issues.
Maple syrup: choosing maple syrup as a sweetener is a smart choice because although it is sweet its also full of so many health benefits. It is high in antioxidants, calcium, iron and zinc, which protects the heart against diseases.
Ginger: in my opinion ginger is one of the healthiest spices this world has to offer. There are so many research papers on all the health benefits so just to name a few ginger is anti-inflammatory, prevents nausea, lowers blood sugar levels, improves heart function, aids indigestion and much, much more.
Cayenne pepper: this spice really packs a powerful punch. You only need a very small amount to reap the benefits that include; improves digestion, relieves joint and nerve pain, boosts metabolism, and has anti-fungal properties.
What are the health benefits of this tonic?
All these ingredients combined as you can imagine provide an immense amount of medicinal properties. By drinking this tonic you are naturally detoxifying your body and improving digestion. Detoxifying the body flushes the toxins out and stimulates the liver. The results are a clearer complexion and improved nutrient absorption because the digestive system runs more smoothly.
This tonic also prevents you from getting sick or boosts your immune system to make you get better faster if you are already sick. All of these ingredients also aid in weight loss because it regulates blood sugar levels that trigger cravings for fatty’s foods, speeds up the metabolism and aids in eliminating waste in the body.
Cheers!
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
If you try this recipe I would love to see it and share it! Tag me on IG @thegreenerer, using the hashtag #thegreenerer
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