| I’m always looking for new ways to add a boost to mine and my family’s health. I have tried all sorts of weird and wonderful super foods but I often find them expensive and I don’t necessarily feel any different. These 3 drinks I come back to every winter, they are inexpensive, mostly tasty and I really feel the good they do. |
- Herbal teas. Winter has definitely arrived (my car was frozen shut this morning!) and the cold weather outside combined with the hot temperatures inside mean we need just as much, if not more water than in the warmer months. A dehydrated body means dry, flaky skin and water is the best remedy.I have a large basket filled with bags and jars of my favourite herbs and spices for making teas. I have a selection of green, red and black teas, flowers such as cornflowers, rose petals, chamomile, leaves like lemon balm and peppermint and spices like cinnamon and cardamom.Today I’m drinking rosehips (for vitamin C), cocoa nibs (for a small caffeine boost) and rose petals (for prettiness!). I use a french press and make it up each day, some end up tasting betters than others but I always love the process!
- Bone broths. These have become uber-trendy right now with bone broth bars hitting the high streets but for great reason. Bone broths are highly nutritious with exceptional benefits for gut health, immune health and hair, skin and nail health due to the collagen content.I make mine with organic beef bones (ask your butcher or natural food shop) and I add anything and everything I have in my cupboards: herbs and spices, like turmeric, cardamom, smoked paprika, peppercorns, dried mushrooms like reishi and chaga, dried or fresh fruits like lemons and oranges and whatever veg I have in my fridge. All of these will contribute to the taste as well as the health benefits of the broth.I use my broth in many different ways to ensure each family member gets to benefit (we don’t all love a simple mugful!). I use it to cook rice and quinoa, to steam my vegetables or simply as a delicious and satisfying drink, warm with a generous grind of sea salt. Mmmmmm.
- Milk Thistle. (So this isn’t really a tasty drink, but I use the liquid form so I think of it as something I drink.) I recently finished breastfeeding my daughter, and with anything sad in my life I try to look for the benefits. Milk thistle is a herbal supplement that I really love but couldn’t take whilst pregnant or breastfeeding, so I quickly went to my health food store to get a bottle. It’s a herb that works to support the liver. I believe our livers get a real bashing nowadays and so to give it some support a couple of times a year really helps. And as our skin and liver are our two main organs of elimination, if we can help our liver our skin gets a break too. When I take milk thistle I feel lighter and “cleaner”, and my eyes and skin look brighter and healthier.
Check with your health care provider before taking any supplements but this can really benefit people who have congested skin of any severity or if you are feeling lethargic and slow. And at this time of year, with our richer diets and extra glass of wine (or amaretto!) or two, our livers need all the help they can get!
