Does medicine always have to taste awful to work?
Well, it doesn’t.
We’ve been conditioned to believe that everything that tastes good is bad for us. Conversely, if it tastes bad, it must be good for us. Hogwash!
Ice cream for example tastes great. But it makes you fat right? Why is dairy smack dab in the center of the food pyramid then?
Cheeseburgers. Mmmm! Makes you fat, clogs your arteries right?
I don’t know. President Donald Trump is reported to love cheeseburgers and he looks pretty healthy for 73. Plus, I recently read that our joints suffer when we do not get enough fat in our diets. Fats help to create the joint lubrication.
How about a big bowl of leafy, bitter greens? Salads are supposed to be healthy. And they are. But like everything, even fatty delicious cheeseburgers, they’re best when consumed in moderation.
There is a refreshing, favorite summer drink that both tastes great and is great for you. It’s a twist on the ever popular summer drink, iced tea.
Throw moderation out the window on this refresher, because…
- It hydrates
- It has anti-inflammatory powers – great for aching joints
- It has antioxident powers to help keep cells healthy
Adding green tea and fresh ginger to the standard mix we create an iced tea that is both super-refreshing and super-good for us.
Here’s my recipe:
- 1 Lipton’s Tea Bag (any brand will work)
- 1 Green Tea Bag
- 2 Tbsp Lipton Iced Tea Mix w sugar and Lemon
- 1 grape-sized piece of raw ginger, sliced thin
- 16 oz plastic tumbler*, filled 3/4 full with ice
- 1/2 cup of boiling water
- lemon slice – optional to garnish
To Prepare: Fill a normal cup 1/2 full with boiling water. Add the two tea bags and sliced ginger. Wait 3 minutes then remove the tea bags and ginger slices. Add two tablespoons of powdered iced tea mix to the hot tea in the cup. Stir until dissolved. Pour the hot tea liquid into the 16oz plastic tumbler filled 3/4 with ice. Stir. The ice will melt upon the introduction of hot liquid, but will stabilize and be cold leaving plenty of ice to keep it cold and refreshing as you drink. Garnish with a fresh lemon slice for a bonus blast of vitamin C!
You get the antioxidant properties of the tea. You get the anti-inflammatory and digestive benefits of ginger, you get the hydrating power of water. It is reported that much of our pain is related to inflammation. If we can knock that down, we can likely reduce our pain as well.
This is a super-tasty twist on an age old summer favorite drink. If you’re going to drink iced tea anyway, why not super-charge it with healthful ingredients that also happen to taste great?
Mix a glass today and enjoy a nice juicy cheeseburger too.
I was surprised when I took my 80+ year old dad to the doctor one time. My dad was looking a little thin, despite consuming his normal diet. He also was having frequent pain in his spine. So what did the good doctor prescribe?
Eat more ice cream! True story.
It’s so great when the things that taste delicious can be good for us too!
- Caution, do not put ice into a glass glass then pour hot liquid into it. The mix of very cold and very hot could easily shatter the glass and create a dangerous and frustrating mess. Use a plastic tumbler to combine the liquids. You can then transfer into a real glass glass after the liquid has cooled for a better presentation if you like.
Enjoy!
