Though the summertime usually feels too hot for tea, the summer heat often inspires simpler eating and healthier food choices. This week's blog post gives an iced detox tea recipe to facilitate health while keeping you cool!
Pre-made detox teas can often be found in health food stores and contain herbs such as:
Burdock Root -- protects the liver cells from damage, especially from alcohol and acetaminophen, and acts as a blood purifier.
Dandelion Leaves -- those pesky weeds in your backyard acts as a diuretic, which means toxins are eliminated in the urine. Dandelion also has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects.
Milk Thistle - the seeds are rich in an antioxidant, called silymarin, which helps prevent toxins from entering liver cells.
When making your own tea, you can add in ginger root, fennel seeds, or licorice root to help improve digestion, decrease inflammation, and help make these teas super tasty! Most herbs for detoxing tend to have a bitter taste. Feel free to add lemon juice or maple syrup to improve the taste as well.
Dandelion Detox Tea
Makes 2 servings
Ingredients
3 cups of water
1/2 cup dandelion leaves, washed and dried*
1/2 cup ginger root, sliced
Juice from 1 squeezed lemon, divided
2 Tbsp maple syrup, divided
1 cup of ice
*If harvesting your own dandelion leaves, make sure they are from grounds without pesticides or herbicides
Preparation
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil
Meanwhile, place dandelion leaves and ginger root in a French Press or large mason jar
Add boiling water to herbal mixture and let steep for 10 minutes to release the most medicinal properties
Meanwhile, obtain 2 drinking vessels and add 1/2 cup ice to each
Once the steeping is finished, strain the liquid. *If using a mason jar, strain out liquid into using a cheese cloth. Pour liquid into 2 drinking vessels.
Squeeze one lemon half into each drinking vessel.
Add maple syrup to taste. The nature of detox teas is that they are bitter. Feel free to add maple syrup, honey, or stevia as desired. Enjoy!