June 11, 2013
Yesterday, my rommate returned with an unquenchable thirst. He said he drank some water, but it wasn't helping, and that his mouth was parched. Well, this can be a common complaint in a hot, dry climate like New Mexico. I thought about it, and knew how to quench his thirst. I had informed him in the days prior of a favorite recipe of mine that I often made at home in the hot and humid climate of Miami Beach when I had lived there, that I drank like a fish to ward off dehydration and also to boost my circulation and ward off colds. Plus, it tastes amazing. Also, anytime you feel like you are coming down with a cold, you can add a few drops of echinacea tincture, and the bitterness of the echincacea gets drowned out by yummy, cooling flavor of the lime and zing of the ginger. It makes a great cloak for echinacea tinctures not so pleasing to the palate flavor. He likes his lime-ade a little less lime infused, so I made a weaker version for him and put it in a separate container for him to sip throughout the day. Mine I like much stronger, so I made a separate stronger batch for myself. This is a great alternative for those who don't like drinking straight water to refresh themselves on hot days, and without a doubt for those who think soft drinks are a good idea, as yes, they do taste good, but are extremely dehydrating in the end, not to mention just not healthy for your body (whether it be the corn syrup to sweeten regular sodas, or the aspartame or other chemical sugar substitute used for diet colas). Also, I'm not a big fan of carbonation, unless it is the result of fermentation, such as in kombucha, but that is another story for another day.
So: lime-ginger cooler:
Ingredients:
Water
Freshly squeezed lime (or lemon) juice, or if you don't have a juicer, my favorite is Santa Cruz brand organic lime or lemon juice, which you can pick up at most health food stores (I have always found it stocked on the shelves of whole foods)
agave syrup
Ginger tincture (or fresh ginger root)
You can also substitute maple syrup for the agave, but I wouldn't recommend honey, since it doesn't mix well into cold water preparations.
For every cup of water, I would recommend 2 tablespoons of lime or lemon juice, a dropper and a half of ginger tincture (my favorite is Herb Pharm ginger tincture, however if you can find a glycerine tincture, that is good as well, especially if you are allergic to, or simply don't like alcohol tinctures), and a tablespoon of agave (add enough agave to make it just sweet enough for you, everybody's preference is different).
Yesterday I used stevia in my roomies cooler, and it came out very sweet. We ran out of maple syrup, and we are running low on agave syrup. It was too sweet for me, but he liked it a lot. So that kind of sums up the sweetening situation, ultimately you will add as much or as little lime juice (he prefers a splash, and more sweetener, for example)
This recipe is also a starter for the classic lemon-cayanne cleanse drink. So if you like a little bite in your drinks, you can add a pinch of cayanne pepper to the mix and it will be extremely good for circulation, getting your blood flowing, and any kind of stagnancy you feel within your system, as well as ridding your body of toxic buildup in general, and especially as a super-food type drink to combat any onset of cold and flu, since the ginger and cayenne are natural antibiotics, and the lime juice is high in vitamin C. You can drink one glass of the cayenne drink a day to stave off infections, cold and flu & generally keep yourself healthy, or for more rigorous cleansing & detoxification, drink throughout the day. It's really up to you and what your body can handle, and/or if you like the taste of the drink itself.
*if you don't have the resources to obtain a ginger tincture, there is another way to make this tea with fresh ginger root, which you can buy at most grocery stores. Cut the ginger into several small slices. Put 5-10 slices in a pot of boiling water and let it simmer for 15 minutes to a half hour (depending on how strong you like it). Then let it cool, add the agave and lime juice and drink!
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