Lemon and Ginger Detox Tea
About a month ago I was feeling down in so many ways. I felt tired, unmotivated and just plain blah. My first thought was that I wasn’t getting enough iron in my diet because I don’t eat a lot of meat and I haven’t been paying close attention to making sure that I get iron from other sources. But even when I beefed up my iron intake, I still wasn’t feeling great.
I had also fallen behind in my exercising, so I know that was part of it too. But how do you get motivated to use so much energy if you have no energy to begin with? I started to look for something that would give me a boost to getting off my butt. Something that would catapult me into workout mode so that I could get my energy back and start working hard to lose that “baby weight” that’s I’ve been holding on to for the last 18 months or so.
First I found Jillian Micheal’s Detox Tea where you mix dandelion tea with cranberry juice, lemon juice and water. It claimed to help you lose 5-7 pounds in a week, which I’m sure would be water weight since none of these ingredients contain magic. I did try it…for one day. It tasted awful. I couldn’t even finish one day. So if it really does works, I’ll never know!
Then I stumbled upon Sassy Water. Have you heard of this one? This one used water with cucumbers, lemon and mint. This one did taste good, and I did feel like I was less bloated after day 2 of drinking an entire gallon of it as the recipe suggested. But after a week I still wasn’t feeling as well as I would have liked. So I decided to make my own detox tea.
When I had made the first detox tea, I couldn’t find straight dandelion tea so I bought a detox tea that contained dandelion amongst other ingredients. Along with the detox tea, I also used lemon and ginger. Both of these ingredients aid in digestion by improving enzyme function which help the body flush out toxins, and they also reduce bloating.
Ingredients:
- 2 bags of dandelion (or detox) tea
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 2 tbsp ginger root peeled and chopped
- water
Directions:
Brew the 2 tea bags in 2 cups of boiling water. Set aside to cool. Once cool, pour into a gallon pitcher. Take lemons and gently squeeze into the pitcher then add the lemon rinds to the tea. Add ginger then fill the rest of the pitcher with water. Let it sit over night. I like to add a slice of lemon to my tea while I drink it to give it an extra lemony flavor.
I have been drinking it for almost 3 weeks and seriously love it! On days that I forget to make a batch I can see a difference in the way my body feels. I’m tired, bloated and have that general blah feeling all over again. I try to drink the whole pitcher in one day, but usually only drink half because I also like to drink just plain lemon water.
This tea won’t magically melt fat, or make you loose 10 pounds in a week. But it may make you feel better and have the energy to do more with your day like it has for me. I have also noticed that during the day I’m not as hungry and don’t feel like I need to snack constantly. All around, great things are happening here! If you do decide to try this, let me know how it works for you!
Sounds like an awesome alternative to the ones that you tried. I’ve tried sassy water and thought it was pretty good. I’ll have to give yours a try! Also, have you ever had your thyroid checked? After my second baby, I was feeling sluggish. Turned out that my thyroid levels were off the charts high (which indicate an UNDERperforming thyroid). Anyway, worth a check!
This sounds yummy! I think I’ll give it a try, too! Thanks for the recipe!
Let it sit overnight in the fridge to cool or outside?
You could do either. I like to drink it at room temperature, so I leave it on the counter. -Monika
I created almost the same tea several months back. I use Yogi detox tea, fresh lemon, fresh ginger and organic honey. Its helped me fight off colds and sinus infections which I’m very prone to getting. I drink it hot and at night I add a little whiskey…works better than NyQuil!