Tag herbal tea

A great after-dinner holiday tea (or tisane)

Happy holidays to everyone around the world and bon appetite! With all of the delicious dishes being served for the holidays, I can’t forget about drinks. My after dinner holiday tea recipe is a perfect way to end our holiday meal. For different parts of the world, the spices vary for this soothing beverage.

A brief history

For centuries, people have created beverages as accompaniments to their meals. This is especially true for the holiday and festival seasons. From parts of Africa, the middle and Asia, many drink after dinner teas on regular basis. In Victorian England, these were known as tisanes rather than tea. Tisanes are usually made from fresh or dried plant parts like leaves, flowers, crushed seeds, etc. As to whether or not other folks have their own after dinner holiday tea recipe, I’m guessing I’m not alone.

Health benefits of my after dinner tea recipe

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll remember that I’m all about function and flavor. I love creating an after dinner tea recipe each season. Since it’s fall heading into winter, here, it’s time for my holiday blend. today’s recipe is no different and features a blend of spices that are great for the stomach. This after dinner holiday tea recipe also includes spices that remind of you fall and winter goodies! All of these ingredients are particularly great for gut health, which is the back bone of our immune system.

More on this

My spice blend is anti-inflammatory, supports the immune system, is anti-microbial and anti-viral. For example, caraway and coriander alleviate bloat, IBS, and indigestion. Other benefits of this tea blend include, helping to alleviate diarrhoea as well as constipation. Mint soothes the stomach and helps alleviate nausea. All if not most of these ingredients, promote a healthy gut, immune system and so much more. You can read more about the benefits in some of my favourite tea recipes like this one by clicking right here!

Here are the ingredients you will need

1. 1/4 cup of ginger (fresh)

2. 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds, freshly ground

3. 1/2 teaspoon of coriander

4.  1/2- 1 whole medium cinnamon stick

5. 1/4 cup of finely shredded mint leaves

6. 1/4 tea spoon of fresh, ground green cardamom

7. 1/4 cup of  gingered honey

8. 24 ounces of filtered water

About the gingered honey

For how to make gingered honey, click here to get the recipe and how you can switch it up for a variety of purposes. Since I’m an avid herbal tea drinker, I love to make my own gingered honey. Don’t be afraid or intimated about making it yourself because it is easy to make. Just keep in mind that you will need to give it sufficient time to cure and develop it’s potency.

Making your after dinner holiday tea

First, bring your water to a gentle boil and then add your fresh ground ingredients. Toss in your cinnamon stick and fresh shredded ginger, turning down the heat to a low simmer for about 10 mins. Next, add your gingered honey with your fine shredded mint leaves for an additional 3-5 mins. Finally, turn off the heat and strain your after dinner holiday tea. You can then garnish your tea with a pinch of fresh mint and add more honey to taste.

Final thoughts before you go

Spices add flavour, complexity and in a lot of instances, a variety of healing elements to every dish you create. This is one of the main reasons why I’m so passionate about decolonizing your traditional food ways in addition to knowing what is actually in your food. Food has a tremendous capacity to heal the body and is often the first place to go in order to heal your body naturally. If you have doubts about the power of spices in your food, you can read what John Hopkins Medicine states right here. Also, make sure you subscribe and follow my blog to get the latest updates, posts, and more!

Sleepy Time Tea and Tincture

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It’s the of summer but let’s not forget we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic! That means, no scrimping on selfcare in order to stay health and aligned. For me, a summertime wellness tea is an excellent way to help my body continue to naturally fight off pathogens.

My thoughts for this summer

As always, make sure you research your herbal ingredients as well as make sure they are pesticide-free! Over the last few years, I’ve crafted a variety of herbal tea blends for each season. As an intuitive lay herbalist, I bring together ingredients based on their properties and align them with my body’s needs.

I took this current state of the world as a sign to majorly reconnect with my herbal traditions. I’ve since labeled up my selfcare toolkit, resources, and training. Today’s recipe is a deliciously natural way to support the body in fighting off ailments. I believe the solution to most diseases and illnesses, can be sourced from nature to work with the body’s natural defenses.

*please note that this post contains some Amazon affiliate links and as an affiliate I do receive a small percentage from the sales any items using these links!

The reality 

Unfortunately, we live in a society that glorifies synthetic chemicals, big pharma, and the destruction of the natural world. The very people that are push drugs and the use of chemicals in our food systems are the same ones telling us not to look for natural alternatives. As for me and my family, we’ll still to our traditional remedies and limit our use of conventional forms. 

My experience has shown that my body (and my community agrees), responds better to our traditional herbal remedies. Again, I’m by no means a medical practitioner, and strongly suggest you see your physician for any issues.

About this tea

Having said that, my summer wellness tea blend is one of many I create for myself and my family to deal with allergies, boost immunity, etc. I often make a large kettle of it and then sweeten it with raw honey. I switch up the ingredients intuitively, depending on what I feel my body needs (i.e stress reduction, immune boost, etc). To be honest, I think everyone needs to have a wellness tea as part of their health and wellness routine. Herbs and spices have been used for centuries, to fight disease, ease chronic conditions, detox the body, and just overall wellness.

My story

I started to really lean into my herbal roots when I found that my seasonal allergies, cold, and flu symptoms dramatically decreased when I switched to herbal and natural remedies. Also, I see that as I get older, my body feels healthier and more aligned when I avoid using pharmaceuticals to ease discomfort and other ailments. Add in spices like ginger, turmeric, cardamom, etc and the relief goes to a whole new level!

For example, Instead of using synthetic sleep aids for insomnia, anxiety, or fatigue I’ve switched to traditional herbal alternatives. Plus, since I don’t like “popping pills” (and neither does my family), I was forced to create tasty teas and tinctures instead.

My tea craze

I have to confess, I have a tea obsession, and if it helps my body heal and fights off the bad stuff too? Then sign me up! I believe everything has its place. Wellness must always be holistic and look at the whole person. Unfortunately, this is not true for many western concepts of health and wellness. Since I believe my food should heal and nourish, my herbal tea recipes fall into that philosophy.

What’s in it

This latest recipe contains, dried rose hips, lemon balm, marshmallow root, calendula flower, butterfly pea flower, chamomile flower, cardamom pods, elderberries, and licorice root. On a side note, I get all of my ingredients from small specialty stores on Etsy that are pesticide-free and ethically sourced. But amazon you can also get organic ingredients on Amazon as well, just do your research.

My personal guide

Sometimes, I add more of one ingredient over the others because I feel my body might need more support in a certain area. If I’m dealing with a lot of stress, I might add more elderberries and rose hips to the mix. Other times, it just depends on what my intuition is telling me about my body’s needs at a particular time. This why a selfcare practice is so important. When you “selfcare” you are more connected and aware of your body. As a result, you’re better able to discern what your needs are and make adjustments.

Recipe guide (how much of each ingredient)

Since I like to keep things simple, I measure in terms of teaspoons or parts. Just make sure you stay consistent with your measurements. Also, be sure to check with your doctor to make sure it’s okay for you to consume these ingredients (i.e. you don’t have any allergies or reactions with medication, etc).

Ingredients for my wellness tea

1. Dandelion (root, leaf, and flower): is a liver tonic or blood purifier, optimizes digestion, stimulates bile, a great source of potassium, iron, calcium, and vitamins (A, B, C. D).
2. Calendula (flower): nourishes and cleanses the lymphatic system and moves congestion out of the body. It’s also great for treating gastrointestinal issues and indigestion.
3. Rosehips: rich in anti-oxidants, protects again heart disease, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, boost immunity, and  lowers blood sugar.
4. Chamomile flower: anti-inflammatory, improves sleep,  digestive health, aides blood sugar control as well as anti-cancer properties.
5. Cardamom pods: good for boosting digestive health. The cooling effects of cardamom, despite being a spice, can help in relieving acidity
6. Elderberries: are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, anti-inflammatory, boost immunity, high in vitamin C, supports heart health, anti-cancer properties, as well as antidepressant properties.
7. Lemon balm:

   reduces stress and anxiety, eases indigestion, improves sleep, anti-viral, IBS symptoms, boost brain health, relieve nausea and pain reducer.

8. Marshmallow root: is antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, treats acid reflux, heartburn, good for the respiratory tract, detoxes kidneys and is antibacterial.
9. Butterfly pea flower: fights fatigue, anti-inflammatory, rich in antioxidants, boost heart health, improves brain health, and is great for the skin.
10. Licorice root: gets rid of  bloating, reduces digestive issues, acid reflux, a good source of vitamins (A,C, E)helps with liver health, antiviral, respiratory and other infections.

where I get some of ingredients (Amazon)

1. Elderberries : https://amzn.to/3iBo1tJ
2. Raw honey, organic:  https://amzn.to/3nrh95Q
3. Rosehips : https://amzn.to/2GLWLLx
4. Chamomile: https://amzn.to/3jCjjNp

You should be able to find the rest at your local health food store or Etsy. Let me know in the comments, if you’ve got some other great sources as well.

I usually get my ingredients from organic suppliers in the US. Amazon also has some trustworthy sources, you just have to do a little research. Here’s just a few of the sources I use on Amazon:

How to brew this wellness tea

For any herbal tea, you want make sure that you don’t brew it too hot or else you’ll destroy most of its benefits. I go by a simple rule: delicate flowers and leaves, low heat, while  roots and fibers med to medium high heat.

Also, the longer you allow it to steep, the more concentrated it will be. To get the maximum benefits I usually steep my teas for at 15 mins and sweeten with raw honey. Don’t forget, raw honey has a number of healing benefits too. This recipe is perfect  over ice as a delicious morning detox tea or hot. You can check out more of my favorite tea recipes right here!