Everyone wants to start the new year in a healthy way. After traveling in early January and fun over the holidays, I was ready to start my first-ever detox program this week. Detox programs range in aggressiveness and effectiveness; I'm following a more gentle program (The Clean Program) that is focused on resetting your body by eating clean, healthy food and eliminating what are typically inflammatory foods for a few weeks. It also of course requires cutting out alcohol, coffee, and sweets, but that really hasn't been so hard (as much as I do love wine). I've actually enjoyed coming up with ways to think up more uber-healthy meals and drinks. Along these lines, two of the best things for your digestive system are ginger (which promotes a healthy gut) and lemon (which promotes a healthy liver). I recently bought a ginger-lemon-mate drink the other day and thought that the ingredients were so simple that I could surely make my own. Turns out it was very easy to replicate and is a great drink either warm or cold to keep you healthy during the winter. Feel free to multiply the recipe if you want to make a larger batch - this makes one glass at a time.
Fresh Ginger Lemonade
Serves 1
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 t. fresh finely minced ginger (I found the kind
in a jar works best)
1-2 t. agave nectar
1 c. water
Put all the ingredients into a jar or glass and shake it up until mixed. Drink as is or heat it up - it's delicious both ways.
