Back in St. Olaf… No wait, back in Ohio…I practiced yoga with Malini, at MP Yoga, and she was the best yoga teacher I’ve ever had. I practiced with her from 2008 to 2013. J and I moved back to Pittsburgh at the end of 2013 and Malini just got pregnant with her first baby and didn’t continue teaching through her pregnancy. It was natural break, and I was sad not to be doing yoga with her anymore. A few times after class, she would make what she called Detox Tea. It was very simple, lemon and ginger steeped in hot water with a sprig of mint as a garnish. It was so tasty, and I loved when she made it. I loved it so much that when we moved into our house in Pittsburgh, I planted mint in my garden so I could have it fresh for my tea. The plant now takes up about half of my garden and I get enough fresh and dried mint to make tea all year round. It’s a hardy plant and it grows and spreads quickly. Here’s the recipe for the Detox Tea along with some pictures and health benefits of the ingredients.
Ingredients:
Mint spring (about 4 – 6 leaves)
1 lemon
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
Water
Instructions:
1. Bring a kettle of water to a boil
2. Cut the lemon in half, then in thirds, long ways.
3. Cut the rind off the lemon
4. Thinly slice or grate the ginger
5. Tear the mint leaves into smaller pieces
6. Add all ingredients to a tea infuser
7. Add the boiling water to the tea infuser
8. Steep for 15 minutes
9. Pour into a mug and enjoy!
Now that you know how to make it, here’s a few extra tips on the process.
Tip 1: Mint is hardy and grows quickly. If you like to garden, consider planting it. It grows great in pots if you don’t have a garden. Mint spreads quickly and is hard to get rid of if you don’t want it. So if you don’t want it growing rampant in your yard, pots are the way to go. If you do plant it in the ground, after a year or two, you’ll have enough mint to use fresh during the summer and enough to dry for the winter.
Mint in my garden Ginger freezer tray Frozen lemon and ginger
Tip 2: Bulk “prep” your lemon and ginger. What I do is get 3 - 4 lemons and a couple of fresh ginger roots from the grocery store. I’ll cut the lemons in wedges and cut off the rind. Then I grate all the ginger. I have this nifty tool, that’s actually for freezing garlic, but it works just fine with ginger. It’s pretty much a tiny ice cube tray that I fill with ginger and freeze. Once all the lemons are cut and the ginger is frozen in cubes, I put them all into a silicon reusable bag and keep it in the freezer. Any storage container will work too, and aluminum foil works very well for the ginger. If you take a piece of paper sized piece of it, smooth the grated ginger out in the middle of it, wrap it up and freeze it, it’ll be a nice “sheet” of ginger that you can break off a piece for your tea. You can also freeze your mint in ice cubes as well. I’ve never done this before but have been told by many people that it works. Just put the 4 – 6 mint leaves in an ice cube tray with a little bit a water and freeze.
Tip 3: Use the lemon rinds for a cleaning solution. I use vinegar as a cleaning solution to clean most of the surfaces in my house. I'll get a giant jug of it and add the left-over lemon rinds to the jug of vinegar to add a little extra cleaning kick and make it smell better. I usually let the lemon rinds “pickle” in the vinegar for about a week or so before I start to use it. Then I fill the little spray bottles I have in the bathroom cabinets with it. I also use it to clean the toilets. As a side note, lemons are fantastic soap scum removers. If your bathtub has soap scum, cut a lemon in half, sprinkle some baking soda in your tub, spray a little vinegar on it if you like, then use the half lemons to scrub your tub. I know that probably sounds crazy, but it really works.
Lemon rinds for cleaning Drying mint outside "Canned" mint
Tip 4: If you are overwhelmed with mint from your garden, consider drying it. Take 5 – 6 stalks of it and tying rope around the end. Hang it somewhere to dry. I’ve dried my mint in a few different places like my window in my kitchen, the plant stand in the dining room, or even the treadmill that’s sitting in the basement. This year, since it’s been so hot, I hung my mint on giant stick and let it dry outside. It dried quicker out in the heat that it ever has in my house. After it’s dry, put the leaves in an airtight container, like a canning jar. The flavor will last a long time and if you have enough mint, it may last you all winter.
Tip 5: Get creative with your tools! If you don’t have a tea infuser, a metal tea ball will work just fine. Or just add all the ingredients to a 4 cup measuring cup, let it steep for a bit then put cheese cloth or strainer on top of your mug and pour the tea through it. You could even use coffee filters as tea bags if you wanted to use just the dried mint for tea. Play around and see what works for you.
Health Benefits of Detox Tea
By no means am I an expert on health and nutrition. The following is what I have researched on my own, what other people have advised me about the ingredients in this tea, and what I have experienced.
Lemons: aids in digestion, good source of vitamin C, promotes hydration, supports weight loss
Ginger: aids in digestion, eases nausea, fights germs, eases cramps and sore muscles
Mint: aids in digestion, eases nausea, supports weight loss, can ease stress and helps with headaches
If you have a stomach ache or ate too much on Thanksgiving, drink some of this tea.
If you run or do cardio exercises and your stomach hurts from it, make the tea and put in the refrigerator for iced tea and drink it prior to your workout. I do this for my longer runs, but I exclude the lemon from it. Just a personal preference.
Here are links to buy some of the tools I mentioned above:
Alana's custom designed mugs and travel mugs
Thanks for reading my post about detox tea! Check out my other blog posts about yoga, my coronavirus story, and free downloadable coloring book pages.
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