I’ve always been a fan of a great at-home bar. I strongly believe it’s a must-learn life skill to mix up classic cocktails, and as an avid host, it’s important to provide an array...
Looking back on Easter as a child, I remember how excited I was to dig through my Easter basket. Full of chocolate bunnies, malt ball Easter eggs, Peeps, golden coins, and my favorite Cadbury...
Lets be honest, salads can be boring. So I’m always trying to think outside of the box to come up with salad recipes that I’ll thoroughly enjoy, but are beyond easy to make. Enter...
Lets be honest, salads can be boring. So I’m always trying to think outside of the box to come up with salad recipes that I’ll thoroughly enjoy, but are beyond easy to make. Enter...
One of the best things you can do for your body and more specifically your immunity, is support its natural detox system. Yes, that’s right; your body knows how to do it well on its own. But the bonus here is that there are simple concoctions and DIY immunity boosting and detox tea recipes that can help your body get the job done even better, and kickstart healthier habits in general.
After finally settling into a routine at home over the past month, I’m setting out to sip on these DIY immunity teas at home every night. I’m thinking of it as a treat I’m giving myself to feel better from the inside out. See, the teas—with their rockstar ingredients like dandelion root, cerasee, ginger, green tea and more—can do more than rid the body of harmful toxin buildup; they give you increased energy, stronger immunity, and even stress relief. That being said, herbal tea is one of my favorite ways to detox because it’s a simple, soothing addition to my daily routine, and it’s known to work wonders for the mind, body and soul. Seriously, how good is settling into bed with a cup of hot tea in-hand especially with a slice of raw honeycomb to add a little bit of natural sweetness to my cup. Check out the four easy recipes below, and tell me which DIY immunity boosting tea is calling your name! And if DIY isn’t your thing, check out a few of our favorite teas you can get delivered to your door. Truly, MKR
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In case you didn’t know, apple cider vinegar has an incredible ingredient called the “mother.” Not only will it help your detox, its countless health benefits can help cure even pretty serious ailments, and it can help you feeling better ASAP when you’re feeling under the weather.
When using apple cider vinegar to detox in particular, you have to drink it; this easy detox tea makes it easier to go swallow. Drink this detox tea before meals for maximum benefits.
APPLE CIDER VINEGAR DETOX TEA
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon organic, raw, local honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1 cup hot water
Directions:
Boil the water and allow it to cool off a bit before adding the other ingredients.
Mix in the apple cider vinegar and the raw honey.
Add roughly a teaspoon of lemon juice.
Here’s a play on an excellent detox recipe that’s been popular for years now; a simple mixture of water, dandelion root tea and cranberry juice. (Be sure to find the cranberry juice with NO sugar added.) You won’t need to boil the ingredients, instead just mix them together and drink on a daily basis (one pitcher every seven days) to eliminate water weight.
DANDELION ROOT DETOX TEA/WATER
Ingredients:
60 oz. distilled water
1 dandelion root tea bag
1 tablespoon pure cranberry juice
Directions: Mix the water, cranberry juice and lemon juice together.
Add the dandelion root tea bag after.
The MVP of natural detoxing is definitely green tea. Green tea doesn’t detox toxins all on its own (your body has a pretty good system to do that), but it is packed with the natural polyphenols that support the body when it’s detoxin’. Polyphenols have a direct impact on your liver (the body’s major detox organ), and they’re antioxidants that fight free radicals.
This detox tea is incredibly easy to mix up; simply add honey and lemon to your steeping green tea.
GREEN TEA DETOX
Ingredients:
1 slice lemon
1 green tea bag
1 teaspoon honey
8-10 oz. water
Directions:
Brew the green tea bag in the 8 to 10 fluid ounces of water.
Add the lemon slice and honey.
Cerasee leaves are grown in Jamaica, and known to be an excellent herb for your blood and has many overall health benefits. It has a bitter flavor and aroma, but it is an excellent source of calcium, iron, carotene, phosphorous, vitamin C and vitamin A.
The tea is known to protect your body from cold and flu symptoms, as well as headaches, stomach pains, fever and abdominal pain (including menstrual cramps). The leaves work to eliminate toxins, treat parasitic worms, liver conditions, skin problems and give constipation relief.
CERASEE DETOX TEA
Ingredients: Cerasee leaves with vines (or cerasee tea)
Ginger
Water
Raw honey
Directions Boil the cerasee leaves and ginger in water. If you don’t have the leaves, boil water for the cerasee tea bags to steep, adding ginger once boiling.
Add honey and enjoy.
A few weeks ago I caught myself off guard by the date. Actually, it wasn’t so much the date, but more by the fact of what the date meant. It meant that 2018 was almost over and 2019 was almost here. I thought to myself, how could 2018 be over? There was so much change I wanted 2018 to bring. But in all the areas of my life I wanted to see “change” in 2018, I instead saw a massive backslide.
Which led me to thinking a lot about change, and how to go about making change actually happen. And not just happen, but more importantly, stick.
You see, I always have grand plans. And maybe my plans are just too grand. And maybe, just maybe I always seem to want to change parts of me that will never really change. And maybe, just maybe, I’m now sounding like a Dr. Seuss book.
Dr. Seuss aside, I believe I’m on to something. Sometimes the best way to make something big happen is slowly, simply, one foot in front of the other, each and every day. And hence, the first annual 31 in 31 has been born.
So what is 31 in 31? Well, it’s 31 small changes in 31 days to renew, refocus and recharge your life. The changes, or rather challenges, will focus on mental health, physical health, non-toxic living, and getting your sh** together. Each day you’ll be presented with a challenge of sorts, and yes there will be a big ol’ grand prize at the end. Because we need accountability, and we all need prizes, and if there’s one thing I’ll always it’s competitive.
I’ve spread out and set up the challenges via a customizable calendar you’ll get emailed to you on the 30th when signing up, but the calendar is customizable so you can change what you do on what day based on your schedules. Some days will only take 5 minutes, and some a bit more time. Some examples of the “challenges” will be things like: schedule all of your 2019 doctor’s appointments and don’t cancel (because you know we all wait till December to see every single doctor we go to), drink more water, to deleting 60 minutes of television from your DVR.
The challenge won’t cost you a dime. Yes, there will always be suggestions of products or calls to action. But spending money is not mandatory. The entire “challenge” will be via email and social media because let’s be honest that’s where we all live. Emails will be going out the morning of the 31st with your calendar and everything you need to participate. Then each day you’ll get an additional email with each day’s challenge.
If you want to truly participate I’m asking you to share your day’s challenge and if you’re accomplishing it on social media taking me and using the hashtag #31in31. I did mention a prize, basically, the more you share the more points you get. We’ll also be sharing fun graphics, and questions that will be easily shareable throughout the challenge making it easy for you to earn points. And the prize is BIG, so you’ll want to share. Don’t worry all of this will be explained via emails!
So with small steps in mind, I say no there will be no major fasts, no purging of my entire life in one week, no 10 days to a new me. There will just be simple ways to bring about change and make time for what has always made me (and likely you) the happiest.
And one more thing, there’s nothing magical about January 1st. So if you’ve found you’re reading this on January 25ht, sign up, print it out, and just begin. Small steps lead to big leaps, and consistency is key so let’s do this friends! Oh, and keep reading for a MAJOR ($775 value) giveaway to kick the challenge off right! Truly, MKR
P.S. if you’re reading this on Bloglovin’ or anything else you’ll need to click in to the post to enter the giveaway.
One of the favorite things I have in my home is a makeshift tea station upstairs in my bedroom. Ove the years, I’ve become a major night-time tea drinker. And because I spend the majority of my evenings cozied up in my bed working, reading, or watching TV I got tired of running downstairs 2-3 times just to put the kettle on to get more tea. So, to alleviate that last year I purchased an electric tea kettle and turned a bar cart into a tea station.
It’s nothing fancy, just an electric tea kettle and a tray full of mugs, tea bags, mulling spices, and all-things cozy. So when thinking about hosting all of our holiday guests this season I thought, why not turn my upstairs bar into an at-home holiday breakfast bar.
If you’ve been following my Blog for a while then you know I have an upstairs loft that I turned into a sort of game room/bar area. It’s an awkward space, that truly doesn’t get used a lot. But it’s beautiful and I knew it would perfect for this self-serve idea.
So why not set this up in the kitchen? Two main reasons. One, it’s festive and fun, and I love doing small things like this to really make guests feel welcome and like you went all out for them.
And two, all of the bedrooms are upstairs while the kitchen is downstairs. I, like many people, love a slow, quiet start to my morning. I don’t necessarily want to get dressed, and ready and head downstairs and start my day right away. By having everything guests need right outside their door they can pop out and grab a cup of coffee or tea, and a breakfast pastry and head back to their room to have that nice leisurely start that every vacation should have. Plus at night it can be used as that sleepy time tea station has become part of my nightly routine.
Regardless of where you set it up, a self-serve, holiday breakfast bar is beyond easy to create. First, I made sure that I had all the morning necessities present. Coffee maker, electric tea kettle, and toaster. I love this new vintage set from Russell & Hobbs. It’s well priced, works like a gem, looks adorable, and the toaster even has a croissant toasting shelf!
Second, stock your holiday breakfast bar with everything guests would need to make it self serve so everyone can run at their own speed in the morning. Think mugs, water, tea bags, coffee, sugar, utensils, napkins, etc. And I stashed all of the extras in the drawers making it super easy if guests run out of anything.
Third, I made it festive with holiday-themed coffee blends, pastries, jams, packets of cocoa and tea. And of course, added a wreath and a few of my favorite rosemary and lavender Christmas trees as decor.
Lastly, I always make sure guests know that this is there for them to access at any time. There’s nothing worse than being a guest who feels they have to tip-toe around their hosts.
And that’s it. An easy at home holiday breakfast bar that is as festive as it is functional! Tell me, how do you make guests feel welcome in your home? Truly, MKR
