On Monday I wrote a review on Adagio Teas. If you haven’t read that yet, go over and check it out.
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lemon
Lemony Mung Bean Soup
Is it just me or does mung bean sound gross and weird? I bet it’s because it rhymes with dung. And who wants to eat a dung bean? No one. No one wants to eat anything with dung in the name.
Unless you’re a dung beetle, but I digress. 
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DIY Wednesday: Sports Drink
I would say that sport’s drinks like Gatorade, Propel, and Powerade are some of the most controversial products when it comes to hydration. You have the people who are firmly in the water-is-the-only-hydration-you-need camp and then you have others who are firmly in the you-need-to-replenish-your-electrolytes-after-activity camp. Then you have those in the murky middle ground who believe sometimes you need sports drinks and sometimes you don’t. It can be very confusing.
I am somewhere in the murky middle ground. It all depends on the activity you’ve been doing and how long you’ve been active for. The vast majority of us don’t do enough work or exercise that will require anything other than water to rehydrate. There is no need for a Gatorade after a 20-minute workout or to hand out sports drinks after a kids soccer game. There are a few instances where you do need to replenish your electrolyte levels with something other than just water.
People who run/train for marathons, triathlons, Ironman competitions, or any other grueling endurance sport are probably going to need something more than just water. That is because they are asking their bodies to work at full capacity for a long period of time. Anything more than a 90-minute workout session is going to probably warrant a little extra attention to your hydration levels.
Now, here is my other sticking point: I think that commercially sold sports drinks are NOT the way to replenish your fluids and electrolytes. They’re full of sugar and other ingredients that actually make you thirstier than you were before. How else would they sell their product? If one drink made rehydrated you, you wouldn’t need another. Plus you’re getting way more calories than you need from a drink.
Lucky for you, it’s easy to make your own sports drink that will rehydrate you as well as replenish your electrolyte levels without the calories, sugar, or any other possible weird ingredients. You can make these in advance of a tough workout or activity and have them ready to go when you’re done. You can play with the levels of citrus and natural sweetener to suit your tastes.
You can play with the levels of citrus and natural sweetener to suit your tastes and if you don’t want or can’t find coconut water, regular water works just as well. And yes, I know there is salt in here and you’re going to tell me that is ridiculous because we all know that salt makes you thirstier. Yes, BUT, you also need the proper amount of sodium levels in your body to rehydrate and absorb minerals like potassium. If you’ve been sweating like crazy, then you have been losing a lot of sodium as well and need to replenish those stores. So don’t skip the salt (and make sure you use sea salt NOT regular table salt), it won’t make you thirstier and you won’t be choking down a salty drink.
Sports Drink
- 1 cup coconut water or regular water (make sure it’s just plain coconut water, no added sugars)
- 1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1-2 tsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp honey or maple syrup (less or more to suit your taste)
- pinch of sea salt
- Put everything into a blender and blend for a few seconds. Taste and adjust things as needed.
Keep this drink stored in the fridge up to 2 days before you need it. You can also double or triple this recipe to make sure that you have enough on hand for when it’s needed.
DIY: Lemon-Ginger Tea
We almost escaped the holidays without getting sick. Almost. It’s tough because during the holidays you’re around so many people and eating foods that might not be the healthiest and not sticking to your normal exercise routine. It’s almost like inviting germs to take up residence in your body.
The Monday after Christmas, Adam started feeling a little funny and by Tuesday was knocked out with a cough and cold. He had the works, stuffed nose, sore throat, nasty cough, and achy all over. The doctor said it was a virus, but not the flu, and only gave him a nose spray to relieve congestion. So he pretty much had to ride it out on the couch for a week.
While taking care of him and seeing his misery, I knew that I had to take action to make sure I wasn’t the next visitor to the sick couch. I upped my intake of vitamin C with oranges and lemons, made sure I got turmeric in as many dishes as possible, and tried my best to exercise and eat well to make sure that I stayed healthy.
I have a little congestion, but I think I missed the worst of the virus and I’m going to chalk that up to the steps I took to ward it off. One of the things that I did was down this tea every morning first thing. You can buy lemon-ginger tea at the store, but it is so easy to make and I think that fresher ingredients make a bigger impact on your immune system.
So if you’re looking to make sure you don’t get sick this winter, try this tea in the morning and if you do feel something coming on, up your self-care routine. Take extra rest, don’t go run a marathon, but do move a little, and try to eat as much real food as possible. Your body will thank you!
Lemon-Ginger Tea- if it’s available and you can afford it, try to get organic ingredients. If not, don’t stress too much over it, this tea is still better than no tea. 
- One-quarter of a lemon (half of a half)
- 3 thick slices of ginger
- 8 oz hot water
- Optional add-ins- honey, sprinkle of cayenne, fresh or powdered turmeric (fresh tastes a little better if you can find it because powdered might not dissolve as much and leave a gritty feeling)
- Boil the water. While the water is heating up, slice and peel the ginger and put into the bottom of your mug. Slice the lemon and get any add-ins that you want.
- Once the water has boiled, let it sit for a few minutes. Then, pour it over the ginger slice and squeeze in the lemon juice. I like to put the whole lemon wedge in the water after I’ve squeezed it. Add in the honey, cayenne, or turmeric if you want and stir everything together.
- Let it steep for a few minutes and cool down before you drink it/
Lemon Pistachio Cookies
A few weeks ago I found pistachios on sale and on a whim bought about a pound. I wanted to do something with them other than just shove them all into my mouth, which was my first instinct. Since I had access to a Vitamix at the time I of course turned those pistachios into pistachio butter. I had never had pistachio butter before and it was delicious. It had a nice light flavor to it and I thought it would be good in some baked goods.
There are a ton of recipes out there for peanut butter cookies and almond butter cookies, but not that many using pistachio butter. I decided to remedy that and made these lemon pistachio cookies. Not to toot my own horn, but I think I knocked it out of the park on these ones. They are the perfect cookie for springtime. The are light and the hit of lemon adds a nice freshness to them. I added in a little bit of coconut for some texture but it doesn’t overwhelm the cookie with a coconut flavor.
If you don’t have pistachio butter on hand, you can make these with almond butter or cashew butter. I wouldn’t use peanut butter though because I think it would overwhelm the lemon flavor. Ok enough talk more cookie.
Lemon Pistachio Cookie- Makes 12-15 cookies
- 1/2 cup pistachio butter (almond butter or cashew butter would also work)
- 3 tbsp maple syrup (if you like a sweeter cookie add in another tbsp)
- 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1-2 tsp lemon zest
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a small bowl mix together all the wet ingredients. Add in the shredded coconut, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, and lemon zest. Combine everything. It will seem really wet and like it won’t stick together but don’t worry that is fine.
- On a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat, scoop out about a tbsp of the dough. Spread it out a little with the back of a spoon as these cookies won’t rise.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges just start to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
One word of caution, these cookies can go from being perfect to burnt really quick if you don’t watch them. I would suggest checking at the 10 minute mark especially if your oven runs hot. Nothing is worse than a burnt batch of cookies. Not that that stops me from eating them….
Have a great Friday and enjoy the cookies!
Life Healthfully Lived 