Momma’s Honey Lemon Rejuvenation Tea

Confession.

I love coffee.

There. I said it. Real foodies *gasp* if you will, but it’s true.

I don’t even love it for the caffeine if you must know, although this momma of 3 under 4 years old certainly benefits from it some days. I just love the taste. I love the warmth. It is my happy place some chaotic days. Most days I just have a cup in the morning and I’m good. Some days I need a little place of happy in the afternoon, but while I’m nursing and also trying to replenish my body from pregnancy/labor/delivery/nursing a baby, it probably isn’t the smartest thing I could be drinking more than once a day.

So it’s 1:07 p.m.

Kids have been up since 6:41am.

It is blessed naptime, and I have not stopped since the instant those children opened their eyes.

Time to catch my breath. Read through a few emails. And let’s be honest, scroll through Pintrest or Facebook for an hour…*ahem*…a few minutes.

Lately instead of grabbing another cup of coffee to sip on while I rest for a few minutes, I have been making this honey lemon tea. It isn’t really a “tea” as there are no herbs steeped, but it is warming and just as satisfying as coffee for an afternoon drink.

Not to mention accomplishing my goal of working on healing and replenishing *me*. I spend so much time talking about how to nourish our kids, but there is no way we can focus on nourishing them if momma isn’t healthy.

In all honesty, I am actually dealing with some thyroid and adrenal issue exacerbations since my last delivery, and I have been in denial about needing to focus on taking care of myself. Giving myself a break. Letting myself sit for a while during naptimes to recoup instead of picking up the living room floor or scrubbing that pot. And zeroing in my attention on specific areas of need that my body has.

Lemons are not only great sources of vitamin C (which we could all use when our bodies are under the stress of lack of sleep and fighting cold bugs from the germy preschool drop off), but lemons flush out the liver and help with digestion. There are a myriad of other benefits to having lemons in your daily routine, and just getting the water in too is great. There are so many days where I get to naptime and can’t even remember if I had anything to drink since breakfast – and I can tell I’m dehydrated.

The pinch of sea salt is there for your adrenals. I am willing to bet just about everyone (especially just about every momma) can benefit from a little adrenal help. Stress comes with the territory of momma-hood, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything about it. When you can’t do much about the fact that you are up in the night with babies, just take the extra step of doing what you *can* do to replenish your adrenals. Real sea salt will balance electrolytes, minerals, and adrenal function.

Raw honey is another good source of minerals to replenish your body, along with some vitamins. It can also aide in digestion. It isn’t just added in there because it tastes good! But it does help, and keeps me from reaching for something sweet to snack on in the afternoon. If you can find local raw honey that is going to give you the most benefit. Ask around at farmer’s markets. We have local raw honey at our markets but I go to a local health food store about 20 minutes away for large tubs at a better price.

You could also give a stir of coconut oil into your drink. I especially do this if I need an energy boost like I would get from coffee. It works everytime – I can literally feel myself perk up within 15 minutes of having coconut oil. It also helps keep milk supply up for breastfeeding.

So a few simple ingredients and my mood is picked up, my adrenals are nourished, my body is refreshed. And I’m ready to take on the rest of the afternoon filled with 4 year old questions, poopy diapers, quarrels over who gets to go first, spilled glasses of milk, crayon on the table…and on and on!

Tips:

• HERE is some good sea salt if you don’t have access locally. I get this sea salt at just our grocery store cheapest. Anything that has some color to it like Celtic sea salt or pink Himalyan salt is good.
• HERE is some good raw honey if you don’t have access locally.
• This drink is also fantastic when you (or the kids) are feeling ill – skip the pedialyte and Gatorade – this works better and doesn’t have all the junk.
• Pack it up hot in a thermos to take with you at work for that 2pm slump.
• I love my simple lemon juicer 🙂 I don’t have anything fancy but this sure gets all the juice out of those lemons! And it’s a quick rinse off to clean up!

So here is my challenge to this momma tribe! Come back to me this week and tell me how you have taken care of yourself! Doesn’t have to be this – it could be a nap, a walk around the neighborhood, a bath after bedtime!

This post was shared on Fat Tuesday and Allergy Free Wednesdays!