Nettle Tea

One of my 4:00 tea time favorites lately has been nettle tea. 

Surprisingly, that annoying weed that we have all come to know and hate, stinging nettle, has a storehouse of nutrition!

Stinging nettle has been used for medicinal purposes since at least 3 B.C.!!

Get this, according to livestrong.com, ten grams of raw spinach has eight milligrams of magnesium and ten milligrams of calcium. Pretty good, right?  Well, stinging nettle has eighty-six milligrams of magnesium and two hundred-ninety milligrams of calcium!!! 

A toast to health!

The University of Maryland has lots more of information on this little wonder. Because it is known to lower blood pressure, blood sugar, and is a natural diuretic, one should be careful if they are on certain medications.

Oh, and don't forget to wear gloves when picking and handling these weeds! They don't call it stinging nettle for nothin'!

Earl Grey was interested in all that extra calcium too.

...and just because he is so cute. :))

So, how do we make the tea? 

I am so glad you asked!

Right now, we have these weeds in abundance...so first, put on some gloves, grab some scissors, a basket, and go find you a plant.
Here's what they look like...

Pointed leaves and fine hairs on the stem.

After that, cut several of the stems off. If you uproot the whole plant, that works too, and you can just leave the root on there (even more nutrition). 

Next, fill your kitchen sink with warm water and a tablespoon of vinegar. Place your contents in the sink, meanwhile bringing a pot of water to a boil on the stove. Once your water reaches a rolling boil, turn the burner off, and transfer the plants to the pot. Take off your gloves, cover the pot with a lid, and go to bed. The next morning you will have a delicious pot/kettle of nettle tea. The sting is gone, so it is just nettle tea. :) 

Oh! The more nettle used, the greener it gets...until it almost reaches an aqua color. 

So pretty!!

Recipe: Nettle Tea

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

large handful (gloveful) of stinging nettle

1 tbsp. of vinegar

water

honey or stevia optional

Directions:

Caution: Be sure to wear gloves when handling stinging nettle!

Fill sink with warm water and vinegar, then place stinging nettle in sink to rinse. Meanwhile, bring a quart of water to a rolling boil. Once water is boiling, turn off the burner and transfer the stinging nettle into the pot. Cover, and leave overnight. 

Lavender Ginger Tea

It's that time of year when the world gets a cold,

Everyone you hear seems to say,

"Drink your ginger tea and you will not get it too."

and this song of mine in three-quarter time,

Wishes you and yours a cold free year!

(you sang that, didn't you?)

It is true though! Ginger tea is a known cold preventative; and if despite trying to prevent it you still get the nasty cold, well then, it also soothes sore throats. 

On top of that, ginger tea does the following: improves blood circulation, aids in weight loss, relieves nausea, soothes pain, is great for skin and hair, reduces cholesterol, and freshens breath!

Oh, the wonderful world of tea. Can you tell I get just a little excited talking health?

Of course, everything has to be in moderation.
*ahem*
What is tea without a couple orange cranberry cookies? 

...and along with classic literature?  Even better.

Recipe: Lavender Ginger Tea

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

6 thin slices raw ginger 

2 cups water

2 teaspoons dried lavender

lemon slices (optional)

Honey or stevia to taste

Peel the ginger and slice thinly. Place the lavender in a tea steeper. Put in all ingredients, except lemon slices, in a small pot. Boil for twenty minutes (boil more or less depending on how strong you want the tea), then serve with fresh lemon slices.