WHOLE30 Day #27 – Here in North Carolina where we live, Spring is almost over and Summer is on its way. It’s getting warmer and warmer as April draws to a close. This is particularly noteworthy because Hubs and I are in the homestretch of our first WHOLE30 adventure. You’ll notice that I’m referring to it now as our “first” adventure with WHOLE30. It’s easy to envision oneself repeating this admittedly difficult process when there are only a few days left.

One aspect of the program that isn’t often addressed – or at least that I didn’t find a lot of info about – is beverages. At its core, WHOLE30 is a higher protein diet. Generally speaking, higher protein diets result in increased fluid loss. That’s a good thing in the beginning because many of us (especially women) walk around retaining excess fluid. In my case, especially in the early postpartum days, I retained a whole lot of excess fluid, and I was uncomfortable. But I was breastfeeding and figured it would all balance out eventually. To a certain extent, my body did balance out after a few months and with breastfeeding. But once I stopped breastfeeding, I noticed I was still holding a lot of extra fluid. I had headaches. My hands and feet were still swollen, and I couldn’t wear my wedding rings. That resolved pretty quickly for me after starting WHOLE30 (like within the first 2 weeks). But, man am I thirsty! Like all the time. Thirsty! And after a while, plain water got to be … boring. Keeping the house stocked with Perrier proved too expensive for our budget, so I went seeking alternatives.

Hubs drinks green tea, and I’ve always planned to start drinking it “someday.” It’s healthy; loaded with potent antioxidants; proven to help with weight loss, and on and on. I never enjoyed the taste and was skeptical that I’d like it without sweetener, until I decided to add fresh ginger. We also experimented with the addition of different flavored teas. My favorite recipe is listed below and includes a mix of plain green tea and herbal peach flavored teas. I like this mix best for both flavor and caffeine content. Green tea contains caffeine (though comparatively less than coffee); whereas herbal tea does not contain caffeine. Excess caffeine not only makes you jittery, it’s also a potent diuretic (it’s the main ingredient in OTC “water pills” by the way) which you don’t need during WHOLE30.

Play with the amount of ginger to find the exact right amount for you. If you don’t like ginger, alternatives include muddled fruit (like peaches, mango, etc.) or fresh herbs like mint. I hope you enjoy this tea as much as we do!

Refreshing Iced Tea for the Warm Days Ahead

Ingredients:
• 1 generous knob fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 sachets plain organic green tea
• 2 sachets fruit flavored herbal tea (I’m partial to peach)
• 2 Liter pure, filtered water

Process:
1. Place peeled and chopped ginger in your pitcher along with tea sachets.
NOTE: Hubs has a fancy schmancy tea infuser which allows us to put sachets into cylindrical tube which I think is designed to hold loose leaf tea if you’re inclined to prefer that form. We put the sachets in the tube but still put the ginger directly into the pitcher for maximum pungency. You don’t need this type of set-up but it’s nice and makes for easier cleanup.
2. Heat distilled water to boiling in teapot.
3. Carefully add boiling water to prepared pitcher.
4. Allow to steep for at least 2 hours.
5. Serve over ice & garnish with fresh mint if desired. Enjoy!
Makes 4 generous glasses

Verse of the Day:
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
~Psalm 63:1 (English Standard Version)
Read more here.

Resource of the Day:
Still need more incentive to drink green tea? Check out this list of 10 evidence-based reasons green tea is beneficial to your health!