You all were so adorable in your comments yesterday. It is a great/magical story! Thanks for sharing in the happiness of it with me. So sweet. (FYI, the awesome vintage pressed glass bowl below is also from my thrifitng adventure. Love.) And am I using the cabbage glasses? Everyday I tell you. They are key for my new nightly treat, my Clementine-Ginger Spritzer.
Truthfully I'm more of a red-wine-in-the-evening girl, but I've been having migraines like nobody's business lately. Every week or two I find myself curled up in a ball, wishing it would all just end. And for me nothing motivates a lifestyle change quite like debilitating pain. So I've decided to go with my instincts and give up the two beverage habits that I enjoy most: caffeine and alcohol. While I don't binge on either, I am suspecting that my body just can't handle the chemicals that they both contain, so I am cutting them out for a while to see what happens. (I considered throwing wheat and sugar in the do-not-eat mix as well, but goodness, it's almost Solstice and what would I do at our all-night-sugar-fest without those two vices? Wheat and sugar will just have to wait until January.)
Granted I'm only on day three, but I've almost replaced my tea habit with my old nettle chai recipe. I'm weaning myself off of the black tea one cup at a time, and I think that's working well. And the wine? The wine was replaced with a homemade Clementine-Ginger Spritzer. So yummy that I drank two bottles full last night. (And hey – no headache!)
I use homemade fizzy water in these, but you can just as easily use store-bought.
Since the holidays are upon us, I thought you might enjoy the recipe to rotate into your holiday mix. (With so many mamas and pregnant mamas posted in the giveaway I am hosting for LuSa goodies, I might be onto something with this caffeine and alcohol free/low sugar beverage theme. Kid friendly!) Here's how.
Gather your ingredients:
- Three organic clementines (or tangerines or satsumas – call them what you will)
- 1" nub of ginger
- 1 Liter carbonated water or mineral water
- A few drops of Stevia or honey
Make it:
If you have a masticating juicer, throw the unpeeled ginger in and catch the juice in one cup. Then juice the peeled clementines and catch juice in another cup.
If you don't have a fancy schmancy juicer, just finely grate the ginger and squeeze out all of the juiciness with your fingers into a cup. Then halve and juice the clementines by hand into a second cup.
The ginger can be unpredictable, so we'll add that slowly. (Thus the add-ins segregation.)
Add clementine juice to fizzy water, then add ginger a few drops at a time. Taste and add a few more if it isn't too zingy. Add a squirt or shake of stevia (I'm loving the liquid stevia as it seems far less bitter than the powder) or if you prefer add some honey diluted first in warm water so that it will mix in. You only need a little, as the clementines are sweet already.
Gently stir and taste. More ginger? Probably yes. Take it to the edge of spicy balanced with the sweet of the clementines and stevia. Serve over ice.
All I can say is yum. And wine? What wine? I don't remember any wine…
Sounds delicious, thanks!
Sounds great, I’ll try it, I don’t know what exactly are clementines in Spanish, but I’ll find out.
This sounds delicious! I hope your migraines are gone for good.
I’ve been thinking about cutting back (notice I DID NOT say ‘cutting out’ haha) sugar and wheat but came to the same conclusion that you did…it will have to wait until after the holidays! Got to set yourself up for success right?
Nahuatl,
Like naranja but pequeño. 🙂
~ Rachel
I had a dream last night about those glasses! I have a Bombay Company tea set with a cabbage motif. So I think my brain just made a connection. Anywho, that recipe sounds wonderful! It might actually make a spiffy holiday drink if one wanted to add a smidge of liquor for pizazz, though I don’t know which one.
I’ve considered getting a fizzy water maker, but just can’t seem to decide if it would actually reduce my carbon footprint or not. What model do you use? Do you need to replace the carbonator often? How long does the water stay fizzy in the glass bottles – do you thrift those as well?
Lots of questions – sorry!
My vote for clementines in spanish is naranjitas (doesn’t that sound cute?) but I think it’s actually clementina if my source is correct.
PS. I just got my 2011 Nikki McClure calendar. I am in love!
….AND I just added the penguin to my holiday wish list. If only I could add those sweet cabbage glasses, which I had never seen or heard of before yesterday but am now sure I cannot live without. Hope you are doing well Rachel!
That sounds really good. I struggle with migraines, too and can’t decide if they are worse with or without caffeine.
So true, Kim! Baby steps work best around here…
Rachel
I drink nettle/raspberry leaf/oatstraw tea every morning so I had to try your nettle chai! I was in a frazzled hurry to get to a playgroup so I combined a teaspoon of the herbal blend with a pinch of mulling spices and a teaspoon of oatstraw for extra calming, brewed it and drank it with some local honey. It was delicious — thank you!
Susanne,
I went through the same process on the fizzy water machine but after a year of deliberation decided to go for it. We love it. We only go through approximately 1 CO2 tank per season (so 3-4 per year). The glass bottles come with the Penguin Soda Stream. It is the only one that uses glass. It stays fizzy for days, as long or longer than normal fizzy (due to the glass I suspect).
Blessings,
Rachel
Love the Penguin. We even make homemade tonic water. Yum. (See you tomorrow!)
~ Rachel
Sally,
People have recommended that I drink coffee when a headache is coming on but when Ive tried it it makes me nauseous. If I cut it completely Im hoping for greater balance! (We will see…)
Rachel
Jenn,
Your variation sounds awesome. Give the full recipe a shot when you have time and let it steep plenty long for the most deep flavor. Yum, yum, yum. Im off to make a pot myself right now!
~ Rachel
This sounds so good. When I was pregnant, I couldn’t get enough oranges, this would have been divine! (But I think it will still be divine while not pregnant.)
I’m also glad to know the tip about the liquid stevia. I’ve never bought it because it was expensive, and I wasn’t sure I’d like it better. Thanks!
Anna,
The liquid stevia is far better. Im so glad I picked some up!
Blessings,
Rachel