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Ginger Elixir, Turmeric Lemonade, and More: 15 Health Tonics to Start 2017 the Right Way

Holiday celebrations are over. It’s a new year now and many of us are looking to take it easy on our bodies (at least for the first month), after what seemed like months of indulging in all kinds of food. If you already have a plan for what you’re going to eat, what else can you do to treat your body (and yourself) to something good? You can always grab a bottle of juice, but that can get expensive. Why not try making your own tonic? Tonics are drinks that have a base in alternative medicine and can include ingredients that do your body good like turmeric, ginger, kombucha, and more. If you’re also interested in how you can alkalize your body in the morning, we have tips for that, too.

Need to give your body a break? Tired of green smoothies? Then, these 10 tonics are the best way to start the new year right.

1. Turmeric Glow Lemonade

Turmeric Glow Lemonade

This Turmeric Glow Lemonade is a game-changer, mostly because it’s so lemony and a little bit spicy with a touch of sweetness. Refreshing and thirst-quenching like no other. You can mix this up in 30 seconds. Drink it any time of day, when your body is thirsty for a drink that’s a step up from water.

2. Tulsi Chai Concentrate

Tulsi Chai Concentrate

Forget the café — tea made with your very own Tulsi Chai Concentrate will be your new chilly day companion. Fresh ginger, cardamom, star anise, and other warm, spicy spices are crushed to release their oils, then boiled together to make a concentrate that will create the best chai tea you’ve ever tasted. The special ingredient here is tulsi — also known as holy basil — which has a spicy, peppery, clove-like flavor. You can use your homemade concentrate to make hot tea, cold tea, or espresso drinks like dirty chai.

3. Fizzy Coconut, Lime, and Mint Kombucha Elixir

Fizzy Coconut, Lime, and Mint Kombucha Elixir

This Fizzy Coconut, Lime, and Mint Kombucha Elixir tastes amazing, looks beautiful, is hydrating, nourishing, and full of healthy probiotics! Give it a try at home and impress friends with this pretty mocktail. It’s the perfect refreshing beverage to accompany weekend brunch.

4. Iced Dandelion Latte

Iced Dandelion Latte

This Iced Dandelion Latte is a detoxifying drink that is much healthier than iced coffee. It is made with roasted dandelion root tea which gives it a rich and full-bodied flavor and sweetened with stevia. Iced Dandelion Latte is flavored with a little bit of vanilla, a splash of organic soy milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

5. Soy Milk Kefir

Soy Milk Kefir

It seems like everyone these days is crazy for kefir, a creamy fermented milk drink that is full of probiotics. If you love the idea of kefir, but you don’t love dairy, try making your own version at home … with soy milk! This two-ingredient Soy Milk Kefir is as simple as can be (seriously, you don’t really have to do much thanks to the magic of fermentation), and the result is slightly thick, perfectly tangy, and full of goodness for your gut. If you are soy-averse, try experimenting with other types of non-dairy milk and see which one you like the best! You can find ready-to-drink water kefir at your local health food store.

6. Healthy Alcohol-Free Champagne

Healthy Alcohol-Free Champagne

This Healthy Alcohol-Free Champagne will be your new best friend if you like celebrating life without the alcohol intake. Not only it’s easier than making a cocktail but it will help replenish minerals and electrolytes. Your body will love you for that! Cheers!

7. Energizing Turmeric Tea

Energizing Turmeric Tea

Defeat the post-New Year slump with this Energizing Turmeric Tea, with warm spices and creamy coconut milk! Turmeric has been used in India for centuries for its anti-inflammatory properties; it’s also an antioxidant. In this simple smoothie, fresh turmeric is blended with matcha, cinnamon and warm spices, coconut cream, and water. Serve it warm to chase away the cold!

8. Ginger Elixir: An Ayurvedic Digestive Drink

Ginger Elixir

This Ginger Elixir is an easy to make Ayurvedic beverage, best to have during fall and winter season. Ginger acts wonders to fire up our digestive system. Good digestion is the cornerstone of health and well-being according to Ayurveda. When our digestive system is working well, we absorb all the necessary nutrients from the food we eat, enjoy healthy circulation, and have a good robust immunity to diseases.

9. Chaga Mushroom Tea: Chai and Vanilla

Chaga Mushroom Tea

Chaga mushrooms have amazing healing properties and you can experience the benefits in tea form, like in this Chaga Mushroom Tea. This is a two-for-one kind of recipe: you can brew your Chaga with whole spices like cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, and others to make chai or you can brew it with vanilla stevia to make a simple, sweet vanilla tea. You can serve either flavor hot or iced, so you can enjoy it no matter what time of year it is.

10. The Easy Way to Make Your Own Kombucha

The Easy Way to Make Your Own Kombucha

What’s something else you can do? Learn The Easy Way to Make Your Own Kombucha! Making your own delicious kombucha is super easy, nutritious, and saves you a ton of money since you won’t be buying all those bottles. Have fun experimenting with this tart, fizzy drink by throwing in your own add-ins, like fresh ginger, turmeric, lemon, and cayenne.

Do you use any of these ingredients daily? We’d love to hear from you. Let us know your favorite tonic in the comments below!

Learn How to Cook Plant-Based Meals at Home!

Real Vitality Tonic

Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental wellbeing, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health, and more! Dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, prostate cancer and has many side effects.

For those of you interested in eating more plant-based, we highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Here are some great resources to get you started:

For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to the One Green Planet Newsletter! Lastly, being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!

Lead image source: Energizing Turmeric Tea