Cozy winter drinks with health benefits
When it’s cold, snowy and dark outside, sometimes all you want to do is curl up by the fire and drink a nice mug of hot cocoa. However, most hot chocolates don’t offer much in the way of nutrition, and with flu and cold season in full swing, you might want to try a different drink to keep you warm and boost your health.
Here are five recipes for drinks that are just as cozy and delicious as a hot chocolate mix but will also keep you healthy this winter.
1. Dark hot chocolate
You can have your chocolate and drink it too! Cocoa is actually incredibly beneficial for you — according to one study, it has antioxidant properties, helps with inflammation and improves immune responses. Unfortunately, most hot chocolate mixes are low in cocoa content and high in sugar and preservatives, which can actually negatively affect the immune system.
In order to preserve the nutritional benefits of cocoa, you can make your own hot chocolate with limited ingredients and natural sweeteners like honey (which also boosts the immune system). This recipe is easy and delicious.
2. Yerba mate
What’s Lionel Messi’s secret to success? Apart from years of hard work and determination, some may say it’s his affinity for yerba mate, a traditional drink from South America commonly enjoyed by his fellow Argentines. This herbal drink has a myriad of health benefits: it has more antioxidants than green tea, balances its natural caffeine with theobromine and theophylline, contains several important vitamins and minerals, and can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
You will need special equipment for this — a traditional gourd and filtered straw — but you can find them easily online and in most Latin American markets. The video below will show you how to best prepare it as Messi does — without sugar — but you can add a sweetener to the herb or to the hot water you add to it.
Whatever you do, do not, under any circumstances, stir the straw, as it will compromise the structure of the drink.
3. Haldi doodh (turmeric milk)
While you may have recently heard this called “golden milk” or a “turmeric latte,” turmeric has been used in a similar manner in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. It can be as simple as blending turmeric into a cup of hot milk, or you can follow the recipe below, which adds extra spices and honey for flavor and additional health benefits.
The star compound in turmeric is curcumin, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
4. Mulled cider
There are many kinds of mulled cider — wassail, kompot, you name it — but the basic recipe calls for apple cider, oranges, and an assortment of whole spices that you boil on the stove for a while. It makes your house smell delicious, those spices like ginger, clove and cinnamon have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, and the apples and oranges are high in vitamins C and E. Try this recipe next time you need a cozy, nutritious drink.
5. Ginger tea
Ginger and turmeric are in the same family, so it’s unsurprising that ginger tea would be just as good for you as a cup of turmeric milk. You can buy ginger tea in packets at the store, but an easy, common recipe calls for you to boil pieces of ginger in water with some lemon slices for additional health benefits.
If you’re in the mood for something that has a thicker texture, similar to hot chocolate, try this “liquid gingerbread” recipe, which calls for several spices and is sweetened with molasses and brown sugar.
