Homemade Sorrel : The Feel Good Anti Stress Drink

A little while back I got hooked on sorrel, a red Jamaican drink made from sorrel leaves, ginger and spice! There was this little health cafe near my old place of work in DC and I walked up there often to get a glass for $5.00. It is a soothing, calming drink that naturally sends endorphins and serotonin to the brain and gives you that calm feeling that helps you think better, work better  etc. Ever since I have been self employed, I don’t go that side of town very often so I figured I should try making it at home and yep success. I now make my own homemade sorrel for a fraction of the cost, 10 cents to be exact and my sorrel is lower calorie and tastes just as good as the one from the pricey cafe. Natural sugars are used to sweeten sorrel but I found using stevia is just as good and makes my glass of sorrel  just 5 or 10 calorie as opposed to 80 to 120 calories per cup of commercial sorrel. I have been telling a lot of people about sorrel and giving them the recipe so I decided to blog it. My method uses tea bags and I get a box of sorrel tea bags at H-Mart for $2.25  ( Amazon sells it for $5.50) which makes about 24 cups. You can also use Celestial Seasonings  Red Zinger,  Caribbean Dreams Jamaican Sorrel  or any tea containing hibiscus leaves.  Then you just follow my method and brew yourself some delicious sorrel tea,  sip your way to calm and de-stress :)! Works for me every time.

Nutrition Wise :  Sorrel leaves are  high in Nutraceleuticals  which can help treat conditions  including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer.  It is also high in antioxidants and flavanoids which  help with disease prevention and strengthening the immune system. Ginger, basil and spices added to this drink further enhance the antioxidant immune boosting power! Forget all this nutrition jargon ….just know it’s a healthy  brew that tastes awesome and makes you  feel good  as tried and tested by yours truly :)!

Sorrel

Print recipe

Serves	4
Dietary	Diabetic, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Meal type	Beverage
Misc	Child Friendly, Serve Cold

Ingredients

• 4 Bags sorrel tea
• 1 " ginger
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup fresh basil
• 1 Tsp mulling spice
• 5 Cups filtered water
• 1 lemon (juiced)

Note

You can also use Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger Or Caribbean Dreams Jamaican Sorrel Tea bags

Directions

	Boil water, add all the other ingredients and cook stovetop for half hr to 45 minutes
	Strain the tea. Cool, Add sweetener of your choice
	Refrigerate and drink cold with ice cubes

A note about stress:  Can’t put out an anti stress drink and not add my two penny worth. Stress can be dangerous.  Everyone has some form of stress but  some people cope better. I am  not a big stressor. I don’t stress the big stuff like when one loses a job or falls ill. I just feel that kind of stuff will  take care of itself in time and there’s no point worrying about it. So much so, my husband says I am too cool when I shouldn’t be but hey doesn’t help if both of us are stressing the big stuff. On the other hand I stress the small stuff : silly stuff, that doesn’t matter in life, stuff that may just be in my head.  This stress can be just as bad because it  can take your focus of the important things in life.  Stress is the root of almost all diseases and  anything that helps relieve stress, do it!!  I find meditation and listening to my soothing brand of music helps.  Jogging helps big time … when I go for a run with my music plugged in I come back a different person. Working out helps me too.. esp. lifting weights!  Take out all your aggression on the weights . Lately I’ve adopted the same attitude for my small stress as the big stress!  Let it go.  Stuff will work itself out the way it’s meant to! As the old song says : Que Sera Sera, Whatever will be will be, The future’s not ours to see etc. .!  Go ahead and  laugh at me but I am a sucker for all kinds of songs, one of the reasons I married my husband coz he sings so much! JK 🙂 He sings in a worship band and early mornings  I hear him practicing in the basement!  Anyway, what am trying to say is whatever is your coping mechanism for any kind of stress, do it and drink my magic brew! It will help anyone de-stress I promise :)!

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