With the weather temperature decreasing every day, we all wish to drink a cup of steaming drink that will keep you warm. Instead of the usual tea and coffee, why not try out a few new drinks that taste good and have additional health benefits as well. They might not be the sweet hot chocolate or the creamy foam filled latte that you get at restaurants but the drinks below guarantee less calories, little to no sugar and complete warmth.
Masala Paani
With different kinds of spices mixed together, Masala Pani is a drink that hits your taste buds in just the right ways. It is also the healthiest drink one can have during winter. Although, the main essence of this drink is that it helps relieve you from cough and cold, it can also be taken when you are in need of a hot drink to warm yourself up. It utilizes thyme and ginger both of which relieves you from cough and cold and helps you stay warm, cloves which has a lot of nutritional and medical properties and Jimbu used to give flavor to the drink.
The ingredients used in this drink are:
• Half a teaspoon of Jwaano (also known as Ajowan Caraway or Thyme seed)
• A small piece of ginger
• Half teaspoon of turmeric powder
• A pinch of salt
• A piece of clove, which is known to have impressive nutritional and medical properties.
Winter escapes
• Few small pieces of cinnamon
• Few strands of Jimbu (Nepali Allium Herb)
All of these ingredients are mixed together in two glasses of water which is then boiled for half an hour or until it reduces to about one glass. Despite mixing so many spices together, none of the spices overpower each other and this drink doesn’t taste spicy in an unbalanced way.
Tulsi Tea
Tulsi also known as Holy Basil is an Ayurvedic herb that has been nicknamed “Elixir of Life” because of its many health benefits. It is good for people suffering from asthma, bronchitis, cough and cold, sore throat, high blood pressure, headache, indigestion, diabetes and blood sugar imbalances. It is the easiest and least time consuming to make among the drinks mentioned in this list.
The ingredients used in this drink are:
• A teaspoon of Tulsi leaves
• Required amount of honey
To make this tea, Tulsi leaves are added to a cup of water and boiled until the leaves are completely immersed in the water. This usually takes about 20 minutes. After that, the leaves are strained out and the liquid is poured onto a cup. If you like sweet things, you can also add honey in the drink and stir it properly. An easier alternative to this is the readymade Ayurvedic drink called Tulsi Tea.
Hot Turmeric Milk
A lot of people don’t like the taste of turmeric when it is used in foods (or drinks) other than curries but this spice has a lot of health benefits. It is known to have the potential to prevent even heart diseases, Alzheimer’s and cancer, and to improve arthritis. Turmeric milk can also serve as the best cramp relief. So, if you’re feeling under the weather, this might be what you need to get back healthy this winter.
The ingredients used in this drink are:
• One teaspoon of turmeric
• Half a teaspoon of ginger powder or a few small pieces of ginger
• Half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder or a few cinnamon sticks
• Two cups of milk
All of these ingredients are mixed together and boiled with milk for a few minutes. This might not taste like cappuccino or the mocha but it definitely has the most health benefits.
Cinnamon and Orange Tea
Cinnamon, orange and tea can be is an interesting combination that isn’t very common. Cinnamon is an antioxidant, has anti-inflammatory properties and lowers blood sugar levels and cholesterol. This drink tastes amazing and is very healthy to drink during winter.
The ingredients used in this drink are:
• Three and a half cup of water
• Three cinnamon sticks
• Oranges
• Half cup of fresh mint leaves
This is another incredibly easy drink to prepare. Firstly, peel and put the orange slices in the blender and use that juice. The cinnamon sticks and freshly blended orange juice is then simply boiled in three cups of water. Let the mixture boil until it reduces to about one cup. Then top it with fresh mint leaves.
