Day 31 - I Should Drink WHAT Instead Of Coffee???

 On my quest to give up all other beverages but water for a short period, I quickly discovered what caffeine deprivation was (Hint = WITHDRAWAL) and also learned how much it sucked to experience it.

I quickly figured out that I needed SOMETHING to boost my energy without soda or coffee, or anything else fun that had caffeine in it, such as chocolate!  At the same time, I noticed that I missed my HABIT of having a cup of coffee, and the effects of the coffee, more than I missed the taste itself.  That was a big discovery for me.  As I've been reading this book about habits (more on that in another post) I've learned to pay more attention to my own habits.  Further investigation showed me that what I really crave is the feeling of warmth as I'm drinking (plus I really do like the boost in energy). 

I had heard before that it was healthy to have warm water with lemon in it, first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, but I didn't know why OR if it even tasted good enough to enjoy drinking it, but when you are left with no other option, as my mom always told me, "Beggars can't be choosers!"

It turns out that just the warmth of the water has some benefits, such as allowing better hydration, digestion, and giving your body an easier time fighting a virus, but warm water by itself is AWFUL, so I pulled out the bag of lemons and sliced one bad boy open!

I only drank it with just lemon, which is a bit sour (could have used some sugar, but CRAP that's bad for me!) so I drank it anyway.  I don't know if it's the properties in the lemon, or just my body going off the placebo effect because of the HABIT of drinking a warm liquid in the morning, but I couldn't believe that it actually woke me up and I FELT like I had a cup of coffee!  With no calories!  WHY DOESN'T EVERYONE DO THIS???  Oh yeah, it didn't taste quite as nice... 

Well, I gave it a few more shots, and it grew on me each time.  And as it turns out, the lemons ARE really healthy to add in - there are a whole TON of benefits that lemon juice can do for the body! 

Even BETTER - you can naturally enhance the flavor to make it not only taste better, but add more  health benefits too!

Look up the awesome things that honey and cinnamon can do for your body - there's a bunch! 

Here's a good recipe to try! 

- 1 cup of warm water (try running a mug through your Keurig without a K-cup - innovative, huh?!? - haha)
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon (no, you can't use the bottle of lemon juice, it has to be fresh!)
- One tablespoon of honey (local is best for your immune system!)
- A dash or two of cinnamon

Try it out and tell me what you think!   :)




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