Warm Honey Lemon Water + Receipe

Cheers to your health!

Gratitude Log: It rained today for the first time in who knows how long. It was so soothing when it woke me up in the middle of the night. I welcomed the early wake up call (it usually annoys me) but then I realized I had to use the restroom. So out of my warm blankets I went, lol. I am thankful for the rain because California desperately needs it and I am thankful for my job but I longed to be back home in bed cuddling with the dog and listen to the rain as we watched movies.

My mom also made albondigas yesterday and I took some to work for my lunch. My belly was pleasantly full and my body was warm from the inside out because of her willingness to cook. Okay, I bugged her! For weeks. I begged and I hinted and she would laugh in my face. Finally, she agreed. I guess it was not so willingly on her part but very much appreciated by her kiddos. Thanks, Ma!

Most mornings I will come to work with my Warm Honey Lemon Water (WHLM) but today I made it at work. My client asked me if I would make her some too because she has seen how it has aided my health and she loved the taste because I have made it for her before in the past. 

Let us time travel back to February of this year. There was an article that was persistently circulating like crazy. That is the filter I use when it comes to articles and videos on Facebook. If people share the crap out of it, 9 out of 10 times that means it is worth my time. This one article in particular (click here to read it) was a piece about how a lady drank a glass of warm honey lemon water every single day for a year, how it went for her, the health benefits, and the recipe.

At that time I must have been on my second round of illness. The cold and flu season was on steroids and was going around since December. That's right. I was sick from December until the very beginning of March. Oh man, it was terrible. As I stated before I kept seeing, "I Drank Warm Honey Lemon Water Every Morning for a Year (Here's What Happened)" on my NewsFeed. I figured it was a weight loss thing, which you know me, I am always trying to lose weight!

BUT! It was so much more.

One of the claims was that the writer never got a cold, flu, or gastro illness that entire year. That sounded like a dream come true and I needed a miracle! My poor mother suffered along with me. In fact, every time she got sick, a week later I would join her. Misery loves company, eh?

When I read this article, I was dealing with post nasal drip for a couple of weeks and my head felt super congested. But I began drinking WHLM anyway, there were still many health benefits to it, what could it hurt? Well, all of a sudden I could not hear out one of my ears. What the crap? How is this me getting better? Obviously this stuff DOES NOT WORK. I would give it some credit though, my head was no longer fuzzy, but I had turned into Lil Wayne. When my family and I were talking around the dinner table I kept saying, "What?!" over and over again because I could not hear and my brother would reply, "Yeah!" and everybody would laugh. That brat! Go listen to any Lil Wayne songs, it is his trademark.

So for a week or two I tried to unplug my ear with essential oils and other methods but nothing got better. I do not have patience when it comes to my health so I went to the doctor on March 9th (my birthday). The nurse told me that what probably happened is when I was ill I probably ran a fever in my sleep a high enough that it melted my earwax and that is why I could not hear. So my ears were flushed out and from then on out it was smooth sailing, except for my mom. She got sick and I got pissed. I just knew that within a week I would get sick again. 

Guess what happened? I did not get sick. In fact, I continued to get better.

I try to go organic when I can help it and I began doing some more research on raw and organic honey. I came across something new: the benefits of local honey. One of the benefits being that local honey helps out your allergies. I also like to support local farmers because it helps pay their rent for their farms, it supports their families, and it is better for the environment as it does not require being driven long distances. I am a really big geek when it comes to sustainability. Sometimes I tell myself that my geek is showing too much. But I will geek out in another post. 

These factors piqued my interest. I walked to my cabinet, reached for my jar of honey, located where it was from: INDIA. Well, that was not going to help out my allergies and that needed to be more than just driven to my grocery store. So, I set out on a mission to get some raw local honey the moment I finished it. Sadly, Trader Joe's was not the answer. I tried a couple of other stores but nothing really screamed "local" until I got to Whole Foods. I found a company that is from my hometown and for $16.99 I bought a 2 pound jar of delicious honey. That is the most I have ever spent but it lasts for months! 

Recipe: 

• A mug*
• Boiled water
• Half of a fresh lemon (I recommend organic and thankful I have two trees on my property). If half of a lemon is too sour for you, it also depends on the type of lemon you use, squeeze less of it or build up to half of a lemon.
• 1 teaspoon (tsp) of Raw Honey (I recommend local). The sweetness will depend on where your honey comes from. So if it is too sweet, use a little less.

I like to make a cup and read, relax in bed, talk with my family, or fill up my traveling mug and go for a walk along the ocean. Sometimes, there is no time to relax and have fun/be in the moment so it goes into my travel mug and goes to work with me but I still get it done. 

I hope you will try it and I wish you health and prosperity!

* = I think it is so much fun to always use your favorite mug or go out and splurge on a cute new one. Pick something that relaxes, inspires, and motivates you. For me, it is currently my vintage pyrex milk glass mug. For my mom, it's her Princess House cup. Everybody is different. I am on the hunt for a new cappuccino style mug with lemons and sunflowers on it!