Yes, Fast Days Healing Days will even teach you how to microwave water and make a cup of instant bouillon! But Susie T. does have a couple of powerful pinches of this and that in her Magic Elixir to help make your Fast Days (FDs) taste delicious, take the edge off hunger and maybe even clear the cobwebs upstairs!
Magic Elixir – tastes great, uses ginger, garlic, turmeric and black pepper and is ready in minutes.
Many IFers (intermittent fasters) describe struggling with leg cramps, sometimes dizziness, or feeling fatigued and run-down. We’re not doctors and we don’t even play them on TV, so it’s always best to consult the family doc if you are suffering with any of these symptoms.
FDHD found an association between these symptoms and those described by Drs. Westman, Phinney and Volek in the New Atkins for a New You book. They describe what many of us old-time low carbers refer to as “Atkins’ Flu,” a collection of symptoms characterized by fatigue, achiness, vague nausea, leg cramps, and dizziness. Sometimes the Atkins-neer has all of the symptoms and sometimes only a few. We just always assumed it was the period of adjustment when our body switched from burning glucose to burning fat and ketone bodies as fuel.
What the good doctors found in reality is that Atkins’ Flu can often be cured by adding sodium to the diet in the form of 1-2 cups per day of instant bouillon. Sometimes it’s also wise to add a magnesium and potassium supplement to help replenish those two minerals as well. They tell us that a low carb diet has a diuretic effect and because of losing so much fluid (often quickly), that electrolytes may need a boost. The sodium from the bouillon along with the magnesium and potassium helps to right the imbalance.
We’ve also witnessed a similar thing happening with IFers when they begin an intermittent fasting lifestyle. In the early days, it’s not unusual to drop 5-10 pounds very quickly—especially if you have a lot to lose. Most of this is water weight and it’s been our personal experience that when you drop water weight (via a diuretic effect), electrolytes can go out of balance causing exhaustion, muscle aches and cramps, dry mouth, constipation, nausea, heart flutters, even insomnia.
We’ve adapted the Atkins docs’ suggestion, stopping just short of teaching you how to make a cup of bouillon, because come on! It’s bouillon. And water. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut, sometimes! How many recipes for bouillon does a person need? Well, as it turns out, there are a couple of recipes we’d like to share!
This first one is a recipe for Magic Elixir. No, it’s not really magical and isn’t even an elixir. Let’s call it a tea. And I personally love to drink this if I feel dehydrated, but also when I’m fighting a cold or flu. I can’t substantiate that it really works outside of placebo effects. But there are studies showing that grandma’s chicken soup really may be the closest thing to a cure for the common cold! Use what you have on hand—bone broth is preferred, but instant bouillon also works. We like HerbOx and Better Than Bouillon (and yes, we close our eyes pretending there are no chemicals or yukky ingredients in there).
We add a few dried, ground spices that are purported to have anti-viral, anti-fungal properties. We use dried to make it convenient, but fresh is best. I make up a pot of this “tea” and simmer it on the stove using fresh garlic and ginger, then adding the ground turmeric and fresh ground black pepper. Turmeric, garlic, and ginger are all anti-inflammatories and also have mucalytic properties (mucus-busters). The black pepper is reported to increase the effects or allow us to metabolize the turmeric better.
I have a major head cold right now and between sipping on hot mugs of Magic Elixir and drinking warm water with lemon and taking my precious Nature’s Answer Sambucus (super concentrated black elderberry extract in glycerin–a natural anti-cold/anti-flu immune booster) 4 times a day, I feel like it’s helping me fight off the virus trying to make my nasal passages their little biatch.
Try it and see what you think! Leave me a note to let me know how it worked. Oh did I forget to mention Magic Elixir tastes delicious and kicks the MHs (mean hungries) in the nads? Tsk, tsk, dang chemo-brain!
Magic Elixir
Notes
A quick pick-me-up filled with the purported healing powers of anti-inflammatory spices. We love this tea when fighting colds and flu. If you have bone broth, use it preferentially. It tastes amazing and we think it really helps clear our sinuses.
Serving Ideas Serve on its own or with your favorite lean protein to make a small meal.
Nutritional Information
Bone Broth: 20 Calories; 1g Fat (26.4% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 790mg Sodium. 1g Net Carbohydrate
Better Than Bouillon: 20 Calories; 1g Fat (24.4% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 508mg Sodium, 3g Net Carbohydrate
Ingredients
- 1 cup bone broth
- 1/8 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 pinch fresh ground black pepper
Variation
- 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Beef Base or Chicken Base
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- In medium sauce pan over medium high heat, bring bone broth to a boil. Reduce heat to a very low simmer. Add dried herbs and spices or use fresh for an even greater burst of goodness. Pour into a glass and drink it as hot as you can tolerate, but don't burn yourself!
- Don't have bone broth? No prob. Sub 1 cup of water and 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon for the bone broth. Microwave 90 seconds. Add spices and stir to dissolve. Drink immediately as you would a hot tea.
Nutrition Facts
Magic Elixir
Serves: 1 Serving
|
Amount Per Serving: 1 Mug
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 20 | |
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat | 0 | |
| Saturated Fat | 0 | |
| Trans Fat | ||
| Cholesterol | 0 | |
| Sodium | 0 | |
| Total Carbohydrate | 0 | |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 | |
| Sugars | ||
| Protein | ||
| Vitamin A | Vitamin C | |
| Calcium | Iron | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Fast Days Healing Days
Copyright © 2013 Fast Days Healing Days. All rights reserved.
Recent Comments