8 Refreshing Drinks To Shrink Your Belly

Image © Liv Friis-larsen – fotolia.com

If you want to change your health, it’s time to switch up your drinks! 🙂 You’ll be amazed at the huge difference you can make to your life by cutting out store-bought junk drinks and making real drinks using fruit, superfoods, and herbs. We’ve got a great collection for you here that is not only super healthy but also DELICIOUS.

Most store-bought so-called “refreshing” beverages are hugely loaded with sugar (sometimes over 50 grams!) and calories, causing blood sugar spikes and other health consequences.

However as you now know if you have been reading our blog for a while, diet sodas too have come under much criticism over suspected negative health impacts of their artificial ingredients.

We all know that it is important to stay hydrated to maximize healthy organ function and minimize the negative consequences of dehydration – but what is the best way to go?

Here we have a super list of 8 super refreshing drinks that will not only replenish your fluid levels but are delicious and super healthy also.

Flat Belly Drink #1 – Fruit-Enhanced Water

There are lots of options here involving adding fresh fruit and herbs to water and then allowing to steep for several hours. Here’s a collection of 5 fruit water recipes to get you going – Citrus Blend, Blackberry Sage, Pineapple Mint, Raspberry Lime, Watermelon Rosemary. More here: How To Make Naturally Flavored Water

Flat Belly Drink #2 – Honey Lemon Ginger Tea

An all-time fav, this one is widely agreed to work wonders if you have a cold or mildly upset tummy – but it has healthful effects that are worthwhile at any time. It also happens to be amazingly delicious! To prepare, chop fresh organic lemon and ginger into a cup and pour on boiling water. Add raw honey to taste. Two tips on the honey – 1) make sure you are getting the real stuff (see this list of raw honey suppliers with an explanation of why it’s important). 2) some of the beneficial components in raw honey are destroyed by high temperatures (read: boiling water). So, you might want to do what I do, which is eat the raw honey from the spoon in between sips of the lemon-ginger tea… 😉

Flat Belly Drink #3 – Organic Apple Carrot Ginger

This has now become a staple in healthy circles and it’s both delicious and SUPER-healthy. After drinking this, I am sure that I can feel some deep parts of my body being nourished and hydrated like tree roots after the first rain! 🙂 Peel and slice 3 fresh organic apples, 2 organic carrots and an inch (or more if you like it hot!) of organic ginger. Put it all in the blender or juice press and juice away. This one is best consumed immediately after being made, so as to minimize the oxidation of the apple. Tip – add dark red beets as well for an amazing color and more health benefits!

Flat Belly Drink #4 – Matcha Mango Pineapple Smoothie

Matcha is a high quality powdered green tea very popular in the orient and now becoming very popular in the west – not only as a tea in its own right but as a smoothie ingredient. Matcha is kinda expensive but so worth it, and a jar goes a long way. Green tea has long been noted for its beneficial healthy effects, including a sustained energy boost that revs up the metabolism. Pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain which is highly regarded as a digestive aid. Put a small scoop of matcha (as you would if you were making the tea) in the blender along with freshly prepared mango and pineapple and you have an amazing combo that will help cleanse the system and give your whole day a dynamic boost!

Flat Belly Drink #5 – Peppermint tea

Consumed either hot or iced, peppermint tea has practically zero calories, is deliciously refreshing, and is reported to assist the stomach with the processing of fat – meaning that it deserves its place in a list of flat-belly drinks.

Flat Belly Drink #6 – Sassy Water

Add 2 sliced lemons, half a cucumber (also sliced),
10-12 mint leaves to 3 quarts of water. Put in refrigerator overnight. Wash and rinse all produce carefully before use – ideally using the apple cider vinegar soak method. (1 cup of ACV in a bowl of water, leave produce in there for 10+ minutes, brush gently if using produce brush if necessary, rinse thoroughly). For a variation, you can also try other culinary herbs instead of mint – what about rosemary, lavender or sage? 🙂

Flat Belly Drink #7 – Banana Coconut Maca Cacao Ginseng smoothie

This one is a super-nutrient-packed superfood blast that will keep your metabolism high without any added sweetener! 🙂 Cacao, the main ingredient in chocolate, has super-healthy antioxidant and energy boosting qualities. Maca and ginseng are both considered energizing (and possibly aphrodisiac!) Add frozen bananas, coconut water or almond milk, organic dried coconut flakes, a teaspoon full of raw cacao nibs, 1/4 teaspoon of maca and (optional) ginseng (I break open a capsule so as to get a controlled supplement amount) to a blender and hit the button. You should find this one is mood elevating also. (I think all these drinks are actually!)

Flat Belly Drink #8 – Watermelon Base Smoothie

Watermelon juice has all kinds of health benefits and is considered beneficial for detoxing. It contains lycopene (yes that’s the same substance that is thought responsible for the cardiovascular health qualities of tomatoes!), high levels of vitamin C and A, and citrulline, which is considered beneficial for kidney cleansing and the urinary system. To make this smoothie, simply use watermelon as the “base” for your favorite smoothie recipe! Use real fruit and skip any sweeteners.

Mix it up: In general, mixing freshly made organic fruit juice of your choice with high quality filtered water is going to create a fine drink that is both nutritious and hydrating. Stay hydrated and healthy! 🙂