Healthy Tea Recipes

The momentum behind functional foods and wellness elixirs is at an all-time high. Expensive products are touted as having the power to do everything from restoring gut health to boosting immunity and fighting inflammation, but their health claims are often backed by little solid science. So instead of pricy supplements, we're mixing up a more affordable antidote that's both healthy and homemade. A tonic, by definition, is a combination of ingredients that have the potential to enhance or restore health. While this tonic (or any tonic) is not a cure-all remedy, consuming more anti-inflammatory foods--like the ones found in this tonic--over time may only not only ease current symptoms (such as fatigue, joint pain and chronic bloating), but it may also reduce the risk of future diseases and slow aging. The combination of green tea, herbs, honey, apple-cider vinegar and spices also makes for a tasty and refreshing beverage!

This weight-loss tonic might help you slim down, even though it's not a quick fix for healthy habits. Apple cider vinegar's sour flavor (the acetic acid) may help you eat less and stay more satisfied. Green tea has caffeine and antioxidants that may help boost fat loss. Ginger might help you burn more calories. And maple syrup adds a touch of natural sweetness to this hydrating drink. Add this tonic to your diet in addition to sensible eating and exercise to help boost your weight-loss efforts.

Take a moment out of your day to savor this soothing tea made with lemon peel, ginger, and green tea.

A touch of honey balances the bitterness of matcha in this healthy latte recipe. For a nondairy latte, swap unsweetened almond, soy or coconut milk for the low-fat milk.

Immunity-boosting ingredients--ginger, lemon and rosemary--are steeped with soothing chamomile tea and honey for a homemade health tonic. While the drink may help when you're sick, it's not a quick fix. Drinking wellness tonics, like this one, regularly over time may help boost your immune system. Serve hot, room temperature or cold.

This green smoothie is packed with grapes, spinach, green tea and avocado. A touch of honey adds sweetness.

Green tea is loaded with antioxidants and has been shown to keep your blood sugar stable. We like it flavored with orange, lemon, and honey in this easy recipe.

Kids and adults alike will be wowed watching this delicious slush turn from blue to pink and purple in an instant. The magical concoction is made with natural blue tea (see Note) and refreshing lemonade for a fun science experiment that's tasty too. Perfect for your child's birthday party! (Adults may enjoy spiking their drink with a little vodka or gin.)

Kombucha is a lightly fizzy, fermented tea drink that's making waves for its probiotic benefits and tart flavor. Making kombucha at home is quite simple: make sweetened tea, add it to a jar with a scoby (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) and let it ferment for about a week. The scoby is a pancake-shaped living culture that eats most of the sugar in the tea, turning it into a tangy and delicious fermented beverage.

This herbal iced tea blends sour, berry-flavored hibiscus tea with sweet pomegranate juice.

Start your day with a burst of antioxidants in this energizing healthy smoothie recipe.

Crisp and refreshing, you just may find yourself craving this beverage on a hot summer's night.