No More Afternoon Crashing, enter Guayusa

 While I am in book editing hell hard at work editing, Carolyn offered to post on one of my editing crutches and new favorite drinks.

Lauren and I both have our morning coffee rituals -- though hers currently includes coconut oil and mine a cute Aussie barista, we can caffeinate with the best of them. As the day progresses our office transitions into a tea zone. Green and white teas are our staples but we also pu-ehr and matcha (I attempted to get into matcha… still acquiring that taste).

But there's officially a new guy in town or in our glasses. Guayusa (“gwhy-you-sa”) has become our midafternoon revitalizer. The leaves contain the caffeine content of coffee, double the antioxidants of green tea but no tannins or bitterness. Most importantly, guayusa contains a miraculous little compound called theobromine which is also found in dark chocolate.  When caffeine and theobromine unite, the result is a balancing effect which means you get a stimulant sans the shaky jitters or crash.

We first met guayusa in a cup of DAVIDS tea’ Jungle JuJu which promises to leave you “swinging from the vines and hanging from the trees”…

Great success. We had spotted RUNA’s pretty iced tea bottles on one of our Foodtrainers Whole Foods field trips. That was before we knew that guayusa has traditionally been consumed by hunters for acute focus or that the “Super Leaf” also contains chlorogenic acid, a compound that can aid weight loss. If you’re not convinced yet, it’s said guayusa protects you against snakebites and gives you courage and power... which are basically the essentials mid-day in NYC, right?
We are loving RUNA’s unsweetened Lime and Guava iced teas for spring and summer – have you tried guayusa? If you can't nap (our ideal afternoon plan), what's your upper of choice? When you try this fun drink, please tweet us or come back and let us know if their was any chandelier swinging and I'll try to snap a photo of my barista.

Screw the Flu (Before it Screws You)

I was cocky. Last weekend, my friend emailed to inform me she was a member of a flu family. Her son, came home from school Friday with the pukes, the shakes…the whole compendium of flu nastiness. She was emailing me because her son and my little guy “are attached”. I appreciated the heads up, asked my son how he was feeling but totally tempted flu fate thinking “we’ve never had the flu, never do flu shots, we’re hardly ever sick.” So you know what happened next.  I spent the night Sunday with a boy with such a high fever my washcloth-compresses were coming of his body burning hot. As Stephen King said, “there is no bitch on earth like a mother frightened for her kids.”

As determined as I was not to let the mean nasty virus near the rest of my family, I didn’t want to “fight” the flu as many articles suggest. As a germ-coward I am not interested in a “bug” brawl. Instead, I was seeking flu elusion. Below you'll find my strategy.

Astragalus- start day with a dropper of astragalus tincture in shot glass of water. Perhaps shot glasses are inappropriate for 8 and 10 year olds. I envision their first bar experience where they see shots poured and think “I wonder if that’s astragalus or E3Live? " Ah nutri-damage. Astragalus boosts your immune system to fight the flu.

Matcha is to green tea what spinning is to the stationary bike. Matcha is a powdered green tea, with a delicious sweet taste and nutrient profile. It’s contains both Vitamin C and zinc and a host of immune boosting phytochemicals. You can add it to smoothies or make it traditionally whisked into hot water. This is a great tutorial video to get you started. I love David’s tea but use an organic matcha called Do Matcha.

Vitamin D- Vitamin D3 decreases incidence of the flu in both adults and children. Carlson and Blue Bonnet are great brands; their liquid Vitamin D is very easy to take and tolerate.

looks like a smaller ginger with this beautiful orange color when sliced

Turmeric- if you haven’t used fresh turmeric, now may be the time. It has potent antibacterial and antiviral properties. Try blending it with fruit, protein powder such as Sun Warrior, almond milk and honey or stevia for a delicious breakfast. It’s also delicious with vegetables: this week I heated some Jungle Products coconut oil  (also an immune booster) added garlic (garlic can destroy the flu virus toss in your juicer or add to salad dressings), ginger an turmeric (grated with microplane) and allowed this to heat for a couple of minutes. I then tossed in some sliced bok choy, a dash of fish sauce and a sprinkle coconut flower sugar.

Other flu eluders include cinnamon, miso, papaya, leafy greens and mushrooms. And though I’m not a Purell fan, we’re loyal Clean Well customers. I don't want to say anything but there's only been one flu victim in our family so far...

How are you faring this flu season? What are your go-to flu eluders? Have you had a flu shot?