Ending The Day With That Perfect Drink

A Nice Hot Cup Of Lemon Water To Sleep With

Perhaps a nice cup of fresh lemon water is best known as a morning drink to aid in digestion. It flushes out the digestive system and makes it function correctly through the day. I also find it a really good drink at night to settle my stomach and aid in digestion. It sort of prepares my body to relax and lets me get into a deep sleep faster. 

Like many people, I like to use the lemons right off the homestead and hate to have to spend money during other times buying lemons, so I take time to preserve mine in a couple of ways. The first way is the easiest and very useful when I want to serve a drink with slices of lemon floating around in the drink. To keep them ready for times like this, simply estimate how many you need for the remaining year. Wash the fruit and slice. Then pack into a glass containers which can be used in the freezer. Cover with a tight lid. I usually keep 10-12 small containers of lemon slices in the freezer. I also cut some in pieces for serving with fish and freeze the same way.

To prepare my lemons to use for hot lemon water takes a slight bit of work, but it is worth the time. The first step is to wash and then grate the lemon as shown in the picture below.

Grating The Lemon

Freshly Grated Lemon Rind

Here you see a large lid with grated lemon rind drying. I turn the rind once or twice a day and let it dry until it feels and looks very dry. I then put the dried rind of several of these small plates in the blender and make a powder.( I do this with all fruit, starting with the drying. ) I then keep the powder in an airtight container and put the desired powder in a cup and add warm to hot water. I usually have at least 6 large containers of fruit powder that I use throughout the year. I do not sweeten my juices, but you can add a small amount of Raw Organic Honey if you need it sweet (shown in the first photo.)

In this article I talked about using the lemon rind, but what about the lemon? When I finish I put together with another fruit, like oranges and maybe bananas. I then cut them in smaller pieces and cook on low heat until the juice is completely flavored. I put into sterile jars and seal.  

Even though this article is about lemons, you can dry any fruit, and then put in the blender and make the powder. It is an excellent way to preserve the fruit for latter in the year. 

Happy Preparation!

  Shalom Shalom 

Marla Silva @ floridagypsy