I am the girl who orders a Big Mac meal ‘with a diet coke’. I find the joke funny but not ironic – why waste over 100 calories on coca-cola when the diet version satisfies my occasional disgusting food needs? It means an hour later I can enjoy a small chocolate bar to satisfy my sweet tooth without feeling guilty. I understand that it may make little sense, but I hate wasting calories on liquid.
The silly thing about all this is that I don’t actually count calories. I am young enough and lucky enough to pretty much eat whatever I want and not have to worry about it. When I eat a Big Mac my stomach does get bigger, but instead of having to cut down on food the next day, I just eat what I usually would and I get my normal tummy back. Yet I have a real thing for wasting calories on drinks. Why drink something with 100 calories in it when you could have something with zero calories and a slice of cake?
Maybe this is where my Jewish heritage expresses itself. We are a culture of foodies who celebrate by eating. I live in a very secular household which rarely serves traditional fare, but have still been brought up to enjoy my food instead of only consuming it to function. My nan always said that at a Jewish party nobody cares about the alcohol – they all talk about the food. I now know this is a lie and that Jews get as drunk as the next person, but on a daily basis few care as much about what they drink with a meal as they do for the food itself.
Despite this, I have recently developed a love of drinks. I had a craving for ice tea last week but did not want to fill my body with these unnecessary calories and additives, and so decided to make my own. It was delicious and refreshing, and with the juice of a whole lemon it was a thorough detox for the whole household.
Simple Lemon and Ginger Ice Tea Recipe
- 2 litres of just boiled water
- Juice and rind of 1 lemon
- 2 ordinary tea bags
- 2 lemon & ginger tea bags (or whatever herbal flavour you prefer)
- Sugar to taste
- Ice
Boil up approximately 2 litres of water. Let it stand for a couple of minutes and then pour into a large saucepan, over the ordinary and lemon & ginger tea bags. Let the tea bags infuse for no longer than 4 – 5 minutes.
After removing the tea bags, grate the rind from the lemon into the pan, and squeeze the juice from the lemon until your hands start to hurt. Leave whatever remains of the lemon in the pan. Add sugar to taste – if you like it sweet and artificial, go crazy. However I don’t like sugar in my tea and that goes for it iced too, so I added only a few spoonfuls to balance the tartness of the lemons. Make sure you add the sugar while the tea is still warm so it dissolves thoroughly.
Leave for 15 minutes before straining the tea into another saucepan. Place in fridge or let it cool naturally, before pouring over ice for a delicious and healthy treat!
Lemon and Ginger Iced Tea
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