Not everyone is open to drinking healthy teas, especially the more medicinal ones.
Fortunately, everyone loves pickles!
But what does medicinal cleansing tea have to do with pickles?
Answer: instead of making tea, you use the tea in cooking.
Daily Detox is a cleansing tea that's made with herbs that nourish and support your kidneys and liver, as well as your lymphatic system. When your body is bogged down with toxins from your diet or environment, you might feel sluggish, fatigued, have problems with your skin, or experience issues related to hormone imbalance. But when your kidneys and liver are in top form, your skin is clear, you feel lighter, and have more energy.
When you combine the healing power of the herbs in Daily Detox with apple cider vinegar (a healthy superfood in its own right), you double down on the health benefits from both of them.
Fun fact: apple cider vinegar extracts more minerals like calcium and iron from nutritious herbs than simply making a tea.
Most pickle recipes require at least 5 days of soaking time. Although you must make the vinegar in advance (10 days to six weeks), this pickle recipe is ready to eat.
For the Daily Detox vinegar, you will need:
Daily Detox tea blend (not the brewed tea, but the actual dried tea leaves)
1 quart of organic apple cider vinegar
A large wide-mouth glass jar with a plastic lid (not metal)
Fill 1/3 of the jar with Daily Detox blend, and pour in the apple cider vinegar. Cap it tightly and give it a good shake. The tea leaves will expand inside the vinegar; if the leaves swell up so much that they absorb all the vinegar, you will have to add more vinegar so that the tea leaves are suspended in liquid.
Soak the Daily Detox-vinegar mixture for a minimum of 7 days, and up to six weeks. Strain the leaves from the vinegar using a fine mesh strainer, and store in a glass bottle. It’s now ready to use for all your pickle-making needs.
Also read: A Detox Recipe For Success
I love to use the small Persian cucumbers for making pickles, but you can also use radishes or carrots. Cucumbers are a wonderful tonic for the kidneys, and are a great detox food.
In my kitchen, I use what I refer to as the “Italian cook” method: the measurements are in sprinkles, shakes, dollops, making adjustments along the way. I have never measured the ingredients in this recipe, and do a lot of tasting as I go.
Make this recipe in a glass bowl. A typical soup bowl is a good amount for a family of four.
You will need:
Enough thinly sliced organic Persian cucumbers to fill your bowl (around 2 cups)
Daily Detox vinegar
Himalayan or other good salt (approximately one teaspoon)
½ teaspoon organic cane sugar (use less or none if you’re avoiding sugar, or more for a sweeter pickle)
2 or more garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced (optional)
Freshly chopped dill (also optional)
Place the cucumbers in the glass bowl, and sprinkle with some salt (1/2 teaspoon is a good place to start; you can add more salt as you go). If you’re using garlic, add it now, and toss with about 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped dill, and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.
Pour the Daily Detox vinegar over the cucumbers, filling the bowl about 1/3 full with the vinegar.
Toss everything well, and taste. Is it salty enough? If not, add more salt. Sweet enough? If not, add more sugar. Correct the flavors until it makes you happy.
These are yummy as a stand-alone side dish, but can be added to wraps, sandwiches, salads, and more.
Extra tip:
You can use the Daily Detox vinegar as a rejuvenating and cleansing tonic. Add a teaspoon of this vinegar to a cup of warm water, and drink in the morning to wake up your system and support detoxification. You can add a teaspoon of raw honey if you like, or just enjoy at it is. Daily Detox vinegar is great for all ages, and is especially beneficial for women during menopause, due to the high mineral content.
Try it and let us know what you think!
~Kita