I am a total morning person. I totally thrive in a quiet, serene morning. I think it’s because I’ve never been that into sleep. It’s a tragedy, actually. I wish I liked it. Even as a teenager, I couldn’t even force myself to sleep in— which made sleepovers at friend’s houses a tad bit awkward, when I’d wake up HOURS before everyone and just hangout alone… waiting for breakfast. So as a grown up adult woman, my eyes still pop open at the crack of dawn and I’m ready to GO. As I wake up, firing on all cylinders, I have an entire morning ritual down pat. I do the same thing each morning, and it all starts with a little detox drink.
Before I do anything— yoga, reading, getting dressed, a bathroom visit, even— I go downstairs to the kitchen. I pull out all my ingredients and whip me up a batch of my morning beverage. It’s the perfect start to the day because it revs up your engines. It get’s things moving and flowing and gives me an energetic boost. Let me explain…
BY AMY HUTCHENS
I am a total morning person. I totally thrive in a quiet, serene morning. I think it’s because I’ve never been that into sleep. It’s a tragedy, actually. I wish I liked it. Even as a teenager, I couldn’t even force myself to sleep in— which made sleepovers at friend’s houses a tad bit awkward, when I’d wake up HOURS before everyone and just hangout alone… waiting for breakfast. So as a grown up adult woman, my eyes still pop open at the crack of dawn and I’m ready to GO. As I wake up, firing on all cylinders, I have an entire morning ritual down pat. I do the same thing each morning, and it all starts with a little detox drink.
Before I do anything— yoga, reading, getting dressed, a bathroom visit, even— I go downstairs to the kitchen. I pull out all my ingredients and whip me up a batch of my morning beverage. It’s the perfect start to the day because it revs up your engines. It get’s things moving and flowing and gives me an energetic boost. Let me explain…
I’m an avid learner and studier of gut health. What goes on in your organs and systems— how you process, digest and metabolize food— it fascinates me! Because your gut health is EVERYTHING. It is everything, guys. People call the gut your “second brain” because of all the hundreds of millions of neurons that live there. If it’s out of whack it can mess with your skin (acne, rosacea, eczema), your mood (depression & anxiety), your brain balance, and can cause a load of diseases. So first thing in the morning, I give my gut a big boost and get my digestive system waking up.
Too often the first thing that goes into our system in the morning is a sugary bowl of fruit loops, a Strawberry Pop-Tart, or maple syrup-covered carbs. Which just makes our systems groggy and sluggish. Your digestive system needs to we woken up kindly and slowly. Treat your gut to a sweet morning wake up call and give it something helpful. Enter: Morning Beverage.
Ingredients
8 ounces warm water
Apple cider vinegar (raw, unfiltered)
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash of cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon raw honey
Grapefruit essential oil
Morning Detox Recipe
1. Let’s start with the warm water, and we want to make sure it’s WARM. But why? Drinking a glass of warm water, on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, can help flush toxins out of your body. You know that gross stuff that gathers on your tongue as you sleep? Yeah, so the same thing happens to the inside of our bodies as we sleep— things settle. So drinking warm water will flush that toxic “coating” out. Warm water also wakes up your digestive system, telling the bowels to start moving! I’m serious, you’ll notice it almost immediately after you drink your warm water, that you need to run to the bathroom. And that’s a GOOD thing. I’m convinced that the secret to a flat tummy is to have a smoothly running digestive system. **Also, warm water helps to keep up a speedy metabolism, just sayin.
2. Apple cider vinegar is the most magical elixir I know of. Guys, it’s magic. ACV is apple cider that has undergone a fermentation process that leaves in super packed full of probiotics and digestive enzymes. Drinking ACV will help enhance weight loss (or help to maintain a healthy weight), it regulates blood sugar levels, also helps to regulate a healthy alkaline pH level, lowers cholesterol, it fights free radicals within the body, detoxes your organs and helps things to digest smoothly.
I’ve been drinking apple cider vinegar regularly for over four years and I still detest the taste of it. I still dilute it in warm water. It’s still something I muscle my way through. Sometimes I gag. But muscle through it, dang it. Because ACV is a game changer. And it’s worth it. Start out with 1 tablespoon and work your way up. It can make you feel ill if you do too much, too fast.
3. I add turmeric into the drink mix because of it’s insane ability to fight inflammation. Turmeric is among the most effective anti-inflammatory tools in the world. And let it be noted that chronic pain, cancer, high cholesterol and digestive issues are caused by inflammation.
4. I add ginger to the drink because it mimics a lot of the same anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric. But it also helps to build a healthy stomach lining AND it helps to speed up the digestive process.
5. I add just a dash of cayenne pepper, because my weak tastebuds can’t take anymore than that. But that dash of cayenne gives the beverage a healthy kick in the pants. It stimulates digestive enzyme production, speeds up metabolism, and soothes and calms a bloated stomach.
6. Honey is an antioxidant powerhouse! Antioxidants block free radicals within the body, which then fight disease within the body. Also, locally sourced honey can also help a ton with allergies.
I add just a drop or two of honey for the sake of taste. It cuts the acidity of the drink and makes it bearable. Sometimes (most of the time), I’ll skip the honey. Just add it in if you need it.
7. Grapefruit oil boosts your immune system, prevents infection, removes toxins through the lymphatic system and helps to overall support a healthy metabolism. Plus, grapefruit oil tastes insanely good and again, makes the beverage more drinkable.
I add all the ingredients to a drinking glass, except the water. I’ve found that adding the powdered spices before the water helps them to incorporate better. Once all of the ingredients are in, I pour in warm, clean water. Stir it with a spoon, then chug it. It won’t taste good, but chug that sucker down.
For a flatter tummy, better (quicker) digestion, a happier gut and, in turn, a happier YOU— try out my morning beverage. It works, friends. It totally works.
Tell me how you like it! Tell me how you feel after. Excited to hear your thoughts and experiences about it!
XOXO,
Amy Hutchens
Article by Amy Hutchens. To view more content by Amy, visit her Instagram here or check out the Barefoot Blonde Hair blog where she writes all sorts of helpful tips to keep your hair looking beautiful and healthy.
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Hi Amy!
I really love your article! We host a resident blog for those individuals that live at the apartment complexes we manage. Would we have permission to link and credit your article on our blog for them to see? 🙂
I am definitely going to try this!
I started doing this on Thursday last week and immediately felt better about myself – this sort of thing is good for your body in terms of putting good-for-you things into it, but I think more importantly, it’s good for the mind. Doing something just for yoursef for a few quiet minutes in the morning feels SO good! Since I began this morning “ritual”, I’ve felt more centered, calm and energized as my day starts – combined with a few minutes of sitting quietly afterwards and doing some yoga-style breathing has made my mornings something I look forward to 🙂 (I’ve been adding a teasoon of freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice instead of grapefruit essence, and I added a pinch of cinnamon because I like the flavour and half a teaspoon of organic coconut oil because tumeric is better digested with fats and I really don’t mind the taste if I drink it fast, haha!)
Would you be able to make a batch of these instead of prepping it every morning?
I’m allergic go grapefruit – any other essential oils you recommend?
I’m excited to try it! How many drops of grapefruit do you recommend?
I’m a physician (MD). I’ve followed Amber’s site for years, and clicked on this because it seemed interested. A lot of the things you state here are simply not true (ACV absolutely does not “detox” your organs, as you say) or are very simplistic over-reaches. This drink probably won’t hurt you, and if it works for you and your body, that is great! I just don’t think it is okay to make these sweeping generalizations if you don’t have the science–or a degree in medicine or nutrition–to back it up. I would hate to see people trying to copy this recipe with the hopes that it will fix their chronic kidney disease! That is just not how our body’s physiology works.