Ahhh, summer. It may not be here on the calendar, but it’s a sunny 84 degrees today and I’m sitting outside in the shade with an ice cold beverage, warm enough not to seek out the sunshine. After a brutally cold, long winter, nothing feels better than to be perfectly warm outside in a t-shirt and shorts, even when the breeze picks up or the sun hides behind a passing cloud. Total warmth. It’s bliss.

Normally an afternoon like this would call for an alcoholic beverage, but I’ve been fighting a losing battle with a lingering cough for going on three weeks. No running, trouble sleeping, blech.  It will pass, but in the meantime, no sangria on the porch for me.

Instead, I mixed up an anti-oxidant packed pitcher of hibiscus iced tea. According to Dr. Greger of nutritionfacts.org, hibiscus tea is one of the healthiest beverages on the planet thanks to its high antioxidant powers. (Though he does urge drinking no more than four tea bags worth a day, because of its also high manganese content.)

Inspired by Dr. Greger’s recipe, I made mine with lime, homemade date syrup, and a few mint leaves for a refreshingly flavorful, and healthy, beverage. My 4 year old gave it a hearty thumbs up.

Here’s the recipe:

makes one pitcher

4-5 dates, pitted
1/2 cup of water
1 lime, peeled and deseeded
4 hibiscus teabags
4 mint leaves plus more for garnish
ice

Boil 1 quart of water and steep the four teabags in it for about 10 minutes (I used a mason jar for this task). In the meantime, purée the four mint leaves, lime, dates and water in a high speed blender.  Set aside.  Fill a large pitcher with ice.  Once the tea bags have finished steeping, let the tea concentrate cool a few more minutes so you don’t shock the glass pitcher filled with ice.  Pour the tea concentrate and date/lime/mint mixture into the ice pitcher and stir gently.  Serve over ice garnished with mint leaves.

To watch Dr. Greger’s video about hibiscus tea, click here: http://nutritionfacts.org/video/better-than-green-tea/

To see why dates make a great whole foods sweetener, click here: http://nutritionfacts.org/video/are-dates-good-for-you/ I love using dates to sweeten smoothies for the boys – they’re a great alternative to refined sugars!

Enjoy!