Chinese Hawthorn Apple and Chrysanthemum Tea 山楂苹果菊花茶

We have been overindulging in food for the past two weeks because we were hosting some foreign guests. I am trying hard to get rid of the salty, spicy, oily and sugary stuff in my body.

The unpredictable weather is also causing havoc to the health of my family members, one by one we are falling sick. We need a healthy and nourishing beverage to cleanse our digestive system.

I have accumulated two dozen apples in the fridge because we regularly have elderly visitors who always bring us gifts of fruits whenever they come to our house. It's a Chinese culture.

It becomes a headache for me when we cannot consume all the apples. I have to think of ways to use them. I would spend hours peeling and coring apples, then baked or cooked them into delicious dishes or beverages.

When I was in my twenties and newly wedded, I kept harassing (edited) ... oops, suggesting to my husband to emigrate to Australia and own an apple orchard. Fortunately he was level-headed and did not listen to me, or else I would be feeling miserable ... imagine peeling and coring apples for the rest of my life. LOL

The main ingredients for my detoxifying and nourishing tea are Chinese hawthorns (山楂) and apples.

Hawthorns when used appropriately is able to help dilate blood vessels, particularly in the heart, helping your blood flow more easily and lowering blood pressure. Chinese physicians primarily use hawthorn for treatment of heart disease. With the easing of the blood circulation problem, it helps to reduce the syndromes of having cold feet and hands.

Another benefit of eating hawthorn is that it would burn body fat. Ahhhh! This makes you sit up, right? haha....

Ingredients :

50g dried hawthorns (warning : hawthorns are sour)
20 apples
30 g dried chrysanthemum flowers
30 g wolfberries
rock sugar to taste
3 litres water (yields about 6 - 7 glasses)

Method

1.   Peel and core the apples, cut into quarters or large chunks.

2.  Wash dried hawthorns and chrysanthemums. Soak hawthorns for about 20 minutes. Discard water.

3.   Put the hawthorns, apples and chrysanthemum flowers in a pot with about 3 litres of water. Bring them to a boil. By this time, the aroma of apples would fill the whole house. mmmm.........

4.   I removed some quarters of apples for a sweet dessert dish. Let the rest of the apples boil longer for a more tasty drink.

5.   Reduce the fire to medium, keep boiling for about 60 minutes till flavours are infused into the tea. Add rock sugar and wolfberries. Simmer for another 5 more minutes until rock sugar is dissolved.

A healthy and nourishing Chinese Hawthorn Apple Chrysanthemum Tea / Dessert

6.   Serve the tea with a slice of apple as a sweet dessert. Or simply serve the tea chilled. Enjoy!

The dried hawthorn is sour, so do not use too much. I have several variations using hawthorn tea as the base. Sometimes I add red dates, Chinese pear or honey for a more nutritious tea and with a variety of flavours.


过去的两个星期, 应酬太多, 暴饮暴食消化不良, 结果胀胃不舒服。油腻、高胆固醇、高脂肪的食物对健康极为不利, 我赶快煮一锅去解油腻、助消化的山楂苹果菊花茶, 改善消化系统和肝脏功能。

以山楂和苹果混合制作而成的茶，酸酸甜甜的，味道相当不错。家里的帅哥们都爱喝这茶。

供参考 :

用山楂做茶来喝，有着不错的减肥功效。食肉不消，腹胀有利尿、消滞除腻等功效。

山楂含山楂酸等多种有机酸，味酸甘，并含解脂酶，入胃后，能增强酶的作用，促进肉食消化，有助于胆固醇, 所以对于吃肉或油腻物后感到饱胀的人，吃些山楂、山楂片、山楂水或山楂丸等，均可消食，为老年人的保键食品，山楂还可利胆汁，促进胃液分泌。

苹果促進消化系統、消滯解脂。

帮助排除脂肪, 还可以整肠助消化, 有治疗肠胃炎、消化不良、预防消化系统癌变的作用。苹果中含纤维素可刺激肠蠕动，加速排便，故又有通便作用。

菊花茶具有清热，解毒，利尿的功效。