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Ok, so mulled wine isn’t the typical for healthy recipes. But is a holiday one. And it is delicious. While I rarely have alcohol, a bit of this before a large meal may help you digest your food!

I’ve included the herbs chen pi (tangerine peel) and shan zha (hawthorn berries) because they fit the taste vibe of a mulled wine. Plus they can help with digestion. Chen pi is used to deal with the stagnation that can occur with overeating, reduce the Phlegm and Dampness that comes from eating rich foods, and address bloating, fullness feeling, and other digestive issues. Shan zha is an herb categorized for treating food stagnation, which can occur from overeating, eating hard-to-digest foods, and poor digestive processing. It is particularly helpful for improving digestion of meat and greasy foods (protein and fats). You can find these herbs in Chinatown, a Chinese herbal shop, or perhaps the specialty section of a grocery store.

Mulled wine already includes some herbs that TCM uses to boost digestive function. Cardamom (sha ren), clove (ding xiang), cinnamon (rou gui) are all warming herbs used for supporting the organs that deal with breaking down the foods you eat into nutrients you can absorb.

mulled wine with Chinese herbs healthy recipe

Mulled Wine with Digestive Chinese Herbs Recipe

You can skip the chen pi and shan zha, if you can't get these ingredients. It should still taste great, and it will still have some digestive power.
Course Drinks

Ingredients
  

  • 1 bottle red wine or you can use leftover wine if you've got at least a couple of cups
  • 1/2 apple diced
  • 1 orange juiced
  • 10 g chen pi dried tangerine peel or zest the orange (you can do both)
  • 10 g shan zha dried hawthorn berries
  • 2 pods cardamom sha ren, as a Chinese herb
  • 3-4 whole cloves ding xiang, as a Chinese herb
  • 1 star of anise
  • 1 stick cinnamon rou gui, as a Chinese herb
  • 2 Tbsp maple syrup grade B
  • 1-2 shots brandy or cognac you can skip this if you want, but apparently it probably just won't taste nearly as good

Instructions
 

  • With the flat side of a knife, firmly press the cardamom pods to "bruise" them.
  • Add all your ingredients to a saucepan and simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes.
  • Strain and serve hot.
Keyword Christmas