Banana Tea

My husband and I have been enjoying this yummy banana tea inspired by Clinical Psychologist and host of The Sleep Summit,  Michael Breus, PhD, The Sleep Doctor. He recommends making a banana tea as a sleep aid. According to Dr. Breus, bananas are "nature’s sleeping pill." They contain magnesium and when our magnesium is low, it can affect our sleep. Dr. Breus says, the banana peel has 3 times the amount of magnesium than the fruit. I put a banana in my smoothie every morning, so I figured I'd experiment with the peels. Here's what I brewed up.

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Banana Tea:
1 organic banana peel-washed
3 cups water
Almond or coconut milk
3-4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
Dash of ground nutmeg
Teaspoon raw honey

Bring the peel, water, cloves and cinnamon to a boil on the stove and boil on medium heat for approximately 10 minutes to make a tea. Pour the tea into a mug and add milk, a dash of nutmeg and honey. Enjoy! In addition to the sleep benefits of magnesium, cinnamon is warming to the body which may help it to relax. The cloves and nutmeg are also known to help promote sleep, but go easy on the nutmeg. It is a powerful spice, and too much can affect your mental health. 

Sometimes, when I sleep, I get cramps in my calves due to low magnesium, so I'm excited to experiment with this new tea. If you are pregnant, it is recommended that you avoid cinnamon, and of course, if you are allergic to or sensitive to any of the ingredients, leave them out of the recipe.

The Sleep Summit is free On-line August 8th-15th.  And can also be purchased to be viewed at your leisure at anytime in the future. 

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