I’ll admit  it: I’m one of those people who refuse to go to the doctor until I’m half dead. No, no, really, I’m fine. It’s just a touch of the flu; never mind the purple lips and the wheezing. For those of us who don’t want to openly face the reality of how vulnerable our bodies really are, the thought of an office visit stirs a gurgling panic in our gut. We just know they’re going to find something horribly wrong. We’re certain we have some illness that will strike us dead as soon as the doctor finishes uttering the dreaded latin name, something long and scary like supercalifragilisticexpealidotious. Oh, that can’t be good. I’m a goner.

After my release from the emergency room with a diagnosis of pneumonia in my right lung and a viral infection in the other, all I wanted to do was rest. I was also craving warm fluids. Having ignored my body for so many weeks (yes weeks), I decided I would pay attention this time. I was craving something light, tangy and sweet.

Letting my cravings have the lead, I assembled the ingredients for my tea:

• A handful of whole cranberries
• A thumb-sized piece of whole ginger
• A tablespoon of of pomegranate
• Two whole cloves
• A little zest from an orange

I added all of this to two cups of boiling water, covered it and let it go for about fifteen minutes. Teas made from bark, roots, seeds, fruits and nuts take a little longer than dried or loose leaf teas, which can be steeped and ready in less than 10 minutes. I strained some into my cup, setting aside the strained ingredients for later. I’ll just add a little more to it next time. No use in composting it until it’s exhausted all of its uses.

I added a splursh (a really big splash) of our own maple syrup. It was wonderful. The ginger gave me a warming sensation from head to toe; the tang of cranberries and pomegranate combined with the maple syrup for just the right zing. The cloves and orange zest gave it that smell that tells the nervous system to sit back and enjoy.

If you think about it, this tea is full of vitamin C and A, both found in abundance in the cranberries and pomegranate. Our maple syrup contains high-energy, unrefined sugars. Cloves are an age-old way to take the edge off of pain and warm the blood. Exactly what the doctor ordered: rest, take the expensive antibiotics, and drink lots of fluids, and above all-listen to what your body is telling you.

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Tags: cranberry teas, healthy teas, pneumonia, warming tea