Rhonda Quaney: What's In Your Cup?

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I never want to be a snob to anyone.

Not ever.

But.

When it comes to coffee I could be classified as a 'coffee snob'.

I L-O-V-E coffee.

I love the smell. I love the feeling of wrapping two hands around my favorite mug and hugging it to the point that my shoulders curve forward in the hugging effect too.

A good cup of coffee really is an experience.

One of my favorite-ever jobs was as a part-time barista in a quaint little locally owned coffee shop. There I learned the art of pulling the perfect shot of espresso and how to turn milk into velvety foam. People would line up in the drive-through stringing back so far it sometimes caused traffic issues. One of the secrets of a good coffee shop is making sure that you produce that same amazing product over and over so when the customer take the first sip ..... they have that "awwwww yes.." moment.

Unfortunately my little coffee habit was splashing overboard.

Overboard as in ...at noon I haven't drank a drop of water but I'm thinking about having another coffee.

These past months I have had just about every cold and flu out there so I sent my doctor an e-mail whining about my poor immune system. She wrote back that I was probably dehydrated and went on to build her case of the problems that it causes.

A few things she pointed out? Water.. (not coffee?) makes up about 70% of our body weight. Our brains are 90% water. (hummm...) Dehydration not only causes problems with our immune systems, but also our circulation, proper digestion, distributing nutrients around the body, regulating our body temperature, and removing toxins.

If we drink too little we can have trouble thinking clearly, get headaches, and it can lead to dizziness, lack of sleep, dry mouth, skin problems, joint swelling and cancer. Drinking plenty of water makes you naturally look younger. (She has my attention by now.)

- -And she added.

Caffeine actually dehydrates you. "So for every cup you drink of coffee drink two glasses of water."

Now this is a problem. I may love my coffee. But I am sick of being sick if you know what I mean. It sounds ridiculous but I had to break my habit of having coffee first thing in the morning.

It isn't earth shaking. But it was a small shift that has made a big difference for me these past weeks. So I thought I would share with you some of my water "upgrades."

First thing in the morning I have been drinking a glass of water with a single squeeze of lemon or if I'm cold I'll start the tea kettle and have a cup of herbal tea.

It has been f-i-n-e. (So maybe I was a little shaky at first...)

During the day my long standing favorite drink is water infused with fresh limes and lemons. The great thing is that the fruit is readily available and you get a boost of Vitamin C.

I wash the fruit and slice them into quarters. Then fill a large cup with ice. Squeeze two lemon quarters and one lime quarter over the ice. (more if you like) Add four or five drops of liquid stevia* and pour filtered water over the top. It is homemade-lemonade with zero calories and no artificial sweetener. I keep some wedges in the refrigerator so it's easy to do. It tastes amazing and makes it easy to drink more water.

Any fruit can make flavor infused water!

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Another favorite drink is Yerba Mate' (pronounced 'herb-a mahtay') A mere 1/4 teaspoon of this tea makes a glass of water taste amazing. It also has natural energy boosting properties. This can be found at health food stores.

In her book The Truth About Beauty, author Kat James shares this refreshing drink. It is cranberry juice concentrate that has no sugar. Knudsen is the brand I get at a health food store. Add an ounce or two of the concentrate, a few drops of stevia, a twist of fresh lime and seltzer or soda water (for the fizz).

This is so good.

You can make your own variation of this Spritzer, which I think is better than soda pop. I've used cherry concentrate, grape, etc. 30 calories of amazingness!

There are so many flavorful teas and ways to make it easy to drink more water. I've actually enjoyed the variety and I do feel so much better.

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But don't think for a minute that I won't be enjoying an occasional coffee.

Me. The woman who - -to this day will see people and not remember their first name. But I am able to recall that they drank a venti, skinny, sugar free hazelnut, with ghirardelli white chocolate, extra hot, with whip cream.

I personally prefer a grande americano with extra steamed half and half. (Just so you know.)

Because life really is too short to drink cheap coffee.

Whats in your cup?

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* Stevia is a natural sweetener that can be found many places. I usually get mine at a health food store.

Photo Credit*- Pintrest
Photo Credit 2 - Microsoft Clip Art