Research has shown that drinking green tea can be very beneficial for health. When talking about the health benefits of green tea, many people wonder if there is a “best time to drink green tea”.
Though there isn’t such a thing as the best or right time to drink green tea, consuming it during certain periods throughout the day gives us a chance to enjoy more of its multiple health benefits. Some people drink green tea in order to lose weight while others simply take it because of its antioxidants and other health benefits.
Green tea, compared to other teas contains the highest amounts of flavonoids, called catechins. Catechins are essentially antioxidants that are responsible for the wide range of its health benefits.
Some among the health benefits of drinking green tea are lowering the risk of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases; improving mental concentration, reduces cholesterol aiding weight loss; Also, it can be a great relief from stress and anxiety.
As for the best time to drink green tea, here are some recommendations based on various research findings.
The Best Time to Drink Green Tea for Optimal Health Benefits
After breakfast
An hour between and after meals
Before exercise
Two hours before bedtime
2-3 cups a day for general health & wellness
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. As a participant in the Amazon Associate Program, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means If you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.
Drink Green Tea in the Morning for Concentration
Unless you are having your green tea on an empty stomach, morning is one of the best times to drink green tea and reap the plethora of its benefits.
Green tea contains caffeine and an amino acid L-theanine, both of which can improve focus and concentration.
You might say, “Yeah, but I like my morning coffee and it has the same effect.”
Well, not quite.
Coffee might contain higher amounts of caffeine, which offers a quick spike in energy followed by a sudden drop. On the other hand, the combination of L-Theanine and caffeine in green tea makes the caffeine release much slower. Also, it doesn’t give you the jitters that coffee does.
It takes approximately 6-8 hours for the green tea to be fully absorbed into the bloodstream. Then it translates into an uninterrupted flow of energy and high concentration needed during work or study hours.
When we drink a cup of strong green tea after “heavy” meals rich in carbs and fat, the caffeine and tannins act as an obstruction.
However, in order not to inhibit nutrient absorption and interfere with gastric juices that might result in improper digestion, it is advised to have green tea about 30-45 minutes after a meal. Individuals who are anemic should avoid having green tea at mealtime. The prolonged inhibition of nutrient absorption, such as iron, could have adverse effects on their health.
Green Tea In Between Meals to Cut on Mindless Snacking
Snacking on comfort foods in between meals can leave you mindlessly consuming calories.
Drinking green tea between meals can help to suppress appetite and therefore the need to snack between meals.
Imagine how many calories would you be cutting down if you replaced snacks with green tea, which has zero calories.
Drinking Green Tea Before Exercise to Burn Fat
Drinking green tea alone can’t help you lose weight.
As green tea contains caffeine, drinking it 30-45 minutes before exercise can increase your energy level; help you stay focused during exercise, and therefore make your workouts last longer. In this way, combining green tea and adequate exercise can lead to burning more fat during exercise.
Drinking green tea before exercise shows an increased fat-burning rate during exercise.
Also, studies have shown that drinking green tea before exercise reduces muscle damage. Also, it has a positive effect on muscle recovery after strenuous exercise.
On the other hand, drinking green tea after exercise has its benefits too. Being rich in nutrients, drinking green tea after a workout helps you refresh quickly.
Though green tea helps to relax, it also contains caffeine. Consuming it right before bedtime excites the brain, might keep you up the whole night, and thus cause sleep deprivation.
Drinking green tea in the evening, 2-3 hours before going to bed stimulates calm and relaxation and can help you fall asleep easily.
L-theanine is an amino acid that is found in tea leaves, which soothes the mind.
It promotes body relaxation and facilitates sleep by boosting chemicals that help to calm the brain, such as serotonin and dopamine.
Furthermore, L–theanine can help foster a state of calmness and attentive wakefulness. This is exactly the state of mind one experiences while meditating or being in a creative mood.
Detoxify the Body for Optimal Health
We know that green tea is packed with antioxidants that can help detoxify the body of accumulated free radicals.
To reap the full benefits of the antioxidants in green tea for cleansing the body and promoting wellness we should be consuming green tea regularly on a daily basis, about 2-3 cups a day.
When Not to Drink Green Tea
As we already established, there isn’t a “best time” to drink green tea. However, there is a “worst time” when drinking green tea should be avoided, as it might be contra-effective to our health.
As a general rule, one should avoid drinking green tea on an empty stomach, early in the mornings as it could trigger negative effects. The high content of catechins could cause an upset stomach and even damage the liver if consumed long-term in high doses.
Green tea contains caffeine. If you drink it on an empty stomach, it could stimulate the release of gastric acid which could lead to dehydration and upset stomach.
To avoid any adverse effects, it is better to have a few cups of water first, instead of tea.
I sometimes drink green tea on an empty stomach as part of my morning detox ritual. Though I avoid steeping it for too long. For my morning routine, I usually choose some of the lighter varieties, such as the Dragon Well, and steep it only for about a minute before drinking it.
Avoid Drinking Green Tea if You are Taking Medicines
Also, if you are taking medicines you should consult your doctor first, as green tea might interfere with certain medicines.
When to Drink Green Tea According to Chinese Traditional Medicine (TCM)
Traditional Chinese medicine classifies teas as hot and cool. Black tea undergoes fermentation, it is fully oxidized, and it is considered to have a warming influence on the body, suitable for autumn and winter seasons. Green tea, on the other hand, is minimally processed and is therefore considered to have a cooling effect on the body.
That’s why Chinese people drink green tea only in spring and summer.
Also, according to TCM, if there is too much heat or inflammation in the body, the cooling effects that result from drinking green tea can negate the heat. The opposite is also true.
Would You Like to Get Green Tea Directly from China?
During the past 13 years I’ve spent in China, I’ve met people who own tea plantations and I order my tea from them directly.
While living in China, I learned that if you want to get a good quality tea, you’d better get it through the seller directly. Chinese people seldom buy their tea online.
If you’d like to try a good quality tea directly from China, get in touch with me and I can help you place an order through the tea farmers I usually buy tea from.
With another wave of newly infected, many are looking down the barrel of another lockdown. As if last winter’s lockdown weren’t stressful enough. In times of duress, many people reach for food to help them cope. When feeling the quarantine blues, it is easy to want to reach for some tasty comfort food or snacks while snuggled in bed. This lifestyle of mindless snacking to beat the blues can easily lead to weight gain. In the search of an elixir to make the weight loss journey shorter, many people have been wondering about the effects of drinking green tea for weight loss.
When it comes to the question of what to eat or drink to lose weight fast, there is no easy fix.
Remember, there are plenty of wealthy people with weight issues, and if there was a magic pill, they would have gotten it by now.
Oprah recommended green tea for weight loss in 2004 and has her own “Oprah Green Tea Diet”. The way this diet works though, as Oprah explains “you simply substitute other sugar and soda beverages with green tea”. Consuming 3-5 cups of green tea per day helps to suppress appetite and adds to the weight loss process.
I am not obese, but like many, I’ve always struggled to maintain my ideal weight. I’ve tried many rigorous diets, and throughout the process, I’ve noticed that the vicious cycle repeats itself. Once the diet was over, I’d gorge myself with all the delicious food I was craving after a long period of abstinence. Naturally and very quickly I’d end up with even more pounds than prior to the diet.
It isn’t a magic elixir. There isn’t any secret about consuming green tea that makes people lose weight.
Research shows that green tea has a slight benefit to weight loss. However, the real magic happens when you replace all daily beverages, especially soda and sugary ones with a cup of green tea that induces weight loss. Furthermore, green tea is a natural diuretic and helps with the reduction of water retention in the body.
My favorite kind of green tea is the Tie Guanyin variety of Oolong tea (technically it is between green and black tea). I absolutely recommend it. I’ve been drinking it for over ten years and it has helped me maintain weight.
Read my post on Oolong Tea Benefits and why it is called the In-Between Green and Black Tea
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. As a participant in the Amazon Associate Program, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means If you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.
Let’s look into how green tea helps you lose weight.
What Does Green Tea Do for Weight Loss?
Green Tea contains the highest amount of flavonoids compared to other teas, called catechins. Catechins are essentially antioxidants, that are responsible for many of the green tea health benefits, including weight loss.
Furthermore, green tea contains caffeine, which easily bonds with catechins and creates a very powerful combination. This powerful “duo” not only boosts metabolism but also increases the body’s energy levels by helping it burn more calories and thus break down the excess of fat. In this way, drinking green tea has a direct impact on weight loss.
Research is increasingly finding that consuming green tea regularly favorably alters gut microbes by stimulating the growth of good gut bacteria. In this way it helps offset the negative gut bacteria, known as “leaky gut” triggered by obesity, thus leading to weight loss.
Although it is the catechins found in green tea that have been linked to lowering the risk of obesity, however, further clinical trials are required.
Other Health Benefits of Green Tea
Weight loss is not the only benefit that results from drinking green tea.
Green tea is rich in antioxidants. Their role is to neutralize the free radicals floating in the body, released as a result of the body processes. It is this function that helps to prevent many serious diseases and bodily conditions, such as:
Relief from Stress and Anxiety:
High in L-theanine, an amino acid that might reduce anxiety and stress, sipping on green tea has a calming effect. Also it can help to slow down and relax.
Mental Focus and Concentration:
Green tea contains high amounts of a catechin known as EGCG, which is supposed to be very beneficial for memory.
Helps Reduce the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease:
Drinking green tea protects blood vessels from damage that could result in blockages and thus permanent damage to the heart. By unblocking blood vessels, it brings reduction in hypertension and cholesterol levels.
Prevents Diabetes:
Thanks to its high levels of powerful antioxidants, green tea might have an impact on lowering the risk of high blood sugar
Wards Off Cancer:
The high level of antioxidants found in green tea helps to neutralize the free radicals floating in the body, which are released as a result of the body’s chemical processes
Dental Health:
Green tea acts as a natural breath freshener. The polyphenols found in green tea inhibit bacterial growth. Also they prevent the plaque from sticking to the teeth, thus reducing the risk of tooth decay.
Further benefits of green tea include fighting bacterial infections, liver damage, as well as improved skin appearance.
Which Kind of Green Tea is Best for Weight Loss?
Green tea comes in many different varieties and may be very different depending on the region the tea is grown, climate, harvesting time, and methods.
However, all tea varieties are from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. This means that no matter which variety of green tea you choose to drink, it will contain a high intake of flavonoids.
If you are used to buying the same green tea brand from your local supermarket, drinking different varieties throughout the day can make the weight loss journey even more enjoyable.
“We’re talking about a flavorful, aromatic, healthful beverage,” says Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at Tufts University. He adds, “Why not choose a different one to go with a different meal or time of day—just like wine?”
There isn’t an exact time of the day that if you drink green tea that will guarantee weigh loss. However, drinking a cup of green tea at different times of the day can let us enjoy many of its benefits.
According to research, the catechins in green may inhibit the absorption of carbohydrates. So, drinking green tea during and after meals might cause reduced carb absorption and therefore slow down weigh gain.
However, do it moderately. The tannins found in green tea can lead to iron deficiency and anemia if consumed in large quantities.
On the other hand, drinking green tea between meals can suppress appetite and therefore the need to snack between meals. Think about how many calories would you be cutting down if you give up snacks to green tea, which has zero calories.
How Much Green Tea You Should Drink for Weight Loss?
According to clinical research, drinking between 2-3 cups of hot green tea daily is optimal for weight loss. However, there are other factors to consider: your natural metabolism, how long you brew your tea, and how much caffeine it contains.
Although green tea is considered generally safe to consume, be mindful of the caffeine intake if you suffer from any heart disease. High doses of caffeine can pose risk for people with high blood pressure.
When it comes to weight loss, even though there are many varieties of green tea, there aren’t significant differences between them.
For optimal weight loss though, the most important factor is to avoid using sweeteners (honey, sugar, milk or cream). They add extra calories and therefore cancel out the green tea’s weight loss potential.
In my opinion, it is not worth the extra calories. Green tea has such a natural great taste.
Plain green tea contains zero calories and is therefore a perfect addition to any weight loss diet.
Why Should You Use Loose Leaf Tea Instead of Tea Bags?
To make sure you are getting highest nutrient intake, use loose leaf green tea instead of tea bags.
Teabags are made from the low tea grades, usually the small pieces, and the tea dust. They are packaged in paper wraps, are cheap and easy to mass produce.
On the other hand, the loose-leaf tea is primarily made of whole tea leaves. Even when packaged they come unbroken. The best quality green tea leaves are the ones from the first few spring harvests. Also they cost a lot more compared to the harvests later during the year.
When steeped, the high-grade loose tea leaves release more tannins compared to low quality tea, (let alone from teabags) resulting in more flavorful tea rich in nutrients.
To get the best effect, you should consume green tea leaves fresh, right after the harvest. As time goes on the leaves can lose their freshness and aroma. While prepackaged teabags do not expire that soon, they are good to use for more than a year.
The Right Way to Prepare Green Tea for Weight Loss
When it comes to wight loss, how you brew your tea can have a significant impact on weight loss. Green tea is rich in catechins, and when stepped at an ideal water temperature, they release tannins which are associated with the health benefits of green tea.
Although it is recommended to steep green tea in boiled hot water, if the water is too hot it can have a harmful effect on the catechins. What happens is that the catechins will release too much tannins and this will make your tea taste bitter.
On the other hand, if the water temperature is not high enough, there won’t be enough tannins to provide the health benefits. So, the ideal water temperature for brewing your tea is crucial.
Boil the water only to 70 degrees, which is just about when you start seeing the small bubbles. Or boil and then leave the hot water cool down for about ten minutes before you pour it over your loose tea leaves.
Depending on your choice, use about 2-3 Tbsp of loose-leaf tea. Let it steep for about 5 minutes before you pull out the leaves.
In my next post, find out the right time to drink green tea and reap its multiple health benefits:
Would You Like to Get Green Tea Directly from China?
During the past 13 years I’ve spent in China, I’ve met people who own tea plantations and I order my tea from them directly.
While living in China, I learned that if you want to get a good quality tea, you’d better get it through the seller directly. Chinese people seldom buy their tea online.
If you’d like to try a good quality tea directly from China, get in touch with me and I can help you place an order through the tea farmers I usually buy tea from.
Here at the Hobbit Hold, we’re all about home, comfort food, warm drinks for winter, as well as the minor indulgences that make life magical. We also realize that we hold a minor obligation to the fandom from which we take our domain name. So, it behooves us every once and again to steer our content toward the fantastic, the magical, or even the downright medieval. That’s why in this post we’re going to take a look at a Buttered Beere (not Butterbeer Potterheads), a warm drink that is considered a winter comfort beverage, from Tudor England.
Published sometime around 1585, The Good Housewife’s Jewell by Thomas Dawson was among the first guides to homemaking and cooking to be written in modern English. One of the more interesting recipes to be found in its pages is for “Buttered Beere”. Wanting to try something a little more mature than the standard Butterbeer, my husband and I decided to give this a go. With winter soon upon us, we could think of no better warm drink to be had on a chilly evening were we to find ourselves in The Shire.
Pulling from the original text, the recipe for buttered beer is as follows:
To make Buttered Beere. Take three pintes of Beere, put five yolkes of Egges to it, straine them together, and set it in a pewter pot to the fyre, and put to it halfe a pound of Sugar, one penniworth of Nutmegs beaten, one penniworth of Cloves beaten, and a halfepenniworth of Ginger beaten, and when it is all in, take another pewter pot and brewe them together, and set it to the fire againe, and when it is readie to boyle, take it from the fire, and put a dish of sweet butter into it, and brewe them together out of one pot into an other.
200 grams of raw sugar (Demerara or some another variety such as Sugar in the Raw)
2.5 grams of ground nutmeg
2.5 grams of ground clove
1.25 grams of ground ginger
100 grams of unsalted butter
Selecting an Ale
When choosing a beer to use with this particular recipe, we highly recommend selecting a mild ale. Naturally, we anticipate personal taste to win out in the end. Though if you’re keen to experience this warm drink as it was drunk during winters hundreds of years ago, an ale is best.
Ales would have been more common in England at the time since they don’t require refrigeration the way lagers do. English, Brown, or Scottish style ales would be ideal for this recipe. Other lighter ales such as Belgian or certain German beers will do if you can’t find the others. Those wanting a truly strong kick might even want to consider a Barley Wine.
Due to lack of availability in our area, we decided to go with a standard German Hefeweizen.
Buttering Up Your Beer
The original recipe seems to indicate dumping everything in together.
However, we opted to put the beer in first along with the spice to burn off some of the alcohol. We wanted to see if we could still make it a historically accurate Butterbeer for children.
Then we let the flavors stew for a bit.
Our hope was that a stronger taste of spice would make our buttered beer a better quality of warm drink and comfort beverage for winter, akin to a mulled wine.
Once the beer boiled up a bit, it cleared and we added a mixture of the egg and sugar. We kept stirring steadily.
That stirred and was allowed to simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes.
It’s important during this time that your heat be low in order to melt the sugar. Avoid creating a boiled egg slurry.
If your stove runs hot, you might want to consider removing it from the heat at this point. Our goal is to create a cozy, warm winter drink, not a drinkable omelet.
Once the egg and sugar mixture had simmered in nicely, we added the butter and let it melt.
We continued to whisk, and once the butter had melted, we allowed the mixture to simmer for another 5 minutes.
When we were content with the consistency and frothiness, we let our buttered beer cool down to a drinkable temperature.
Put down the glass Mr. Potter, you’re too young.
This is most definitely not the magnificent concoction that Harry Potter fans will remember from Hogsmeade. Though we’d like to think that Shirefolk would be quite pleased if they ever find out that it can come in pints!
Recipes for Butterbeer of the Harry Potter variety are easy enough to find online. While this likely progenitor of Rowling’s Butterbeer is incredibly sweet, we wouldn’t consider serving it to children unless a non-alcoholic beer was used.
Our Opinion After Making this Warm Winter Drink
We both enjoyed this tasty winter comfort beverage. It’s not every day that you get to try out a recipe that is hundreds of years old. Unless you have French Toast every morning for breakfast, then it truly is an everyday thing for you.
This warm drink is something we would consider making again, especially if we had visitors over on a cold winter evening.
If we had anything negative to say at all, it would be that the beverage is entirely too sweet. It could perhaps do with a wider array of spices.
Despite our lack of sweet tooth, we are keeping in mind that this recipe comes from a period shortly after Europeans were introduced to sugar.
At the time, using sugar in a recipe would be something of a display of wealth. The Tudors themselves were notorious for their sugar intake, which would go a long way toward explaining the girth of Henry VIII, or Queen Elizabeth’s blackened teeth. People of the time had yet to learn the drawbacks of sugar. If you are one of those people looking to reduce sugar intake, read these guidelines to find out how.
Our particular experiment with this recipe may have turned out sweeter because of our beer choice too.
If you’re looking for something unique to try on a cold evening, Buttered Beere gets our whole-hearted recommendation. Potterheads who are of age might also get a kick out this “Adult Butterbeer” as well. Regardless of whether you’re a history enthusiast, a fantasy fan, or just curious; this warm drink is worth trying at least once this winter.
We’ll be taking another look at Buttered Beere later on when we try to put our own twist on this 400-year-old recipe.
If you decide to make it this winter, do let us know how it turned out. Would love to hear your thoughts on this old comfort beverage.
The cold of winter will soon be setting in, which means that it’s time to embrace comfort food once again. On cold, winter nights nothing warms you up quite like a bowl of soup. Winter comfort foods bring added coziness to your home in the evenings. When it comes to comfort foods, few would disagree that nothing beats mushroom soup. Through the years I’ve tried many variations on mushroom soup recipes.
Eventually, I came up with my own that I’ve been cooking to warm up on cold winter nights. It is healthy, comforting, and falls in line with the hygge lifestyle.
This mushroom soup recipe quickly became one of my family favorites, and I’d like to share it with everyone. I hope you will like it too.
Health Benefits of Mushrooms
But first, let’s mention some of the health benefits of mushrooms.
Mushrooms are good for you. They are an excellent source of fiber and protein. Provided that the mushrooms have had sun exposure during the growth process, they can also be a good source of vitamin D. They are rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants help to offset the harmful effects of the free radicals which can cause cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases.
Any recipe that calls for a mushroom soup not only adds richness and creamy texture to a variety of dishes but also provides a variety of nutrients that mushrooms naturally contain. Some of them are:
Copper
Copper is instrumental in stimulating the body’s production of red cells that are crucial in delivering oxygen to all the body parts. A 1-cup serving of mushrooms can provide about one-third of the daily recommended amount of copper.
Potassium
Mushrooms are rich in potassium, especially the portobello mushroom. We know that potassium is one of the most important minerals in the body that aids the functioning of the heart, muscles, and the nervous system.
Selenium
Mushrooms contain selenium which is an antioxidant that helps to boosts the immune system.
B Vitamins
The combination of B vitamins is beneficial to the digestive systems, as well as to the skin – which is why consuming mushrooms has been linked to the prevention of skin aging, giving it a younger look.
How to Store Mushrooms Properly
When stored in the fridge, mushrooms can be good for about 4-7 days. If you’d like to keep them longer, it is a good idea to let them absorb sunlight for couple hours during the day, since they contain vitamin D.
Another way is to store them in a paper bag, which will allow them to breathe, as opposed to plastic bag which traps moisture and causes them to rot faster.
Before you make your mushroom soup or cook other recipes, you might think it is a good idea to wash them. Mushrooms tend to absorb water and might get soggier. In order to avoid the release of a slimy substance throughout the cooking processes, you can simply clean them with a paper towel prior to cooking. If you really need to wash them, then you’d better leave them to dry out completely before cooking.
How to Add More Mushrooms to Your Diet
Mushrooms are so versatile. There are many kinds of mushrooms that grow in different parts of the world. They can be sauteed, grilled, used in omelets, pasta, and soups, and they can also be used as a meat substitute.
Some of the most common mushrooms used for cooking are button mushrooms (can be white and brown), porcini, portobello, shitake, cremini, or oyster mushrooms
Another way to enjoy mushrooms and all the health benefits they contain is to try the dried mushrooms. While fresh mushrooms offer the maximum benefits, dried mushrooms can be equally tasty and more readily available. Take for example the Italian Porcini mushrooms.
Truffle Zest
Yet another mushroom derivative I’ve recently tried is essentially a mushroom powder. It is called Truffle zest and it is a powdered spice blend made with extracts from pure black summer truffles.
It goes perfectly well on eggs, potatoes, meat, tofu, or even on popcorn. Truffle zest can give an amazing kick to creamy soups and pasta such as the mushroom soup and Carbonara pasta. That’s why I’ve decided to include it in my mushroom soup recipe.
Disclaimer: As a participant in the Amazon Associate Program I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you.
It can also add an intriguing touch to salad dressings, all while being gluten-free, Non-GMO, with no MSG.
However, if you like foraging for mushrooms, be careful as not all mushrooms are edible. Some wild mushrooms can be toxic which can seriously upset your stomach, and even cause death, such as the Death Cap Mushroom. Be doubly careful and thorough with your checks to make sure a mushroom is safe, even seasoned mycologists have fallen prey to wild mushroom poisons.
Mushroom Soup Recipe
Here in China where I live, we are fortunate to have access to a huge variety of mushroom selections.
This mushroom soup recipe uses white button mushrooms, portobello, shitake, and oyster mushrooms. What gives this recipe a special kick though is the truffle zest. The recipe draws inspiration from the following source.
Ingredients
1/4 cup (50g) dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup (250ml) boiling water
4 cups (500g) fresh mushroom mix, sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion (chopped)
2 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons butter (50g)
2 teaspoons dried dill ( french parsley or thyme are also an option)
1 tablespoon paprika (sweet or spicy)
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth or bullion
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
A dash of truffle zest or truffle oil for drizzling
Instructions
Pour the boiling water over the porcini mushrooms and set aside for 30 minutes to infuse. Drain the porcini mushrooms and reserve the mushroom broth for cooking.
If you like, you could add the soaked porcini mushrooms to the soup together with the other mushrooms. If you do, please note that some porcini mushrooms tend to be a bit sandy. Even after multiple rounds of washing, the sand won’t come off. You won’t like your mushroom soup to taste sandy.
Slice the mixture of mushrooms and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic until soft over medium heat. Add the mushroom mixture as well as the butter and fry for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms are soft.
Stir in the dill and sweet paprika of your choice. I once mixed up my pepper powders and ended up adding the wrong one- the spicy paprika. Surprisingly the mushroom soup tasted incredibly good.
So, if you like spicy don’t be afraid to use a hot spicy pepper.
Add the porcini mushroom broth as well as the chicken or vegetable broth of your choice. Reduce heat to low. Cover and then simmer for about 20 minutes.
Take a separate bowl, add the milk and whisk in the flour. Pour into the soup and stir for a couple of minutes to blend together with the rest. Cover and simmer for 5 more minutes, while stirring occasionally.
Lastly stir in the sour cream, add the lemon juice and season with ground pepper. Mix together over a low heat for about 5 minutes. After this step do not boil the soup.
Remove and let the mushroom soup cool for a few minutes.
What you can do here is puree the soup with a blender for a smoother texture. This is optional though.
Pour in soup bowls. Add a dash of truffle zest or drizzle with truffle oil and garnish with parsley.
Serves: 2- 3
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: about 45 minutes
Serve with garlic bread, or even better – a loaf of warm rustic bread.
Are you wondering how to make your home feel cozier this winter?
With the large possibility of an upcoming winter in lockdown for many, the prospect of a cozier home may be gaining an appeal. Given the amount of time people spend at home to begin with, we each owe it to ourselves to make the places we live as comfortable as possible by trying to make our homes feel cozier.
You may be a first-time homeowner wondering how to give a brick and mortar place more personality and feel like home. Maybe you’ve been renting for some time and would like to make your home a little more inviting. You might think that cozy homes are expensive homes, and are worried it costs too much.
You might have invested time and money in decorating your home, yet something doesn’t feel quite right. That “feeling of coziness” somehow isn’t there. When you search for cozy homes on social media, none of the pictures that you see quite matches yours.
Trying to Find a Cozy Home
I’ve changed homes quite often while living in China. Some of the homes felt cozier than others. They naturally radiated with warmth. I’d feel more inspired to decorate my home, cook, and invite friends to spend time together. Though with other apartments I didn’t feel that vibe.
When living in a major city, in my case Beijing, it can be hard to make the place you live feel like home. Life here is fast-paced. There is rarely time to do any of the things necessary to transform an apartment into a home.
Take cooking for example. In order to catch up with the fast-paced rhythm of life, it is often more practical to order in than to cook at home.
Another thing that has prevented me from investing time into decorating in the past is the fact that rent often goes up yearly, meaning that I have had to move frequently to maintain my cost of living. It is hard to get inspired under those circumstances.
I thought of my apartments as just places to sleep, until we had to spend almost the entirety of 2020 in lockdown.
How to Make a Home Feel Cozier Without Blowing the Budget
Having a cozy place where you feel like you are at home is important. You might think that you need to have a background in interior design and home décor, or that the level of coziness you desire can only be achieved with a big budget.
Expensive doesn’t necessilary mean cozy.
Cozy is a feeling. When you’ve entered a cozy home, you’ll feel the coziness surrounding it.
I was able to recognize that vibe of coziness while browsing through Instagram photos. I knew the feeling, though I wasn’t aware that the Danes have coined a term for it. They call it “Hygge”. The Danes seem to know the secret to cozy.
Hygge: The Lifestyle of Coziness
Pronounced “Hoo-ga”, Hygge is a lifestyle concept that loosely translates as a sense of comfort, togetherness, and well-being. It is the pursuit of happiness by finding enjoyment in the simple pleasures of everyday life.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. As a participant in the Amazon Associate Program, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means If you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.
The trend is defined by a minimalist decor style and the idea of enjoying the simple creature comforts of home that make us feel happy and content.
Hygge originated out of the need to make the cold and dark Danish winters more enjoyable. Since the Danes spend most of the dark winter hours at home, the hygge sentiment is heavily present in their homes as it makes them feel cozier.
They create a cozy atmosphere in their homes by introducing warm colors, candles, lights and blankets to make it feel more comfortable.
A cozy home is the happiest place to be spending quality time with friends and family.
You know that you’re feeling the cozy vibes when you snuggle up on a cozy nook during the crispy dark mornings and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate while reading a book from the comfort of your home.
How to Make Your Home Feel Cozier With Touches of Hygge
Hygge is not an expensive lifestyle and can even be done on a shoestring budget. You might be surprised that some of the things necessary for adding hygge to your home might already be lying around.
Declutter
The first step to making your home feel cozy is to declutter. Things that you’ve been gathering through the years, including all the swag that comes from being a brand member hoping that you’ll use it one day hardly makes any place cozy.
People get emotional when it comes to parting with old things. That’s the best formula for attracting clutter in your home. Think about decluttering as a way of making space for the new things you can buy, that your home needs.
Use woven baskets to store things lying around or on some of your most prominent furniture. By choosing a rustic or vintage style and warm colors, baskets can add a great touch of coziness to your home.
Repaint Your Walls Using Warm Neutral Palette for Creating a Cozy and Inviting Home
The easiest way to make a home feel warm and inviting for the lowest cost is to repaint the walls.
A neutral color palette and minimalism are key to the Scandinavian aesthetic. A minimalist decor reflects the idea of enjoying the simple things in life from the comfort of our homes. It is simplicity that makes us feel happy and content.
Using warm neutral paint color when paired with subtle warm undertones creates a warm, welcoming and comforting atmosphere in your home that stimulates relaxation.
A versatile neutral palette will make your home feel cozy and inviting not only during the winter but all year around. Repainting the walls can give the effect that your home has been completely redecorated. Though the only thing that has changed is the wall color.
To reflect the true hygge style use warm neutral paint colors, such as Timeless, or On Point
Neutral creamy undertones have the effect of enveloping your home in warmth. They take away the focus from the walls and reflect the room décor.
Warm Up Your Space with Layers of Textures
Part of the hygge charm is that it invokes a tactile sensation. When it comes to textures, there is a lot to touch and feel. Hygge is a blend of styles and elements of décor, which add up to an effect of coziness.
From soft pillows, to throw blankets, rugs, leather, or wood, combining layers of textures brings added warmth to your home. Furthermore, mixing accessories of different fabrics such as leather, ceramic, or marble touches creates an appealing sensation.
Cushions and knit blankets are the ultimate way to cozy up your home; the more, the warmer. Your guests might want to use some too. When it comes to cushions, pile them on, and spread them unevenly across the sofa. Also, don’t forget to add some more floor pillows around the coffee table.
Ideally, pillows should be made of versatile textures and fabrics. Soft faux sheepskin and wool are the ultimate cozy fabrics for a warm and comfy home.
There is nothing more engaging to the senses than soft, warm pillows and fluffy throw blankets that make you want to snuggle in with your favorite book or just take a nap.
Create Coziness with Warm Lighting
Lighting is crucial when it comes to coziness. Warm, yellow lighting such as candles, fireplaces, lamps will invoke a cozy atmosphere in your home. However, most people use fluorescent lighting which is considered cold and takes away from the effect of coziness.
When it comes to warm and cold lighting, it is the light bulb temperature that dictates how warm or cold the lighting is.
Color temperature is measured in degrees of K(kelvin). From the color temperature scale, we can see that the warm tones that match up to a candlelight measure somewhere around 3000k, while the cool white of a fluorescent light is around 5000k.
The color temperature of a candle is about 1850k, and that is why candlelight feels so cozy. It is a very warm light indeed!
Another way to make your home feel cozier is to let in as much natural lighting in the rooms you spend most of your time in.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The south-facing parts of the house enjoy the longest hours of sunlight throughout the day. By choosing a south-facing living room you’ll have a naturally warm, yellow-toned light, which makes the room feel warmer as evening draws near.
In fact, south-facing apartments cost much more in countries like China, both for renting and buying because this same concept coincides with their tradition of Feng Shui.
As for evenings avoid the neon and fluorescent lights at all cost. Not only do they make the area feel cold and uninviting, but higher temperature lights also produce more blue light, which can affect your sleep.
Make use of a fireplace if you have one, as they are great for adding to warmth and coziness to your home.
Choose the focal points in your place where you’d like to spend a relaxing evening. Arrange lots of candles, lamps, or twinkling lights in clusters for an added atmosphere of coziness in your home.
String lights add a wonderful hygge vibe to any room. You can pretty much put them anywhere and not go wrong.
Bring Nature’s Greenery Indoors
House plants not only aid the aesthetic of our homes but are also good for our health. By releasing oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide and other toxins, greenery helps us feel more relaxed and calmer. This, in turn, benefits our mood.
Scandinavian people are nature lovers. They tend to bring greenery indoors as a way to reconnect with nature even during winter days. Having plants in your home, whether real or fake, can contribute to a cozy sensation.
If you have a garden – great, bring in some fresh flowers to brighten the atmosphere. Also, think about starting your mini window sill herb garden for cooking.
Ferns, spider plants, potted succulents, or a larger scale fiddle leaf fig tree are a great choice of plants to help recreate natural scenery and make your home feel cozier. Monstera, peace lilies, succulents, and sansevieria are types that don’t require direct light to thrive. Just be careful with selecting living plants as some can be toxic to humans or pets.
When it comes to real plants, some might be complicated to maintain. Some require frequent watering, repotting, or might be sensitive to sunlight, others are not pet friendly; Indoor plants can be expensive, and despite your best effort to maintain them, they can die.
If your lifestyle doesn’t allow you to commit to plant maintenance, you can definitely consider faux plants as an alternative. Opting for fake plants means you don’t have to feel limited to indoor plants that are suitable only for a particular season or require the right amount of light.
You can choose just about anything you fancy.
The good thing about the fake plants is that they look so real, that it is hard to tell the difference. Take for example the fiddle leaf tree.
While this is the Instagram favorite plant, many people choose to use the fake one as it is nearly impossible to tell the difference.
On the other hand, choosing a faux large-scale fiddle leaf tree seems very practical, considering the fact that the real one is much more expensive, and can die easily because it requires tropical rainforest conditions to truly thrive.
Final Word: Keep It Minimalist
Regardless of how you choose to decorate your home, what we can learn from the Scandinavians is that the key to making a home feel cozy is in simplicity. Too much stuff can feel overwhelming and might make it hard to relax. Home is for living, not for storing stuff, so declutter and purge away the excess. You will find that creating a cozy, comforting home is about surrounding yourself only with the items that you truly love.
