Are you familiar with wellness shots? You might think of them as potent little elixirs to boost vitality and support overall well-being. They’re fun to make and can be easily customized to what you have access to and your personal preferences, as well as those of your family.
If you tend to be proactive where your wellness is concerned, these shots are a superb daily habit. When you consider the many juices, herbs, spices and nutritional supplements that can be included, you see the possibilities abound. Keep trying new ingredients for fun, tasty variations and an expanded range of benefits.
DIY Wellness Shot Recipe Ideas
The key to a potent but palatable shot is to balance stronger elements with a pleasant-tasting base. For example, if at least 2/3 of your shot consists of fresh juice or tea, this will soften the more intense flavors you may incorporate for the remaining 1/3, such as herbal tinctures, liquid nutrients and spices, all of which boost the wellness capacity of your mixture.
Consider these simple guidelines for primo shots:
Select your base
For the foundation portion of your shot, fresh-pressed juices, such as apple, lemon, orange, tangerine or a citrus combination are ideal. Brewed, room-temperature tea like ginger, cranberry or elderberry work well too, as does kombucha.
Another splendid base is an infusion made from dried superfood berries. Simply soak 1-part dried berries to 3-parts water, tea or kombucha overnight and strain. Enjoy leftover “plumped” berries in parfaits, chia puddings, smoothies, desserts, fruit gels and more. Options include:
- Elderberry infusion: Soak dried elderberries overnight and strain. You can also use this prepared elderberry liquid, diluted with water to taste.
- Using the same soaking method, try an infusion of goldenberries, also known as Incan berries, for added vitamin A, C, iron and protein.
- Goji berries used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 2,000 years, infuse beautifully too, and the ruby-hued liquid contains rich levels of carotenoids and other antioxidants.
Supercharge it
Once you create your foundation, add smaller amounts of more potent, traditionally medicinal ingredients to amplify the wellness benefits of your shots, such as:
Superfood fruit juices: Along with sweet flavor, these potent juices work synergistically with other ingredients. Try this pomegranate-turmeric-ginger option, or perhaps some noni juice, rich in bioactive polysaccharides, phytonutrients, bioflavonoids and fatty acid esters. Another option is nutritionally-dense graviola (soursop) juice.- Spices: It’s no surprise they top the ORAC-chart given their extraordinary antioxidant density. Spices also have a long and venerated history in Ayurvedic healing. Think cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, cayenne, turmeric, and cardamom. Start with a pinch of several, increasing amounts gradually over time.
- Liquid nutrients: Vitamins and minerals in liquid form offer an easy, highly digestible way to increase the nutritional value to your shots. Try this pleasant tasting liquid vitamin C, as well as liquid vitamin D3. A liquid multi-vitamin/mineral formula with a nice taste is a clever addition too.
- Superfood fruit powders: Concentrated juice powders, such as acai, maqui and pomegranate enhance the health value of your shots and add luscious flavor. Start with small amounts and blend thoroughly.
- Herbal tinctures: Consider echinacea, goldenseal or this orange-infused combination of the two, pau d’arco, astragalus, mushroom extracts and more. Start with just a few drops initially to ensure a pleasant overall flavor.
Once you get the hang of making these vibrantly healthy elixirs, you can vary them daily by the additions you choose. Simply keep proportions in mind, easing gently into the more potent ingredients, which enables you to control flavor as well as intensity.
For extra sweetness, finish with a touch of honey, maple syrup or liquid stevia.
Take note of what works well, and soon you’ll have a full repertoire. Who knew that knocking one back could have such benefits? Cheers to your health!
