Mango basil mocktail

Who can resist mmmmango? I can't personally resist adding the extra mmmmmm writing it. There are so many sensational summer fruits to delight in, and I love them all. But while Watermelon for me is signature summer, Mango is a mini tropical escape--especially in the form of this refreshing Mango Basil Mocktail--something I can very much use right now.

I was too sick recently to be anything but grateful for antibiotics (soooo sick, like omg, thank you to everyone who loves me well enough to indulge me by listening to me wail and whine lately about just awful I felt for what has amounted to longer than a month). Still, I can't help but deplore what the drugs do to my gut. A solid silver lining, though--alongside the obvious of finally getting better--is some delicious enticements helping me get my microbiome nourished and flourishing again. Pre and probiotic rich fermented foods deliver a whopping post-illness punch of health, and Kombucha is at the top of my list for getting some fun, friendly allies.

This bright, delightful beverage is a Felix favorite, too (of course it is--this kid welcomes the occasional use of the nickname of "Mango", he loves the juicy fruit so much). He needs to replenish his gut, too, poor guy. Shortly after I was prescribed antibiotics, I took him to urgent care, too. We’ve both been battered in parallel but separate ways of late.

When I spoke to the very responsive and empathetic doctor who saw me —once I’d reached my body’s feverish and face’s electrified pain limit— he told me that he was confident my sinus infection was among the 5% that is bacterial. One of the trademarks was the common thread of a “second" story” scenario, when things seem to improve only to resurge full force and then some. Reflecting on this, I thought of all the recent illness “comebacks” Felix endured this school year, always marked by a raging, inflamed sore throat before burgeoning into all the usual cold symptoms on high. Our Felix urgent care visit was nothing like the affirming, gentle one I had, however.

You know how sometimes you find yourself pigeon-holed, and you just can’t claw your way out? Yes, I was sick, and my hypersensitive nature was all the more tender. Also, maybe the urgent care doctor that day was fed up by a string of moms who seemed to have an agenda with the goal being antibiotics (not, and never me). Maybe the interpretations I have came exclusively from my head with no rational basis. Regardless, I felt as a parent like I was being condescended to and given a very generic spiel about how viruses work. And yet, since Felix’s glands were somewhat swollen, I was told we “could do a strep test just to rule it out”, but only if I “really want to spend an extra $30 just for the peace of mind that it’s a virus and will take some time”. I nearly hung my head and turned down the strep test, walking out of the office cowed and in my rightful lowly place. But Felix had been suffered so much through variations of the same brutal cycle, I decided, yes, I do really want to spend the extra $30, and we did.

Of course I wouldn’t be writing this down if I weren’t validated in my choice, and a little immaturely and pettily still hanging onto feelings of mistreatment. An hour later, I got a message on our online portal that we had new test results. They were: Strep detected. Ha! Take THAT, Dr. Carrie! But here’s the kicker: underneath that test result was ANOTHER test result from way back in December. The result? Strep detected!

My heart sunk to the floor, where it wriggled around obscenely, writhing in a muddle of guilt, abandoment, and anxiety. I remember that December office visit. Felix was MISERABLE. He had the quick PCR test done, which was negative for COVID-19, RSV, Flu, and Strep. But, the strep culture would be sent back to the lab, we were told. If it was positive, we’d get a phone call. I remember how I checked Felix’s online portal for a few days after that, with no new test results. Eventually, he got “better”, but he was always on the edge. Now I know why. My child had been carrying strep for months. We had unwittingly exposed who knows how many people. I never got that phone call, nor a message about new test results. I had stopped checking too early.

The day I learned about Felix’s longterm strep, still feeling sick and miserable myself I found some solace in reading a book. In it, a mother who is a doctor spends time at a severely underprivieleged clinic in Thailand. She is devastated by the lack of supplies, staff medicines. The way that often, the only option is to gently offer care and watch as patients die, including a child who developed rheumatic fever because they didn’t have the medicine for strep! The same day—the universe is surely toying with me, I thought.

All of this ranting is just to say, TRUST your gut. And, nourish it. I’m still not back to myself, but I’m getting there, with a little help, including bright, sparkly beverages that offer just the right sunshiny boost. If you’ve made it this far, thank you for being yet another who has indulged me by letting me rant. If you jumped to the recipe, that makes me very happy, too. Have a lovely day! xo

Mmmmango!

Mango basil Mocktail

Per 1 serving

1-2 basil leave
Juice of 1/2 lime
Pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 Cup+ mango puree (or to taste)
Kombucha (I love Liquid Remedy’s amazing new Orange Splash flavor, but a ginger, lemon, or pineapple would work great, too!)
Ice

Muddle 1 or 2 basil leaves in a good squeeze of lime juice in a serving glass. Fill the glass with ice cubes, and add pureed mango and a pinch of cayenne pepper (subtle but super!). Top with  kombucha. (I love Liquid Remedy’s traditional, slow brewing approach and their raw, vegan, unpasteurized, no added sugar beverages). Garnish if desired with basil leave and lime. Enjoy!