This post is for all of you moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, day school teachers, and anyone who cares for a child on a regular basis. I am going to let you in on a little secret that my mother-in-law shared with me about three years ago. Rooibos. Any South African reading this blog is laughing by now because this is no secret in South Africa. A native to South Africa, Rooibos, or “red bush” is as common there as iced tea is in the Southern U.S. In fact, South African mothers of colicky infants feed their babies rooibos because it is known to calm their little tummies and bring relief. Now that got some of your attention. I know. We had a colicky one too. In fact, that little colicky one grew up to have eczema, allergies of all types, and severe diaper rash. That is, until he started drinking Blueberry Rooibos. It’s no joke. About the time he turned one, I gave my mother-in-law permission to give him some Blueberry Rooibos (I was still skeptical). She sweetened it with honey (after he turned one), and he loved it. I was happy because we found an alternative to expensive, sugary juice from the grocery store. I knew the benefits of Rooibos – caffeine-free, loaded with Vitamin C, full of vitamins and minerals, including potassium, calcium and zinc, and sugar-free. What I didn’t know was that is would CURE our little one’s eczema and diaper rash! I could not believe it. We had tried everything for his diaper rash – 10 different kinds of diaper cream ranging from $5-15 a tube, prescription diaper cream costing $55 a jar, you name it. That poor baby was in pain. He started drinking “blueberry” as he still calls it to this day, and within a week his rash was GONE. I immediately became a believer in rooibos as the panacea for all things pertaining to baby skin! Truly, this is a mother’s dream-come-true drink for her children. I don’t plan on ever stopping making this the drink of choice in our household (in addition to tea, of course!).

If you are convinced and want to give Rooibos a try in your household, might I suggest a few items to make preparations easier? A product that we use and love is the Takeya Iced Tea Maker. Simply put 10 teaspoons of your rooibos tea in the infuser basket, boil water in your electric tea kettle, pour boiling water into your Takeya pitcher, steep for ten minutes using a tea timer, remove infuser basket when ten minutes are up (between 5-10 minutes is recommend; the longer the brew, the more vitamins and minerals), sweeten with local honey if you desire, pour rooibos “concentrate” into large pitcher, add cool water to concentrate, refrigerate until cold, serve, and ENJOY.