Tag Archives: tea

It seems there are a whole whack of us that lean towards the overthinking side. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one with a crazy mind sometimes. It seems like we’re all ready to put some of those excess thoughts on the backburner, though, and start putting that three-letter word (YES) to practice. No better time than summer to start saying “YES” and just live it up, right?

Tonight I’m saying YES to going out for a very special birthday…

Canada’s Birthday!

(source)

Happy Canada Day!

Nothing big, probably just hitting up a pub while sporting some red and white. Maybe catch a few fireworks on the side.

It’s been a hot one today (finally summer shows its face!) so I’ll leave you with a few green tea-filled tidbits and recipes while I head out to watch all the folk wandering around the streets with maple leafs fake tattooed on their faces.

My morning smoothie habit is nothing new. Though this so-called “summer” has been a little weak in terms of hot weather and many mornings are still a little chilly…

So my smoothies always get paired with a nice hot mug of green tea.
Plus a handful (or five) of cereal for crunch factor.
(Yes, I’m just reading ‘Eat Pray Love’ for the first time now. I’m ridiculously late on the EPL bandwagon. I blame it on textbook reading allowing for virtually no leisure reading these past few years. Until now!)

I usually eat my Puffins dry and straight from the box but did anyone else notice that these things just do not get soggy? Impressive.

Aside from drinking hot green tea beside my smoothies, cold green tea is often in my smoothies.

A liquid base of half chilled green tea, half almond milk = smoothie perfection.

Yep it tastes good, but I think many of us know that green tea does some pretty good stuff to the body too.

Andrea from Lipton Tea sent me a few tidbits to share on just why green tea is a great summer drink:

· Taste: Green tea can taste good. Today, it comes in a variety of flavours making it more enjoyable to drink; for instance, Lipton’s new Superfruit flavours, infused with bright fruit blends. Use your tea to make a delicious iced green tea sangria or fruit punch, great for enjoying on a warm summer day or night

· Hydration: It’s no secret that green tea is good for us. Made up of 99.5 per cent water, this makes green tea an ideal form of hydration, especially on a hot day

· Weight management: When consumed without milk or sugar, green tea contains zero calories! When compared to a regular iced cappuccino with cream which contains 380 calories, this can make a huge difference, especially when consumed regularly over the course of the summer months

· Flavonoids…huh? Flavonoids are plant compounds that have been associated with normal cardiovascular function. Green tea contains more than double the amount of flavonoids than many other foods and beverages typical in a Canadian diet, including orange juice, broccoli and cranberry juice

Chilled green tea on its own is super refreshing on these hot (or at least semi warm…) summer days but if you want to spruce things up a bit, I’ll leave you with a couple Lipton Green Tea recipes to make it happen.

Green Tea Iced Tea

4 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes Chill Time: 2 hours

4 cup (1 L) boiling water

6 (6) Lipton® Green Tea bags

2 Tbsp. (30 mL) honey or brown sugar

Pour boiling water over Lipton® Green Tea bags in teapot; cover and brew 3 minutes. Remove tea bags and squeeze; stir in sugar and cool.

Pour into ice-filled glasses and garnish, if desired, with lemon or orange slices. Enjoy!

See Nutrition Information for sugar content.

Per serving: 30 calories, 0 g total fat (0 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 5 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, 0 g fibre, 9 g sugars, 0 g protein. % DV: 0% vitamin A, 0% vitamin C, 0% calcium, 0% iron.

Sparkling Fruity Green Tea

4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes Chill Time: 2 hours

3 cup (750 mL) boiling water

6 (6) Lipton® Green Tea bags

¼ cup (125 mL) brown sugar

½ cup (125 mL) chilled purple grape juice

1 (1) medium orange, sliced

1 (1) medium lemon, sliced

1 (1) medium lime, sliced

¼ cup (50 mL) chilled club soda

Pour boiling water over Lipton® Green Tea bags in teapot; cover and brew 3 minutes. Remove tea bags and squeeze; stir in sugar and cool.

Combine tea with remaining ingredients except soda in large pitcher; chill at least 2 hours. Just before serving, add soda. Pour into ice-filled glasses. Enjoy!

See Nutrition Information for sugar content.

Per serving: 60 calories, 0 g total fat (0 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 10 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrate, 0 g fibre, 14 g sugars, 0 g protein. % DV: 0% vitamin A, 6% vitamin C, 2% calcium, 0% iron.

Happy Canada Day to you Canadians and Fourth of July weekend to you Americans! Any big plans to celebrate?

A Spot of Tuesday Tea–Giveaway!

May 10, 2011

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I’ve been enjoying plain green tea with my breakfast every morning for a little while now (except this morning when coffee was the word. But that was the exception, not the rule! I usually save my coffee for after my tea :)). The past week or so my morning mug got a little more jazzed up after I was graciously sent some of the new Lipton Green Tea flavours to try: Decaf plain, Lemon Ginseng, Superfruit – Passion Fruit, Orange and Jasmine, and Superfruit – Black Current with Vanilla.

Well I can’t be the only one getting away with the extra flavour excitement in my mug. So now it’s your turn!

TWO of you have the chance to perk up your mornings with a Lipton Green Tea Giveaway!

Each winner will receive:
- One package of Lipton Lemon Ginseng Green Tea
- One Bodum Travel Mug to bring that green tea with you wherever your day takes you
- One Moleskin Passions Wellness Journal to keep track of all those little healthy things you do each day

To Enter:

Visit the Lipton Tea website and leave a comment telling me which green tea flavour you would most like to try.

Follow me on Twitter and tweet this giveaway, then leave another comment telling me you did.

The giveaway will be open until Sunday, May 15. Good luck!

Where’s My Coffee?

February 8, 2011

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I haven’t drank any coffee since last Wednesday. I got sick, during which I definitely wasn’t feeling it for a couple days, and then I just decided to… continue not drinking it.

Why? I don’t really know to be honest. I like my coffee. I drink it every morning with breakfast. Sometimes 2 cups. Sometimes for a pick me up in the afternoon. But definitely every day. This is the first non-coffee stretch in a long time. I suffered through the withdrawal headaches while I was already sick and definitely not planning on drinking it anyway so I figured I’d try sticking it out a little longer and see how it went.

I’m drinking TEA now instead.

I used to drink tea a lot. And then I jumped off the bandwagon and started having tea only once in a blue moon. Hello crazy? Tea is great. And my brother has started up on this kick where he’s chugging green tea like it’s water. Um hello, if my brother is beating me in the smart drink choice department then something is wrong here. So I’ve jumped back on to the tea bandwagon and I’m proud of it. Go tea.

I’ll admit I have felt a bit more perma-tired these past several coffeeless days. But it’s a much more stable state of tired without the highs and lows. And I’ve noticed much less of a midafternoon crash, which is kinda nice.

However, I am NOT giving up coffee. This is rather an attempt to:
- See if I can go a week without it – I’m aiming for the weekend. I may have a cup by Saturday. If I’m feeling it!
- See if I can reduce my coffee consumption in general – It has just become routine and that’s alright but I do drink a fair amount and wouldn’t mind reducing that a bit and relying on it less for overall energy.
- Drink more TEA. I’ve been wanting to bring tea back into my life on the regular for a while. This has been the perfect way to do it. Hot beverages are very necessary in the winter. So tea it it!
- See what kind of effects coffee actually has on my body – I want to see if I can notice any other differences by the end of the week. If I see significant energy level differences I may do my best to keep coffee to a much less often habit.

But I still <3 my coffee. And I don’t want to give it up. Just switch it up a bit, ya know?

And what shall I alongside my tea chugging sessions?

Orange slices and green smoothies?

Mmm I was thinking more along the lines of Averie’s Girl Scout “Samoas” Cookies.

These are crazy tasty! Mine weren’t quite the same since I didn’t dehydrate the base (dehydrator? what?) and I just used plain old peanut butter in the topping. Oh and I made them fake with sugar free maple syrup. Shhh. But still. Decadent.

Or maybe some Fudgy Black Bean Brownie Cake.

I had a small amount of leftover black beans hanging out in the fridge and I remembered seeing past recipes for black bean brownies. So I glanced over a few, browsed through my food supply and came up with this mini cake.

Fudgy Black Bean Brownie Cake
- 4 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 T egg whites
- 1/4 cup fat free plain yogurt
- 1 T white chocolate sugar free syrup (or whatever sweetener you prefer)
- 1 T cocoa
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup instant oats

Blend all except the oats in a blender, then stir in the oats. Bake at 350 for ~30 minutes in a small tin cake pan.

ICING
- 2 T light cream cheese
- 1/2 T white chocolate sugar free syrup
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp agave

I just found and quickly nabbed this sugar free syrup the other day at Winners (my shopping haven for pretty much everything). It’s White Chocolate, I just couldn’t pass it up. It is what went into my brownies.

Now I am pretty exhausted and about ready for bed. I think this is more due to the fact that it’s getting late and I was up earlier than I had planned (thanks mom for loudly and joyfully humming tunes at 7:15 AM) than because I’m missing my coffee fix. Just saying.

What is your relationship with coffee? Are you a daily drinker? How much do you drink? Do you have to have it before you come into contact with society/do you bite heads off without it? Oh and how do you take your coffee? 90% of the time mine is black.

Sunday, Sweets and Smoothies

April 26, 2010

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Lazy Daisy Sundays, full of grey clouds and drizzly skies, oh how I covet thee.

And what better way to spend them than with cleaning, running and food play!

First I tidied cupboards. Because they were disastrous.

Last I ran on the treadmill. Because I preferred to hang around in my PJs until the late hours of the afternoon rather than change into sweat clothes and sweat em up.

Right in between I completed some new baking missions because I could do that every single day and not get tired of it. And I have about 30 million saved recipes on my computers that I just have to try some day or another.

I started tackling 2 of those 30 million from this website of low carb treats. No I haven’t suddenly taken up some low carb diet or anything (no carbs? me? HA) but the Low Carb Sweet Bread Mix at the bottom sounded like a worthy try to me.

Mine included:

8 oz canned pumpkin
4.5 Tbsp vanilla whey protein powder
1 Tbsp vital wheat gluten
1 Tbsp melted light butter spread
1 egg white
1.5 Tbsp vanilla sugar free syrup
0.5 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp flax
0.25 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes

When I was putting this into the pan I was thinking “how the heck is this a bread?” since it was mostly the consistency of pumpkin, and based on the final result I’d call it something more of a baked pumpkin snack/treat/good since it’s not really bready.

Even so, whatever you want to call it it’s super moist and darn good and I’ll probably be gobbling it all up pretty fast.

I also made the Macaroons from the same page, a Kristie Kitchen first since I’ve never made macaroons before. These weren’t very sweet, though that’s probably easily fixable with more sweetener. Or even sweetened coconut.

I was just excited that I had homemade macaroons coming out of my oven.

I concluded my food concocting with some more coconut. That’d be three recipes in a row filled with coconut. Why not? I’m now officially out of unsweetened coconut but I have a bum load of the sweetened stuff hanging around to use. It tastes better anyway.

I used the last bits up by making some Cashew Coconut Balls.
20g shredded unsweetened coconut
35g homemade cashew butter (made by blending roasted cashew bits)
45g medjool dates
10g ground flax

All blended up and rolled into 10 bite-size balls. 52 calories, 3.3g fat, 1g protein each.

I didn’t only mess up the kitchen with new eats though.

I also satisfied my never ending craving for squash by eating the last of some baked buttercup leftovers for breakfast. Spinach and squash dressed in honey mustard dressing for breakfast? Why not? Alongside english muffin chunks with strong cheddar…

…and bowls of my other obsessions: cottage cheese, grapes and cold banana. Bests.

And for dinner? Mmmm pasta. That’s to make up for the carbs missing in my pumpkin treat. ;)

And more grapeage. Seriously, obsession. If there are grapes in my fridge then every time the door opens, a handful will make it into my mouth. And the fridge door opens a lot.

The rest of the weekend (aka Friday/Saturday) has been filled with plenty of that buttercup squash that I finished up today for breakfast (I roasted up a BIG one on Friday, YES!).

And plenty of my newest smoothie obsession: TEA smoothies.

I’ve been using up this very old box of Sugar Plum Spice tea that I don’t love when hot brewed on its own (a bit too sweet) but it makes for gorgeous smoothies.

I just steep about a cup of tea and let it cool. Then into the blender goes the cold tea with skim and/or almond milk, packet of stevia, scoop of protein powder, xanthan and guar guam and LOTS of ice.