By now I am sure you have read somewhere that tea is a great choice for a health conscious lifestyle. It is a fantastic low calorie beverage that is believed to have great qualities such as Catechins. Catechins are a type of plant compound with Antioxidant qualities.
Tea also contains caffeine. And most of us can attest to the benefits of caffeine on hunger. There is something about caffeine that just makes that hunger subside for a bit longer.
Tea with no added flavoring, is a low calorie beverage and a great choice for a healthy lifestyle.
With that we have 5 great ways you can get more tea into your diet. Making changes to lead a more health conscious lifestyle often works best when you start small. Try adding one of these steps into your healthy living plan this year to create new healthy habits.
Keep it iced and in the fridge - This is what we do at the tea farm. Get yourself a handy drink container and make a large batch of Black or Green tea. Toss in some ice and keep it on your fridge shelf ready to go. This is a lot like meal prepping. If you have your healthy choice ready and easy to access, you are more likely to choose it. Here is an example from Google Shopping on what you can use.
Tea cocktails - Cocktails often contain heavy syrups and sugars. Add in the alcohol and you can have a drink with a lot of calories. Swap out your syrups for tea such as Black Magnolia, Black Tea or Grilled Southern Peach. If you need a touch of sweet add in some honey or sugar substitutes. You will have a refreshing beverage that won't have you feeling bad the next day (as long as you drink in moderation).
Get more tea in your rubs & marinades - Eat your greens! Yes, you can do this by adding more tea greens to your diet. For us, we do this by adding dried tea leaves to our Rubs. Toss it on your salads for added flavor and mix with some olive oil, dress up your meat or tofu or sprinkle it on some cream cheese over crisp celery. If you need ideas on how to use our rubs you can get our cookbook which includes some great recipes that incorporate them.
Add tea to your smoothies and shakes - Your tea leaves are edible. You can add them directly to your smoothie before mixing or grind them up in a coffee grinder in advance and have some ready to go to add a teaspoon or two to your smoothies at a time. This will help you get a little caffeine boost naturally.
Take it to go - Get yourself one of these fantastic Tea On The Go Infuser Bottles. Sometimes drinking more tea just comes down to having it with you. But you may not want a hot cup of tea at the gym or on a walk. With our Tea On The Go Infuser Bottles you can take your tea hot or cold with you. You can add in a bit of fruit as well. These bottles are made of Borosilicate glass and made to take the hot or cold.
Add tea to your desserts - Now, let's be honest. Dessert is often in itself not the healthiest choice. But sometimes you need a treat and why not add the goodness of tea to your treats to get more green in your diet. You can add tea to your desserts in two ways. One, brew some tea and add the liquid to the recipe. We did this with our recent batch of Chai Tea Cinnamon Buns. This same recipe included some ground up Clairee's Chai which gave it a really wonderful flavor. Now seriously, there is nothing healthy about Cinnamon Buns but you might as well enjoy it in moderation and with tea!
Does it matter what tea you drink?
Some flavored teas can have added sugar to it. It is likely significantly less than a sugared soda or even a glass of juice but it may still contain sugar.
Straight teas like Black Tea, Green Tea, Yellow Tea or Oolong Tea, do not have any added flavoring or sugar. Just leaf and water. These teas all come from the exact same plant. They are processed differently and the age of the leaf may be different but it is still from the same plant.
If you are looking for the lowest calorie option, stick with the straight teas.
What are some great ways you get more tea in your diet? Let us know in the comments below.
Need some more tea tips? Check out these other great blog posts.
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