Have you had your green tea today?
If you’re an advocate of healthy eating then you’ve probably heard about the benefits
of green tea.
It’s been associated with:
*cancer prevention
*lower heart disease risk
*reduced blood pressure
*diabetes prevention
*protection from mental diseases
*protection from allergies
*weight loss…
just to name a few.
The most popular benefit of drinking green tea is that it’s loaded with antioxidants.
Antoxidants are powerful compounds that help protect your body’s cells from nasty
substances called free radicals (dangerous by-products that get released into your body’s
cells during oxygen based reactions and have been linked with premature ageing and a
range of chronic diseases).
When it comes to antioxidant content, green tea is one of the richest food sources available.
It contains high levels of over 10 different antioxidants including the polyphenols
epigallocatechin gallate, epicatechin gallate and gallocatechol, the vitamins A, C and E and
the minerals selenium and zinc.
Tapping the Power of Green Tea
Don’t get me wrong, though, green tea is not a magic bullet and cannot compensate for an
unhealthy lifestyle.
If you eat junk food, lead a sedentary lifestyle, smoke or drink heavily, green tea won’t be
able to reverse the damage that these things cause.
The good news is that if you eat right, exercise regularly and drink green tea, it can help to
boost your health and you’ll be able to enjoy it’s benefits.
We all lead busy lives so sometimes fitting green tea into your day can be tough.
If you’re struggling to get more green tea into your day, simply substitute green tea for
the water, juice, nut milk or other liquid base in your smoothies.
Try this healthy and delicious smoothie to get more green tea–and other healthy
fruits, vegetables and super foods–into your diet.
Banana Colada Green Tea Green Smoothie
Ingredients:
2 cups Organic Green Tea – brewed with filtered water and allowed to cooled
2 Organic Bananas – peeled
1 cup Organic Pineapple
1/2 cup Organic Dried Unsweetened Coconut
3 Organic Dried Dates – soaked
2 tablespoons Hemp seed powder
2 tablespoons Chia seeds
2 tablespoons Flax seeds
1 teaspoon Moringa leaf powder
1 cup Organic Spinach
1 cup Organic Kale
Directions:
Wash and cut and prepare your fruits and vegetables.
Add the ingredients above to your VitaMix or other high speed blender in the
order listed.
Blend until smooth.
Taste and add more liquid if too thick.
Drink immediately for maximum nutrition.
Sometimes I love to sip my smoothies from a wine glass for the fun of it.
(You can refrigerate extra smoothie in a sealed mason jar to drink later.)
Enjoy!
Do you drink green tea?
Have you ever added it to your smoothies and shakes?
Share your thoughts and experiences with us.
“Shared at Natural Living Monday”
“Shared on Mostly Homemade Mondays”
“Shared on #wowlinkup Workout Wednesdays”
“Shared on Real Food Wednesdays”
“Shared at Thank Your Body Thursday”
“Shared on Healthy Vegan Friday”
“Shared at Real Food Fridays”
I enjoy smoothies too. I usually like what I blend and end up with far more for one serving. They do last for another small meal later in the day but sometimes they’re so yummy that I drink the bigger serving in one sitting! =)
What a powerful drink! I just want you to know that I was participating in THE VIRTUAL TOUR this week and have passed the Baton on to three of my favorite bloggers. You are one of them. Please visit my blog to accept the Baton for this week!
What a healthy, yet tasty sounding drink! Sounds like a great day to start the day =)
ps. thanks for sharing this awesome drink on Healthy Vegan Fridays. I have pinned this recipe on our Pinterest page.
Hi Kimmy,
Thank you so much for sharing my smoothie on Pinterest! I appreciate it!
That smoothie sounds awesome! Love me some green tea! 🙂 #wowlinkup
In the winter I drink tea after dinner and about 3 to 4 days a week, I drink green tea.
Sorry and visiting from the #wowlinup
You know I don’t know what it is but green tea makes me nauseaus (sp?). Even if I try to add fruit or mint. #wowlinkup
Hi Diatta,
I usually drink mine with Hemp or Almond milk and organic stevia and it doesn’t bother my stomach. You could try brewing for a shorter time, too.
Wow Deb what a healthy smoothie. I will pin, share on google, and twit. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays Blog Hop. Always glad to see your posts.
Thank you so much for your support, Marla. It really tastes good and provides energy! All the best, Deborah