Little Step No. 56
What to do:
Add green tea to your smoothie!
Why this step works:
Green tea has long been regarded as a bit of a superfood, or ‘super-drink’ to be exact! But I have to be completely honest and very ‘un-nutritionist like’ and tell you that as much as I can appreciate just how ‘super’ it is, I’m really not a fan of the bitter taste. And when I fancy a cuppa, a cup of green tea just doesn’t appeal!
Over the years however, understanding of the incredible potential health benefits of green tea has increased so much that I decided I had to find an alternative way of getting some of this super-green goodness into my diet. After much experimentation, I’ve found the easiest and tastiest way is in a smoothie.
Green tea is widely available either as tea bags or as a powder. Here’s how to incorporate either of these into your smoothie:
Using a green tea bag? Make a cup of green tea as normal. Let it brew, discard the bag and leave to cool. Use this as an alternative to the liquid you would normally have as the base for your smoothie.
Using green tea powder? This is the method I prefer. Make your smoothie as normal and simply add a teaspoon of green tea powder to the mix before you blend all the ingredients together.
For green tea powder, I’ll usually go for OMG Tea or Clearspring. For green tea bags I’ll choose Heath & Heather.
Why add green tea to your smoothie?
There’s so many good reasons to add green tea to your diet. Green tea has demonstrated antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. Green tea has been shown to protect against some gastric infections and may even help to support the growth of specific strains of beneficial gut bacteria that we know are vital for health. Perhaps one of the most incredible reported benefits of green tea is that it may help to increase blood levels of glutathione – the body’s master antioxidant. Read more about glutathione here in Little Step no 29.
I always keep a stash of green tea bags or powder in the cupboard for the sole purpose of adding to our daily smoothie. It hardly takes any extra time at all but has the potential to add masses of extra goodness into your day. This is one of my favourite little steps; I hope you enjoy x