Easy, Cold-brewed Iced Tea, No Boiling Required

 In a session last week, a client mentioned it was too hot to drink warm tea. Even though I like hot coffee hot, regardless of weather, I agreed regarding tea. I suggested she make iced tea and she looked at me confused “do you just chill hot tea, how do you make iced tea?” As I explained to her what I outlined below I realized iced tea probably baffles a lot of people. We have to fix that.

To answer her question, I don’t like making iced tea from hot tea. It tends to have a burnt or harsh taste. Instead, I make it cold-brewed in the fridge.

All you need:

Large Mason jar (or as large as you have) or any container with a lid

Tea- loose or in bags, in the photo I used Bellocq's Green Mint tea

Water

Strainer

Optional: stevia

Add tea to the jar (I use 2 tablespoons of loose tea in a 32 ounce jar) but 1 teaspoon loose tea or 1 bag per six ounces of water is a good ratio. I gravitate toward loose tea as I generally have a lot to use up. And I find the flavor is better with loose tea but use what you have.

Add water, filtered water if you have a water filter (or a top-notch bottled water like Core).

Cover the jar. This is why I use a jar, many people use a pitcher but I’m weird about fridge scents and prefer a closed container. Also, I can take the Mason jar to work. Again…use what you have.

I steep the tea overnight, it needs at least 4 hours of brewing time.

When it’s done, strain it. I put a strainer over a bowl and pour the tea in. Discard the used tea that’s in the strainer, rinse Mason jar if any tea is stuck to it and pour iced tea back into the jar.

If I’m making a green tea, I’ll add stevia. Otherwise add sliced lime or lemons, fresh mint or just drink as is. Easy tea-sy. 

Sinless Margaritas, Giveaway and Recipe

Yesterday, I had that skin cancer procedure. For me, it was a huge relief to have that behind me but I’m not selfish enough to think that other things weren’t happening in the world. For example, while I was lamenting the band-aid on my face others were celebrating National Tequila Day. I’m sure I’ve made fun of National Donut Day or National Hot Dog Day but Tequila Day? Ole’.

I’m sorry to be a day late with this crucial cocktail information but trust me it’s ok to margarita anytime…especially when they’re healthy margaritas. You know me too well to think I’m going to tout “skinny” drinks but we looked high and low and found something better.  Enter Sinless Margaritas.

Sinless is all-natural and sugar free. It’s 5 calories per serving and sweetened with stevia. If you have margaritas once in a blue moon and want to use simple syrup…ok but if you like to margarita as much as I do (and I do) these are the way to go. They are in the refrigerated section (or available online) because they use real lime and real lemons. And if you want proof that some people have great jobs Zach, one of the Sinless owners, told us “my wife Cat still makes and tastes every batch in our Atlanta headquarters.” Zach- you let us know when Cat calls in sick, we're here to help taste test.

Sinless makes your life easy. You mix 2 parts of their mix with 1 part tequila. I had healthy skin on my mind yesterday and concocted this Sea Buckthorn (thank you to the reader who corrected my spelling of buckthorn) Sinless Margarita. I’ve mentioned sea buckthorn before as a key ingredient for healthy skin and hair; it also has a tart taste making it perfect with a limey margarita.

Sea Buckthorn Margarita

1.5 ounces Sinless Margarita Mix

1oz Sibu 100% Sea Buckthorn (or in NYC Juice Generation makes Sea Buckthorn shots)

1.5 oz. Tanteo Jalapeno Tequila

Stir to combine and serve over ice

These margaritas come in just over 100 calories.

Zach and Cat didn’t want you to feel left out and so they’re giving away a bottle of their regular and a bottle of their strawberry margarita mix to one lucky reader.

To be eligible:

1. Comment below telling us about the best margarita you’ve ever had OR why you want to try Sinless AND
2. Tweet @Foodtrainers has a @sinlesscocktail #giveaway today.

You have until next Thursday 8/1 to enter.

One of these and band-aid, schmand aid. Cheers! 

Smoothie Scientists and Giveaway

Yesterday we sent out our “Smoothie Support Group” newsletter tackling your most pressing smoothie issues: how to ensure your smoothie isn’t a gazillion calories, solutions for those of you who feel you rather eat versus drink your calories and the most common smoothie query “do I need a Vitamix?”

When I last posted about smoothie ingredients, one commenter said “You talk about things you put in your smoothies a lot and I have this image in my head of you with a zillion potions and powders, in a lab coat

Carolyn and I in front of Smoothie Central cabinet with all sorts of powders and mix-ins

That’s all Carolyn and I needed to read…enter your Smoothie Scientists in our labcoats. Here is our video debut (we’ll hone our skills, I promise) with our Thin Minty Smoothie.

6oz Harmless Harvest Coconut water
1 cup frozen blueberries (if you skip berries be sure to add ice cubes)

1 handful kale

1 scoop Sun Warrior Chocolate protein powder

1 Tbs Cacao nibs or powder

¼ avocado

Organic Peppermint extract
pinch Himalayan salt

6 drops NuStevia

Cacao, if you’re not familiar with it, is what chocolate is made from. The powder or nibs are high in fiber (good to get things moving), it keeps LDL or bad cholesterol from doing nasty things, is a mood booster and a source of magnesium (most people are magnesium deficient).

Turmeric Carrot Smoothie with must-have Strawesome 

I love to “smooth” it’s true and have been playing around with my Turmeric Smoothie

 6oz ice water (or I tried with carrot juice too)

1 scoop Vanilla Sun Warrior

½ frozen banana

1 tsp. nut butter (used cashew butter)

Ice cubes

Cinnamon

¼ to ½ tsp. turmeric

NuStevia (used their lemon flavor)

Reasons everyone should add turmeric to your diet daily:

• Weight loss- studies (yes on rodents but still) show turmeric added to diet resulted in less weight gain; less lower body fat, if you’re a “pear” turmeric is for you.
• One double blind, placebo-controlled study found that turmeric reduced symptoms of bloating and gas in people suffering from indigestion (love well executed bloat study).
• It is a natural liver detoxifier, important in the summer time with perhaps more cocktails consumed
• Good for healthy skin and conditions such as psoriasis
• It is a potent anti-inflammatory with zero side effects; therefore, it is a natural treatment for arthritis, soreness following exercise and nature's Advil
• Prevents various forms of cancer from spreading, described as “turning off cancer cells”

I want to try turmeric in a smoothie with Socal Cleanse hemp protein (which made our protein powder Hall of Fame). It’s what we call our Monday morning protein- excellent for bloat or when PMS strikes. Socal has generously offered to give away a bag of their protein to one of our thirsty (we didn’t say bloated) readers.

To enter comment below and tell us where you stand on the smoothing spectrum (smoothie newbie or seasoned smoothie maker), what your favorite smoothie is and what type of blender you use. If you haven’t lost your smoothie v-card, what’s holding you back?

When it comes to sugar substitutes, what about stevia?

Blue, pink, yellow? d) None of the above

Yesterday, The New York Times ran a story entitled “Choosing a Sugar Substitute”. I found the article, like most sweeteners, unsatisfying. We’re told “for any of the sweeteners, one can as easily find a study that offers reassuring analysis of safety as one that enumerates potential alarming side effects.” When it comes to food and nutrition this “jury is still out” reasoning doesn’t work. As far as I’m concerned, the risky results have more clout. The article further tries to ameliorate potential risk by quoting a layperson and self-described “yellow girl” (yellow referring to Splenda affection) saying “hundreds of millions of people swallow food and drinks containing artificial sweeteners and so far, no widespread calamities of health have swept over them. “ I would love to know if yellow girl feels migraines, obesity and cancer are "widespread" enough. I don’t know if she equates danger with immediate death but we’re not talking about snake bites. With toxins, things can take time. Walter Willet expressed “if you smoke cigarettes, the lung cancer risk doesn’t go up for 30 years.”  Trans fats weren’t seen as problematic for 90 years. You can read my thoughts on artificial sweeteners here in “Better Safe Than Sweet”

The best way to test a sweetener isn’t always research, where funding can introduce its own bias, but time. Sugar has been used long enough that we know the downside and concerns. Stevia has also been used for centuries in many cultures though only marketed (and approved) in the US recently. I was disappointed the Times article snubbed stevia. It is a plant you can grow in your garden. Detractors will say, “Just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s safe” and this is true but I’ll still take the garden over the lab as a starting point.  I love a brand called NuNaturals, which has no stevia-y aftertaste but also have this local honey and maple syrup in my home. Liquid stevia can seems rather pricy but a small bottle can last months, even a year because it’s much sweeter than sugar. Since it’s much sweeter than sugar, you use it sparingly.

Even the title of the Times piece rubbed me the wrong way. Sweeteners aren’t mandatory. Whether it’s honey or maple or stevia, I don’t believe our food should be doused with sweetness. Sweet begets sweet and the more you have the more you crave. The converse is also true and less sweetness leads to fewer cravings. One “sweetened” item a day is a good guideline. For me, that tends to be my smoothie or an afternoon cardamom cappuccino. So I'm not a blue, pink or yellow girl and truthfully I'm not that sweet.

What sweetener(s) do you use? How many sweetened foods would you estimate you have each day? Have you tried stevia?