Matcha Green Tea Latte

Green tea contains powerful antioxidants.  According to research, its benefits include lowering cholesterol, weight loss, fighting cancer and heart disease much more.  It took a while for me to warm up to green tea because when I made it it always tasted bitter so I ended up adding a ton of sugar, thus negating the effectiveness of the brew, I'm sure.  I found out later that the tea should be prepared with hot but not boiling water and it made all the difference.

Matcha tea is reported to have even higher levels of antioxidant than green tea leaves so I decided to give it a try and now I'm hooked.  I've made matcha smoothies and lattes and I can't wait to try it in food recipes.  Here's my recipe for matcha latte:

Matcha Green Tea Latte

created with love by LBTurner

1 1/2 teaspoons powdered Matcha green tea

1 tablespoon powdered creamer

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tablespoons honey or sweeten to taste

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups hot water

Add the 2 1/2 cups of water to a pot and bring to a gentle boil.  Turn off the flame and set it aside.  Mix together the powdered green tea, creamer and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl.  With a wire whisk or bamboo whisk (chasen), slowly whisk the water into the mixing bowl.  Add the honey or sweetener and vanilla extract and continue to whisk. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon or a dollop of fresh whipped cream if desired.  Makes approximately 2 1/2 cups.

Substitutions:

Substitute the powdered creamer with soy or whey protein

Substitute the honey with agave nectar, brown sugar or other sweetener

Want more info on the health benefits of green tea?  Check out these websites:

Green Tea Benefits    The World's Healthiest Foods    WebMD

Buy Matcha green tea: DoMatcha Organic Matcha Green Tea, 1.06-Ounce Tin    SerendipiTea Matcha Culinary Grade, Organic Green Tea, 4-Ounce Box

Detox-Tini: Shaken--Not Stirred

You work hard to keep your body looking good on the outside but what are you doing to keep your insides working at optimal levels of efficiency? Regular body detoxing has many proven benefits including assisting the body with the elimination of environmental and other toxins, increased energy, weight loss and much more.  Although natural dietary supplements can be good for our bodies, most of them don't taste so great.  Since I try to do a body detox at least once a month I needed to find something that was gentle and  effective.  My solution? A liquid herbal formula called Detox Drops.  I've created a "detox cocktail" to help make my detoxing experience a little more palatable. Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup V8 V-Fusion Peach Mango (or Acai Mixed Berry) Juice

1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice

15 drops of Detox Drops blend

4-5 ice cubes

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker (or covered jar) and gently shake to blend. Pour in martini glass, garnish with fruit slice or olive and sip gleefully.

You can drink this or a similar cocktail three times a day and the best news, other than the fact that this drink is delicious, is that if you prepare it with any of the V8 V-Fusion juice blends, you're getting 1/2 cup of vegetables, 1/2 fruits and natural antioxidants with each 8oz. serving.  Detoxing has never tasted so good and your taste buds and your internal organs will thank you. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think.

Note:  You can substitute the V8 V-Fusion peach mango juice for another low-sugar juice blend, add a few of the Detox Drops to hot or cold tea or take the drops orally.

Verde Cooler (Drink)

This recipe was inspired by Tyler Florence's "Fresh White Bloody Mary"

A couple of weeks ago I was watching a Tyler's Ultimate show on the Food Network.  One of the items he made was a white bloody mary that looked really good so I decided to make a simple, non-alcoholic version of it.  While I was shopping for the ingredients, I noticed the items I chose to use in my version were all natural detoxifiers so I decided to do a little research to learn about the various health benefits of the ingredients (see the ingredient benefits after the recipe).

Verde Cooler

created with love by LBTurner

1.5 pounds white seedless grapes

4 large stalks celery

1 large cucumber

Rough chop the celery stalks and cucumber.  Add all ingredients to food processor and process on highest speed or purify speed until thoroughly blended--approx three minutes.  Carefully strain mixture through a clean piece of cheesecloth into a serving pitcher.  Discard fruit/veggie pulp.  Chill for about an hour and stir well before serving.  Serve chilled with celery or cucumber garnish.  Makes approx three cups of juice.  Store unused portion in tightly covered container refrigerator for up to five days.

Health Benefits:

Grapes - blood purifier, diuretic, supports bone, connective tissues, muscles, gland, liver, and kidney health.  Also helpful for arthritis, rheumatism, urinary pain and cold constitution.

Celery - blood purifier, improves stomach, spleen, pancreas and liver function.  Cooling nature helps eye inflammation, headaches, excessive appetite, menopause, diabetes and more.

Cucumber - cooling, antioxidant, diuretic, blood detoxifier, improves bladder and kidney infections, sore throat, acne and more.

As you can see there are many reasons to give this easy, tasty concoction a try.  You will absolutely love it and your body will thank you for it!

Valentine Martini

This stylish drink will make Love blossom on Valentine's day!

Valentine Martini

2 ounces raspberry vodka
1 ounce Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur
6 raspberries
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
dash of sugar syrup
ice cubes

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and add ice cubes. Shake then double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Decorate with fresh raspberries on a cocktail stick and a lime or orange twist. Cheers!

Note: This recipe makes 1 drink. Increase ingredients as needed to make a larger batch.