Tag Archives: tea

The Snowman Mug

Our son has a fascination with food now. If he hears chewing or crunching or sipping or swallowing his eyes immediately find our mouths and he stares wide eyed at this new phenomenon. He has, of course, seen us eat before. He has become more aware of his surroundings now though. A while ago my wife caught him staring at an avocado she was eating and, after he truly expressed interest in it, she went to mash some of the substance up for him to try on a spoon. He put it in his mouth, got a yucky face, and … Continue reading →

An Antioxidant Boost for Your Tea

Tea is good for you. We’ve discussed it plenty of times here at Families.com. It’s full of healthy antioxidants that can provide all sorts of health benefits! Green tea has become the superhero of the tea world, with a ton and a half of good press. Are you ready to make your green tea even healthier? A study from Purdue University has figured out how to kick your antioxidant absorption up a notch — add a splash of citrus juice. Just three tablespoons of your favorite citrus juice (lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit) can improve the stability of catechins — … Continue reading →

Tea Can Help You Focus

When you hit that afternoon slump, don’t head for the coffeemaker. Try a cup of tea, instead! Recent research is pointing to black, green, and oolong tea as a great way to sharpen your focus. Part of that mental boost comes from the caffeine in the tea — the same caffeine you could get from a cup of coffee or an ice cold soda. The other part of the mental boost is something you can only get from a cup of tea — an amino acid called theanine. When paired with caffeine, theanine can boost neural activity, helping you concentrate. … Continue reading →

Foods that Help Reduce Colds and the Flu

My 3-year-old daughter just came down with her first cold of the winter season. Technically, winter doesn’t officially begin until December 22nd and she had a horrible bought of the flu in early November so I’m hoping this latest round of fever, sore, throat and the sniffles is not a sign of things to come. Making matters worse is the fact that my daughter refuses to take oral medication. She will make herself throw up if a drop of medicine comes anywhere near her lips. (Any prescribed medication is administered via shots—an agonizing process to say the least.) Which means … Continue reading →

The Right Tea for the Job

Tea is good for you in many ways! But there are lots of teas out there… so how do you choose the one that’s best for what’s ailing you? Alas, some teas make big claims and have small (if any) benefits. The coffee and tea aisle at the food store is full of all kinds of health remedies. And for some things, like stress, anxiety, PMS, and an upset stomach, tea can be the perfect cure. You usually don’t need to drink much — just one or two cups can relieve the problem. If you are feeling nauseated, bloated, or … Continue reading →

Blooming Teas

As I was sitting down to write about blooming teas –also called flowering teas, display teas, or blooming art teas– it occurred to me that this was another discovery made with my sister Coco. Like she did with Penzeys Spices, it was she who noticed the bags of tea with pictures of flowers on them in Franklin Tea, a specialty tea shop. She asked the owner what the picture represented, as the flowers were very exotic looking but the only writing on the bags was in Chinese except for the “title,” in this case “Jasmine Fairy Maiden.” “Oh that’s my … Continue reading →

Drink More Get More – Lipton Rebate

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Are you a tea drinker? I have been in the past, and am trying to get back to it. Coffee draws me in over and over again. When I’m drinking tea, especially green tea, I just feel better. The rest of the world seems to agree. With the exception of water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world, not just because of its pleasing taste and aroma. Its health benefits are well documented. Drinking two cups of tea daily can reduce a woman’s risk of ovarian cancer by almost one half. Up that to four cups and skin … Continue reading →

The Rainbow Of Teas

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Teas come in a lot of different colors these days. Black is the “traditional” tea, the one we’re all used to. Green tea came onto the scene in a big way, followed more recently by white and red teas. So what’s the big deal about each color? Black, white, and green teas all come from the same plant. The difference in color comes from the age of the leaves used and the amount of processing done. White tea leaves are the youngest and are harvested before the leaves are even fully open! Green teas are lightly processed; black teas are … Continue reading →

Recipe for Homemade Spiced Chai

Maybe I’m just weird but I like all of the drinks that are supposed to be hot–cold. Coffee to me tastes best when combined with cold milk; I prefer iced tea over hot tea (unless I’m sick), and hot chocolate is good but frozen hot chocolate is divine. Consequently, I also think of summer time as the time to make tea. These two recipes are technically more infusions rather than true tea because they use spices rather than tea leaves for flavor. But whatever you want to call it–they’re yummy! Spiced Chai 3 cups rice milk, plain or vanilla flavored … Continue reading →

Plants To Try In Your Herbal Tea

There are a lot of good reasons to drink herbal tea. They usually lack the caffeine of black tea, and lots of herbs come with other health benefits! If you’ve got a green thumb, there are a ton of flowers, herbs, greens, and even weeds that you can dry out and steep in boiling water for a delicious and unusual tea experience. Edible (and drinkable) flowers alliums (flowers and young shoots) bee balm carnations hibiscus blossoms hollyhock honeysuckle flowers (avoid the berries; they are highly poisonous) Johnny-jump-ups (flowers and leaves) lavender (blossoms and leaves) nasturtiums (flowers, buds, leaves, seedpods) pansies … Continue reading →