Something different...a savory Matcha recipe

About.com has a wealth of information on every subject. The tea and coffee page runs a monthly recipe contest.

January's winner was a recipe for Matcha Salad Dressing. Though you can use ceremonial matcha, you can also substitute a cooking grade matcha which will also work nicely, as the matcha flavor has to be strong enough to hold up to the other flavors in the salad.

Here's the link: http://coffeetea.about.com/od/coffeeteafoods/r/Mixed-Green-Salad-With-Goat-Cheese-Orange-Slices-And-Matcha-Dressing.htm

I know I will be giving this recipe a try sometime soon!

Matcha in the mainstream

I was vacationing in sunny CA last week, hanging out at a 55+ mobile home community by the beach with my family. I picked up a copy of Woman's World magazine in the community reading room, and was surprised to find an article on Matcha in between the Coconut Easter Bunny Cupcake recipes and the obligatory new weekly diet plan. (Another random thing I noticed about this magazine is the very generous use of exclamation points - every single sentence has one - but I digress, it's still a leisurely read).

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to see the following in the 4/25 issue:

"Enjoy more energy every day! Sip matcha green tea!"

It went on to say that according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, "drinking four cups daily can increase your endurance by 24% after just 10 weeks". Because you are drinking the entire ground tea leaf by consuming matcha, you are also ingesting approximately 10 times more nutrients than with regular green tea. It's no surprise that you would get an extra boost from that.

You don't have to do the whole ceremonial ritual in order to get your matcha. You can add a cooking grade matcha to your smoothies, or to a shot of OJ or soy milk. There are so many possibilities for enjoying a delicious and nutritious serving of matcha. It's nice to see it in the spotlight more and more.

Kids and sugary drinks - tea to the rescue

It seems that kids are just naturally drawn to sugary, often nutrition-less drinks.  I know that when I am with my son at the supermarket, when he sees all of the different, colorful and fun looking drinks he is immediately intrigued.   Problem is, they are full of sugar and not much else; even juice often falls into this category.  According to KidsHealth.org, "what a child drinks can drastically affect the amount of calories consumed, as well as the amount of calcium needed to build strong bones."

Herbal tea can be a fun, tasty and refreshing beverage for kids as long as it contains little to no sugar.  A small amount of honey or other natural sweetener can add just the right amount of sweetness.  Here are some suggestions for kid-friendly herbal "tea" drinks(most kids like it chilled):

Rooibos comes from the aspalanthus plant and is primarily grown in South Africa.  It is prized for its high level of antioxidants, nutty and slightly sweet flavor, and low tannins.  It has a myriad of health benefits and is used around the world for alleviating infant colic, nervous tension and allergy symptoms.  Honeybush is of a similar plant variety only found in South Africa, and has a slightly sweeter flavor and darker brew than Rooibos.

Peppermint is a flavor that we all know, and in addition to its delicious taste it is also believed to assist with memory recall.  It is delicious and refreshing on its own, or blended with other herbs such as chamomile.

Hibiscus produces a brilliant reddish blue color and tastes like berries.  It may have antibacterial properties.   It is delicious when blended with other herbs such as Rooibos.

Lavender has been used as a flavoring for centuries, and is even used in candy, so kids must like it, right? A lovely herb with a pleasant aroma, this one also blends well with the healthy Rooibos herb. 

Passionfruit in my opinion really needs no sweetener.  The easiest way to get this is to order one at Starbucks without any sweeteners, syrups or flavors - they have it and they charge you less if you leave that stuff out.

Osthmanthus (or tea olive) is a very fragrant flower with a sweet flavor, and also tastes great blended with either rooibos or green tea(which contains caffeine). 

And if you are not afraid to give your kid a little caffeine, put a 1/2 teaspoon or so of Matcha(ground green tea) into their banana smoothie for an extra health kick.  The bright green color is intriguing to most kids and it gets them used to the concept of tea. 

Recipe: Herbal Rooibos Iced Tea with Lavender Flower

Strainer(preferably stainless steel mesh or disposable tea bag)

For 1 - 2 servings:

2 - 3 tsp Hana-cha Rooibos Tea with Lavender Flower
1/2 to 1 tsp honey(optional)

Boil water.  Steep tea in water for 5 - 6 minutes, brew should be a dark reddish color.  Remove strainer or disposable tea bag and add honey if desired.  Pour over ice.

For a 64 ounce pitcher of tea:

Use 5-6 rounded teaspoons of tea, put in a disposable tea bag and steep in just-boiled water for at least 10 minutes, until the brew is somewhat dark in color.  Add honey to taste if desired, and cool for a couple of hours.  Refrigerate and serve chilled over ice.