Play It Cool!

Every time I’m asked by a magazine editor to come up with “10 top tips” for living longer, I put this tip on the list: Drink green tea every day! It’s loaded with catechins and phenols, which have been found to protect the heart and brain and extend life, not to mention to help protect against cancer-a nice little “side effect” of this heart-healthy drink. And if that wasn’t enough, green tea can also help you lose weight!

Here, Chef Jeannette combines the healing power of green tea with ginger, one of the best natural remedies for digestive disorders on the planet-it’s great for gas, nausea, morning sickness, and seasickness. And it adds just the right amount of flavor and zing to the iced tea, making it an absolutely perfect, refreshing drink for a summer day at the beach. Chef Jeannette recommends either fresh ginger or ginger juice (see “Notes from Chef Jeannette,” below). Either works just great.

Note-you can do a really terrific and unusual variation on this iced green tea beverage by substituting a legendary tea powder known as matcha for the four lemon green tea bags. Matcha is a very specific type of premium green tea grown only in Japan. It has a unique, rich taste-full-bodied, astringent, with a lingering sweetness. But it’s also known for its numerous health benefits-rich in nutrients, antioxidants, blood-purifying chlorophyll, and, of course, the wonderful, calming amino acid, L-theanine. If you use matcha, just substitute 1 teaspoon of the powder for the tea bags. Enjoy! -Dr. Jonny

Iced Green Tea Limeade

Serves 4

For a grab-and-go variation on this health-boosting summer refresher, try making it with matcha powder.

Concentrate:

4 cups water
4 lemon green tea bags (we like Yogi Lemon Ginger Green Tea)
¼ cup raw local honey, or to taste
1½ Tbs. ginger juice, or to taste
Juice of 3 limes
Fresh mint leaves for garnish, optional

Bring water to a boil and remove from heat. Add tea bags, and allow to steep for 10 minutes. Remove tea bags, and stir in honey until dissolved, rewarming tea slightly, if necessary. Stir in lime and ginger juice.

For Full Pitcher:

Pour hot concentrate into a glass pitcher. Add 1½-2 trays of ice, stirring to combine as it melts. Garnish with mint leaves, if using.

For Individual Servings:

Pour concentrate into a quart-sized Mason jar, and store in fridge. To make tea, fill a glass with ice and top with concentrate to taste. Garnish with mint leaves, if using.

per serving: 80 cal; 0g pro; 0g total fat (0g sat fat); 21g carb; 0mg chol; 0mg sod; 0g fiber; 17g sugars

Notes From Chef Jeannette, the Clean Food Coach

You can buy ginger juice premade (we like the Ginger People), put the root through a juicer, or simply peel and grate a chunk of ginger root and squeeze the gratings with your hand to produce fresh juice.

While brewed citrus green tea is delicious, if you’re in a hurry you can whip up a cool, refreshing quencher in just minutes by using matcha powder. Matcha is a nutrient powerhouse, containing more than 100 times the catechins (EGCG) of regular green tea! Just blend 1 cup of water, 1 cup of ice cubes, 1 teaspoon of matcha powder (we like Aiya Matcha, cooking grade), ½-inch peeled ginger root, the juice and zest of 1 small lime, and a tablespoon or two of raw local honey in a high-speed blender until frothy.

Pour into a tall glass and enjoy at once.