What color is your ice cream?

Have you read all of the press on green tea recently? Green tea is purported to do everything from boosting your immune system, to strengthening your teeth, to raising your metabolism. I am not here to discuss the fact or fiction to these claims I just want you to use your common sense before you leap into the next cure-all.

To gain all the benefits from green tea you would have to drink it as Mother Nature created it and as close to its natural state as possible. Matcha tea is pure green tea leaves ground to a very fine powder; nothing has been added or taken out. In fact, it is ground very slowly to prevent the leaves from getting too warm and denaturing the tea. The best way to absorb and assimilate the benefits of green tea would be to drink matcha tea because that is the purest from of green tea available. In an effort to benefit from the green tea craze, matcha tea has been added to sweetened soft drinks, hard candies, ice cream and cookies. The problem occurs because now your body is getting added fats and sugars with the tea. Mother Nature did not put fat and sugar in tealeaves. The likelihood of getting the real value from the green tea has been drastically diminished if your body has to digest and process the fat and sugar first.

Let’s Cook Tonight® wants you to use your common sense when you choose what to eat. It makes sense to eat a food that has been found to give you many health benefits, but before you buy green tea ice cream ask yourself if you want ice cream or green tea. Do not fool yourself into thinking that the ice cream is now healthy because a bit of green tea has been added and do not think that because you have eaten a half a teaspoon of green tea along with a lot of fat and sugar that your body received the value of the tea. If you want green tea, drink green tea. If you want something sweet and delicious, choose vanilla or rocky road.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: Cut apples and bell peppers in half first, then turn the cut side up and cut them on the inside. The knife will not slip.

Copyright ©2010 by Gigi Centaro. All Rights Reserved.