Tammy's Tidbits
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Time For Tea
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Time For Tea
When is it time for tea? Some people would say any time! While others may say the traditional time is 3:30 - 5:00 in the afternoon, depending on your location. And of course, with pinky out.
Personally, I drink tea all day - every day. It was my way of breaking the awful habit I had of drinking soda. Unfortunately, though, the tea I enjoyed at first was probably just as bad as soda since I enjoyed sweet tea. In fact, the sweeter, the better.
But at least it was a start in what became the right direction for me. I have to admit, the hardest thing for me, switching from soda to tea, was drinking it with things that automatically seem to demand to have a soda accompany it!
Take, for example, pizza and tea. It just seemed all wrong to me! Or a Big Mac, fries, then tea? If I’m going to blow my diet anyway - it had to be a coke with those!
Face it, all those commercials throughout the years, did you ever once see a pitcher of tea next to a pizza? So, it is imbedded into our subconscious that certain things have to have a soda with them. If you can break that way of thinking, you have already won the battle!
Granted, there is the taste too. Not only taste, but experience. Tea and soda are two different types of drink experience. Smooth vs bubbly. Each having their own pros and cons.
On one hand, the soda seems to wake you up and energize you, but I never felt it actually quenched my thirst. Whereas smooth like water, tea, lemonade etc. does seem to satisfy my thirst more.
Then, of course, we all know soda is addictive. You don’t realize how addictive until you try to stop drinking it! Once you break the habit, you become to realize how many empty calories were wasted on your drink. Some of you already knew that and have gone the way of diet soda all these years.
I’m not going to bash diet drinks like you may think - to each their own. My super sweet tea, which was my replacement, was not exactly the healthiest either. But slowly, I tried weaning myself off the sugar from it as well.
Surprisingly, I found myself drinking a drink that had a “clean” feel to it. That seemed to quench my thirst and was easily available in my sparse kitchen. Not only was I drinking healthier, but saving so much money on such a cheap and easy idea!
You may find yourself thinking, tea? How boring to drink tea and nothing else! Yet this exact thought came from me who fought savagely defending her preference during the soda wars! Which when you think about it was one flavor of drink too for how many of those years?
So, that argument does not work. Especially since there are so many types of tea. In fact, did you know there are over 3,000 different varieties of tea? That just blew Pepsi and Coke out of the water!
Speaking of which, some of you will say why not just drink water? And kudos to you who actually enjoy water, I do not. I’m the type who has to have at least a lemon in the water because I feel like I’m being punished if I have to just drink water.
I know, I know, water is so very good for us and essential, but years of dieting sort of ruined me on the whole concept of actually enjoying water.
And yet, here I drink water that is flavored with tea, hypocrite much? Yea ok, I digress. But let’s get back to tea. Tea can be drunk as a hot liquid. Water not so much and forget about hot soda!
Score one for tea. Next, tea goes along nicely with the different seasons. Hot tea for the colder months, and a nice cold sun tea for the very hot months.
Then there are the flavors. Flavors to soothe or be festive with a holiday spice. While sodas may try to come out with seasonal flavors, they are only available during the season. Perhaps you want to celebrate Christmas in July? Simply throw a peppermint in your sun tea and you are good to go!
Next up is the price. Certainly, during today’s inflation, this is something we can all benefit from! Buy yourself a box of tea bags and see how many cups of tea you can make for the fraction of the price you are paying for soda!
And what about the nutritional value? Some teas are very good for you, such as green tea. Green tea helps boost brain and heart health. It is also considered the least processed tea, for it does not undergo oxidation.
Of course, we have to touch on how you make your tea. Hot or cold? Milk and sugar? Caffeinated or not? Infused with fruit or spices? Prepared in a jar on your patio or so sweet, you wonder how it’s not considered syrup?
You get where I am going with this, Tea can essentially be for anyone! I think sometimes it’s a forgotten treasure that needs to be explored again.
Recently I’ve found a cool quick trick. I make my regular ice tea, in my cheaply little ice tea maker from Walmart that works perfectly fine. However, when I’m in the mood for a fruitier flavorful drink and have no fruit in my dismal kitchen, I use something so easy.
You know those things you can buy to add flavor to water? Little bottles you can add drops or even the powder packets? I bought several bottles, of all kinds of flavors ranging from raspberry to lemonade, even drops of energy, and add it to my tea!
Viola! Starbucks has nothing on me when it comes to putting whatever shot I want for the day! Let alone, less cost for the drink or the gas sitting in line for the drink.
Take the time this summer and treat yourself to something new that is an old staple. Buy some tea and create! Whether you want to go full scale pro and buy loose leaf, or an infuser to infuse, or you buy a box of tea bags, it doesn’t matter the possibilities are endless. Its fun figuring out “your” drink and it’s cheap. And literally, if you can only boil water - is for you!
Personally, I drink tea all day - every day. It was my way of breaking the awful habit I had of drinking soda. Unfortunately, though, the tea I enjoyed at first was probably just as bad as soda since I enjoyed sweet tea. In fact, the sweeter, the better.
But at least it was a start in what became the right direction for me. I have to admit, the hardest thing for me, switching from soda to tea, was drinking it with things that automatically seem to demand to have a soda accompany it!
Take, for example, pizza and tea. It just seemed all wrong to me! Or a Big Mac, fries, then tea? If I’m going to blow my diet anyway - it had to be a coke with those!
Face it, all those commercials throughout the years, did you ever once see a pitcher of tea next to a pizza? So, it is imbedded into our subconscious that certain things have to have a soda with them. If you can break that way of thinking, you have already won the battle!
Granted, there is the taste too. Not only taste, but experience. Tea and soda are two different types of drink experience. Smooth vs bubbly. Each having their own pros and cons.
On one hand, the soda seems to wake you up and energize you, but I never felt it actually quenched my thirst. Whereas smooth like water, tea, lemonade etc. does seem to satisfy my thirst more.
Then, of course, we all know soda is addictive. You don’t realize how addictive until you try to stop drinking it! Once you break the habit, you become to realize how many empty calories were wasted on your drink. Some of you already knew that and have gone the way of diet soda all these years.
I’m not going to bash diet drinks like you may think - to each their own. My super sweet tea, which was my replacement, was not exactly the healthiest either. But slowly, I tried weaning myself off the sugar from it as well.
Surprisingly, I found myself drinking a drink that had a “clean” feel to it. That seemed to quench my thirst and was easily available in my sparse kitchen. Not only was I drinking healthier, but saving so much money on such a cheap and easy idea!
You may find yourself thinking, tea? How boring to drink tea and nothing else! Yet this exact thought came from me who fought savagely defending her preference during the soda wars! Which when you think about it was one flavor of drink too for how many of those years?
So, that argument does not work. Especially since there are so many types of tea. In fact, did you know there are over 3,000 different varieties of tea? That just blew Pepsi and Coke out of the water!
Speaking of which, some of you will say why not just drink water? And kudos to you who actually enjoy water, I do not. I’m the type who has to have at least a lemon in the water because I feel like I’m being punished if I have to just drink water.
I know, I know, water is so very good for us and essential, but years of dieting sort of ruined me on the whole concept of actually enjoying water.
And yet, here I drink water that is flavored with tea, hypocrite much? Yea ok, I digress. But let’s get back to tea. Tea can be drunk as a hot liquid. Water not so much and forget about hot soda!
Score one for tea. Next, tea goes along nicely with the different seasons. Hot tea for the colder months, and a nice cold sun tea for the very hot months.
Then there are the flavors. Flavors to soothe or be festive with a holiday spice. While sodas may try to come out with seasonal flavors, they are only available during the season. Perhaps you want to celebrate Christmas in July? Simply throw a peppermint in your sun tea and you are good to go!
Next up is the price. Certainly, during today’s inflation, this is something we can all benefit from! Buy yourself a box of tea bags and see how many cups of tea you can make for the fraction of the price you are paying for soda!
And what about the nutritional value? Some teas are very good for you, such as green tea. Green tea helps boost brain and heart health. It is also considered the least processed tea, for it does not undergo oxidation.
Of course, we have to touch on how you make your tea. Hot or cold? Milk and sugar? Caffeinated or not? Infused with fruit or spices? Prepared in a jar on your patio or so sweet, you wonder how it’s not considered syrup?
You get where I am going with this, Tea can essentially be for anyone! I think sometimes it’s a forgotten treasure that needs to be explored again.
Recently I’ve found a cool quick trick. I make my regular ice tea, in my cheaply little ice tea maker from Walmart that works perfectly fine. However, when I’m in the mood for a fruitier flavorful drink and have no fruit in my dismal kitchen, I use something so easy.
You know those things you can buy to add flavor to water? Little bottles you can add drops or even the powder packets? I bought several bottles, of all kinds of flavors ranging from raspberry to lemonade, even drops of energy, and add it to my tea!
Viola! Starbucks has nothing on me when it comes to putting whatever shot I want for the day! Let alone, less cost for the drink or the gas sitting in line for the drink.
Take the time this summer and treat yourself to something new that is an old staple. Buy some tea and create! Whether you want to go full scale pro and buy loose leaf, or an infuser to infuse, or you buy a box of tea bags, it doesn’t matter the possibilities are endless. Its fun figuring out “your” drink and it’s cheap. And literally, if you can only boil water - is for you!
