Sparkling Green Tea Lemonade

August is Green Month and stepping out of the produce section and grabbing something off the shelf is a great way to add additional greens to your basket. Today something we're talking about and what you should be looking for is Green Tea! It can be found in the bulk foods section or down the hot beverage aisle.

Green tea is primarily made up of polyphenols giving it many beneficial health properties. These polyphenols have significant antioxidant effects in the body, which means this tea can help your body kill cancerous cells and stop harmful growth, aiding in the prevention of many different types of cancer. In population studies, green tea is believed to reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease by reducing atherosclerosis. It has also been observed to raise HDL (good cholesterol) and lower LDL (bad cholesterol). Green tea also increases your metabolism during the day to help you burn a few extra calories. Green Tea alone does not contain any calories and the recipe featured below contains only 40 calories for one 8 oz serving. The recommendation, depending on the brand, is 2-3 cups a day.

In addition to the health benefits, Green Tea serves as a good way to stay hydrated during these hot August days! This Sparkling Green Tea Lemonade recipe contains a mixture of electorlytes like calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium making this the perfect beverage to stay hydrated. As if there aren’t enough benefits already, this beverage is gluten-free, easy on the stomach and an all-around great beverage to keep you hydrated and refreshed!

Sparkling Green Tea Lemonade

Ingredients:

For the Green Tea:

2 cups water

3 bags green tea

2-3 tbsp sugar, to preference

For the Sparkling Green Tea Lemonade:

1 lemon, juiced

1 1/2 cups sparkling water (unflavored or lemon flavor)

Directions 

To make the green tea:

1) Bring water to a boil.

2) Once boiling, remove from heat and add tea bags.

3) Let steep for 5 minutes.

4) Remove tea bags, stir in sugar, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

To make the sparkling green tea lemonade: 

5) Combine green tea, lemon juice, and sparkling water. 

6) Pour over ice.

Recipe adapted from GreensChocolate.com